Author: Junot Diaz
Genre: Literary Fiction
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a not-so-brief recollection of Oscar’s life as well as his family’s, narrated by his friend, Yunior and his sister, Lola. In his youth, ‘Oscar was something of a Casanova’ but as he grew older, he became a social outcast; overweight, nerdy, obsessed with science fiction and fantasy and always on a mission looking for love.
This book was, for me, a difficult book to read. One, because there was a lot of Spanish used and I consistently had to go online to check what they meant. Two, because there was a lot of Dominican Republic history that I didn’t know about that I constantly need to find references of. Regardless, I also found this book quite an interesting read. What I liked was that this book brought about a lot of mixed reaction whilst I was reading it; sad, happy, funny, hate, love- all rolled into one.
The only thing I was really annoyed with in the book was the damn footnotes!
Anyway, this is a highly recommended read and an eye opener for those who are not privy to Dominican Republic’s culture and history. Oscar’s story is sad and the ending is... bitter sweet... but his journey is epic and his search for love, sincere. Definitely, a must read.
Challenges: 100+ Reading Challenge
5 comments:
Everybody kept saying this is a great book. I read the first chapter and I couldn't go on. I have since returned it to the library. Let me know I should give it another shot?
I have to admit this is a difficult read but Oscar's life was just so sad and I wanted to know what happens at the end. I always give books a second try and if I don't get past the 100th page... that's when I know that I need to quit. :)
Oh I loved this book. It made me laugh and cry. Love the Lord of the Rings references. The footnotes didn't bother me though. There were also references to the Mirabal sisters (who were important figures in the Dominican Republic's history)which fascinated me so much that I bought In The Time of the Butterflies by Julia Alvarez which is also another great book. To live under such a megalomaniac like Trujillo!
Hi! Nice blog. I'm following you. =)
Hi Sarah, thanks for visiting. you're right the Mirabal sisters were quite intriguing. I think I will check out the book you mentioned, In the Time of the Butterflies. Have a great reading week ahead. ;P
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