The Brief Wondrous
Life of Oscar Wao
Junot Diaz
Read it in
Paperback, 335
I had intended to
read this before his latest novel 'This is How You Lose Her' but alas the
bookstore was unable to find the three copies their inventory promised were
there so I ended up reading this later.
This also is my second Pulitzer for the year, eight more to meet that
goal and obligation.
I wish I had Read
this this before 'This is How You Lose Her' just for context alone. Both stories are loosely told through Yunior,
but this isn't Yunior's story at all.
This is the story of Oscar de Leon and his family, but mostly about
Oscar. Oscar is the kind of guy everyone
knew growing up. The socially awkward
kid that tried and tried to be accepted but eventually gave up, but did find
sanctuary in the fantastic and the possibilities of the future. Through a series of events Oscar finds most
of his time playing D&D, reading fantasy and sci-fi novels, and dreaming of
girls. Sadly, Oscar has a hard time with
women, a Frodo with the ring bad time and he just can't seem to seal the
deal. He's always in the friends zone
with no hope for a touchdown no matter how much he tries, no matter how much he
loves them. It really isn't jiving with
his Dominican heritage and every sees fit to tell him. This is his story and I don't want to give
too much away.
I would love to talk
a lot more on plot but I don't want to reveal any of the juicy bits.
Read this. You will enjoy it I promise. The strength of the story is in the telling
and Mr. Diaz kills it in the prose. The
whole cadence of the story is brilliant.
It's told in a framework that speaks to me and tells a definitive story
wrapped in some history of the DR, all while being entertaining and
informative. I loved the splicing of
Lord of the Rings references into the story and it's consistency throughout
makes a great match to the events of DR history.
Again, read this.
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