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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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Binding: Hardcover
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781594489587
ISBN: 1594489580
Label: Riverhead Hardcover
Manufacturer: Riverhead Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: September 06, 2007
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Studio: Riverhead Hardcover
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Editorial Review:
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2007: It's been 11 years since Junot Díaz's critically acclaimed story collection, Drown, landed on bookshelves and from page one of his debut novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, any worries of a sophomore jinx disappear. The titular Oscar is a 300-pound-plus "lovesick ghetto nerd" with zero game (except for Dungeons & Dragons) who cranks out pages of fantasy fiction with the hopes of becoming a Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien. The book is also the story of a multi-generational family curse that courses through the book, leaving troubles and tragedy in its wake. This was the most dynamic, entertaining, and achingly heartfelt novel I've read in a long time. My head is still buzzing with the memory of dozens of killer passages that I dog-eared throughout the book. The rope-a-dope narrative is funny, hip, tragic, soulful, and bursting with desire. Make some room for Oscar Wao on your bookshelf--you won't be disappointed. --Brad Thomas Parsons
This is the long-awaited first novel from one of the most original and memorable writers working today.
Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fuk-the curse that has haunted the Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still waiting for his first kiss, is just its most recent victim.
Daz immerses us in the tumultuous life of Oscar and the history of the family at large, rendering with genuine warmth and dazzling energy, humor, and insight the Dominican-American experience, and, ultimately, the endless human capacity to persevere in the face of heartbreak and loss. A true literary triumph, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao confirms Junot Daz as one of the best and most exciting voices of our time.
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Rating: - Derogative Spanish words
A reader with knowledge of Spanish will find this book more enjoyable then I. The Spanish sentences, terms & descriptions were foreign and distracted my reading pleasure. Spanish words were on every page. I did not know what an Abeula was so did not understand with whom Lola was staying with until pages later. I'm not sure if La Inka is a term or proper name. Why was there so much Spanish? I did not understand parting words, what was said to the burned girl etc. Furthermore many were ... Read More
Rating:  - Not bad, dude, but a Poolitzer??
Yo, dude, the book got a Poolitzer, right? So you figure it's gotta be pretty good. But after reading the whole thing, I'm thinking that maybe the Poolitzer committee, whoever that is, maybe only read the first fifty pages and then figured the rest of it must be just as good, because, you know, they still had a lot of other books to get through before making the Big Decision. And yeah, I agree, the first fifty pages are great. I mean you can see the dude's got talent, right? But he's like one of ... Read More
Rating:  - Worthy of the Prize
A common theme of novels on the immigrant experience is the success or failure of achieving in America or blending in with the culture. Here the focus in not the American experience, but on an inability to leave the past behind.
The writing is raw and replete with Spanish phrases/words that you can use a dictionary to decode or glean the meaning from the text. I had trouble determining the voice, and an Amazon review set me straight as to who is narrating the chapters.
... Read More
Rating: - Delivered As Advertisd
The book was autographed with ownership documentation. it was in new condition with no damage or wear. I'm very pleased.
Rating: - Navigating in Two Worlds
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is the best piece of literature I've come across in the last year or so. Usually novels or stories from Latino authors --characters, ambiance, and locations --feel like an ardous path toward fitting in, socially or culturally. In Junot Diaz's novel you are compelled to join a new world. A world in which you live the experience of highly achiever Hispanics in their quest to define themselves against themselves. The combination of English and Spanish is hilarious. ... Read More
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