Here it is, the essential Search for Snatch novel for the current generation in the Diversified States of America. I've read it before -- German, French, Japanese, Swedish, English, Yiddish, some of those in translation -- Augie March, Last Picture Show, On the Road, This Side of Paradise, Confederated Dunces -- goofy-sad, wicked-weird, ecstatic, demure, downtrodden, redemptive, obsessive, etc. Honestly, I could just as easily give this novel one star as five, and for the same reasons. The author, Junot Diaz, tries way too hard, flaunts his mojo too blatantly, goes for style over substance. But he's also fairly good at it, hecka funny at times, killer smart. That's literature, in my view; if you like it, you like it.