When My Brother Was an Aztec is a collection of poems that detail the life struggles of a sister with a brother that is a drug addict. The poems are noted by many to be humorous, but in a dark sort of way.
The book begins with the line "Angels don't come to the reservation", already showing how grim the book may be. The line also gives a hint to the religious aspects of the poems, as angels, Jesus, and God are people often mentioned, looked to by the main character, the speaker, for help in aiding her brother's condition.
Through a wide range of characters, readers learn about the reservation the speaker comes from, described in both good and bad ways. With little money on the reservation, the villagers only just get by. Diaz was likely inspired to include the details of a reservation because she grew up in a Native American preserve as a child.
The second half of the book is mostly dedicated to the speaker's brother, a struggling meth addict that knows he has a problem, but still will not stop. The struggle between life an death remains as real as ever through the very realistic and raw writing of Diaz.
When My Brother Was an Aztec, like many works of poetry, has a different form from other books. Some of the poems are written with slashes between the words, while others are completely italicized.
