I enjoyed reading this. Because we already discussed the footnotes (and because this question gives nothing away) I thought I would share this one:
Slate: The book is full of footnotes, especially at the beginning, forcing the reader to break away from the narrative to take in information that may or may not be “external” to the story. What made you decide to put footnotes in the novel? How does the presence of “factual” footnotes affect the fiction of the novel, in your mind?
Díaz: The footnotes are there for a number of reasons; primarily, to create a double narrative. The footnotes, which are in the lower frequencies, challenge the main text, which is the higher narrative. The footnotes are like the voice of the jester, contesting the proclamations of the king. In a book that’s all about the dangers of dictatorship, the dangers of the single voice—this felt like a smart move to me.