November 6th, 2023 - The Ghosts of Gloria Lara

Dear TNY,

It’s the end of October, which is astonishing, and I just finished up with “The Ghosts of Gloria Lara”.

I’ll state right up front that I am very familiar with Diaz’s work and I think it’s grand.  So when I accidently saw his name this week, I was pumped.  High hopes, you see.  Because I know he writes edgier shit than you normally publish and I know it won’t be about dull, white, upper-middle class wannabe writers.  But I gotta say, I was kinda let down. 

I thought the first part where the political agendas were established was way, way too long.  I know that it might matter to the author, but to the reader it’s not that relevant.  It’s obvious that the “intent” of this story was to get us into that kitchen that night that Wilson broke in.  And I’ll tell you what, that shit was great.  But if that’s the intent, why not go back through the story and see what serves that moment?  How much backstory do we need to hold all these players in the room together?  Is it a couple thousand words worth?  I don’t think so.  I’d say the last 1500 words of this were great, but the rest of it is so filled with details (good ones, yes) that I just couldn’t get into.  As an editor I used to work with would say, it needs to be compressed. 

I do love reading Diaz’s work, though.  His language is so fluid and natural that it’s a relief compared to other authors in modern lit who try to impress (or believe their voices are God’s gift to our ears).  Diaz just talks shit and does it well.  Which is why I wish this whole story was as good throughout as it was in the end.

And speaking of ends, I guess, I am not really compelled to tell you about my life right now.  I’m good.  Things are going well.  I don’t really have an urge to use this creative space as a vent for offgassing shit that is on my mind.  I’m doing that in other places and that is, honestly, a little weird for me.  It feels good to be living a life that is mostly okay right now.  Seems like that wasn’t happening for a long time.  So I’ll try to hang on to this one as long as possible.

See you next week.

Nick