The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz
Author : Junot Diaz
Title : The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Published : 05/02/2009
Pages : 352
Genre : Contemporary Fiction
Publisher : Faber & Faber
A ghetto nerd living with his Dominican family in New Jersey, Oscar's sweet but disastrously overweight. He dreams of becoming the next J. R. R. Tolkien and he keeps falling hopelessly in love. With dazzling energy and insight Diaz immerses us in the tumultuous lives of Oscar; his runaway sister Lola; their beautiful mother Belicia; and in the family's uproarious journey from the Dominican Republic to the US and back
I had seen this book several times in the bookstore and each time I had forgotten to pick it up my way out. I'm always intrigued by books the deal with the everyday lives of normal people. In the case of Oscar going into this book, I knew nothing about the Dominican Republic or its people.
This is a book which delves beyond what the title might lead you to believe, Yes it does cover a life that is short and bittersweet. Oscar I feel is someone that if you don't see a little of your self in you probably know someone who does. He's the nerdy kid who longs for a bigger life, To find love and adventure and a happiness I feel we only ever really see between the pages of a book. And because of this he often struggles with the harsh realities of the real world. Too often it is easy to let our selves live in the dream worlds of our minds and hope the will somehow become reality. But sadly for Oscar, the real world drags him back down time and time again. Make no mistake this author isn't going to give you a Disney ending. But as I was saying before this is not a book just about Oscar we also get to learn of his family. And it is within these chapters that you also get to gain some idea of the tragedies that have befallen the Dominican Republic, From my side of the ocean I learned none of these things in school. I think for most in England it is simply a holiday destination. They each have a story worth telling even if there is little happiness to be found. They have a sort of collective family heart. They long for love and companionship, But with time or suffering, they each chose a different path with how to deal with it ending. It allows for a better understating of how they treat Oscar. A person who feels everything turned up to eleven, And who maybe didn't quite belong in the world he was born into.
The authors writing style is frenetic and it works well with the way in which he tells his story. Told from the perspective of Oscar's friend, possibly his only real one it allows us to bounce around through the decades of his life. It would I think come across as confusing if not for it being told in a fairly chronological order. The author brought some wonderfully well-crafted women into his story, He gives them a lot of heart but also strength and a will of spirit. They have lived long and complicated lives of the owners and are not mere cardboard people on Oscar's life. His hero is someone you want to root for, which is not to say all his actions are on the righteous path. There are a few moments toward the end of the book I did find a little unsettling. but this is not a happily ever after story it is a book with its feet planted on the ground. People have to suffer real consequences for there actions. Ultimately you get a story that lives you feeling both sorry and sad for all the actions that befall Oscar and the people who love him. Even as the last pages of His story are turning over he is someone who will not give up and believes in his heart that love will slay the mighty dragon of evil like in the books and films he holds so dear.
I finished this book in a couple of days and was held captive by it. As with some other books I have read from south America it treads the line between the real world and something else. It is these almost otherworldly qualities that separate this book and gave me something to think about long after I have Finished the book
I had seen this book several times in the bookstore and each time I had forgotten to pick it up my way out. I'm always intrigued by books the deal with the everyday lives of normal people. In the case of Oscar going into this book, I knew nothing about the Dominican Republic or its people.
This is a book which delves beyond what the title might lead you to believe, Yes it does cover a life that is short and bittersweet. Oscar I feel is someone that if you don't see a little of your self in you probably know someone who does. He's the nerdy kid who longs for a bigger life, To find love and adventure and a happiness I feel we only ever really see between the pages of a book. And because of this he often struggles with the harsh realities of the real world. Too often it is easy to let our selves live in the dream worlds of our minds and hope the will somehow become reality. But sadly for Oscar, the real world drags him back down time and time again. Make no mistake this author isn't going to give you a Disney ending. But as I was saying before this is not a book just about Oscar we also get to learn of his family. And it is within these chapters that you also get to gain some idea of the tragedies that have befallen the Dominican Republic, From my side of the ocean I learned none of these things in school. I think for most in England it is simply a holiday destination. They each have a story worth telling even if there is little happiness to be found. They have a sort of collective family heart. They long for love and companionship, But with time or suffering, they each chose a different path with how to deal with it ending. It allows for a better understating of how they treat Oscar. A person who feels everything turned up to eleven, And who maybe didn't quite belong in the world he was born into.
The authors writing style is frenetic and it works well with the way in which he tells his story. Told from the perspective of Oscar's friend, possibly his only real one it allows us to bounce around through the decades of his life. It would I think come across as confusing if not for it being told in a fairly chronological order. The author brought some wonderfully well-crafted women into his story, He gives them a lot of heart but also strength and a will of spirit. They have lived long and complicated lives of the owners and are not mere cardboard people on Oscar's life. His hero is someone you want to root for, which is not to say all his actions are on the righteous path. There are a few moments toward the end of the book I did find a little unsettling. but this is not a happily ever after story it is a book with its feet planted on the ground. People have to suffer real consequences for there actions. Ultimately you get a story that lives you feeling both sorry and sad for all the actions that befall Oscar and the people who love him. Even as the last pages of His story are turning over he is someone who will not give up and believes in his heart that love will slay the mighty dragon of evil like in the books and films he holds so dear.
I finished this book in a couple of days and was held captive by it. As with some other books I have read from south America it treads the line between the real world and something else. It is these almost otherworldly qualities that separate this book and gave me something to think about long after I have Finished the book
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