Junot Diaz Quotes & Sayings (Page 9)

“If you, like, consciously think about being cool, you're not cool. If you consciously think about being, like, different or original, you ain't different or original.”

“In fact, looking at the darkest sides of the United States has only made me appreciate the things that we do right, the things that we do beautifully. We are, for all of our mistakes and all of our crimes, a remarkable place.”

“My greatest responsibility is to acknowledge the mistakes and the shortcomings of the country in which I live, to acknowledge my privileges, and to try to make it a better place.”

“My thing is every generation of Americans has to answer what we call the 'Superman Question.' Superman comes, lands in America. He's illegal. He's one of these kids. He's wrapped up in a red bullfighter's cape. And you've got to decide what we're gonna do with Superman.”

“So the kind of boy I was, or that I was told to be, you were kind of this like half-gladiator, half-dude who, you know, was supposed to have as many girls as possible and work until your heart exploded, have no fear, you know.”

“The thing is, you try your best, and what else you got? You try your best, really, that's all you can do. And for me, my best happens really so rarely.”

“I act most like myself... when I'm in my hometown, Santo Domingo. I try to get there about five times a year.”

“Well, when you look at a lot of science fiction novels they're asking questions about power. There are questions about what it means to have power and what are the long-term consequences of power.”

“I can always tell if someone's from Harvard because they trot out their vitae. I would die at Harvard.”

“I love 'The Autobiography of Malcolm X.' That was like the only black book we read in high school.”