Sunday, March 15, 2009

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

I'm not going to lie. I first became interested in reading this book while in a friend's kitchen. I picked it up and quickly fell upon the phrase, "pelvic pump." I knew it was going to be good. It took me several months to get back to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, but it was worth the wait.

Unfortunately, I also waited awhile before writing up this review... and a lot of the details are hazy. Basic plot line, Oscar is a loser growing up in a culture that does not allow for losers. I mean, you can be a totally jacked up person, as long as you are romantically inclined. Oscar is not. [Oscar actually reminds me of an extreme Dominican version of several boys that lived in my dorm]. Only adding to the trouble is the curse that has followed Oscar's family for several generations.

Diaz expertly weaves a collection of viewpoints, time lines, and stories into one cohesive novel.

Recommendation: Keep a Spanish dictionary handy.

3 comments:

ashley said...

oh i loved this book! i didn't keep a spanish dictionary around, though...i just skipped over the spanish, and i think i may have missed out on a lot.

Jill said...

i kept texting my friend who speaks spanish so she could translate the slang for me. it was pretty helpful.

Shauna said...

lol! now i get why you were texting me all those random "translate this for me" phrases! i'll have to read the book...