|
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao | 
 enlarge | Author: Junot Díaz
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $7.35
You Save: $6.65 (48%)
New (54) Used (16) from $7.35
Rating:  236 reviews
Sales Rank: 74
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5 x 1
ISBN: 1594483299
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781594483295
ASIN: 1594483299
Publication Date: September 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
| |
| Also Available In:
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com 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
Product Description
The most talked about and praised first novel of 2007, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd who from the New Jersey home he shares with his old world mother and rebellious sister dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, finding love. But Oscar may never get what he wants. Blame the fukú a curse that has haunted Oscar s family for generations, following them on their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA. Encapsulating Dominican-American history, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao<./I> opens our eyes to an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and explores the endless human capacity to persevere and risk it all in the name of love.
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 231 more reviews...
 An Interesting Challenge December 4, 2008
A. Frank (New York, USA)
Well, I finally got around to reading it on my flight home and here are my thoughts: There is absolutely no contest that a nerdy Dominican boy makes for an original subject. Yes, I was slightly handicapped by my rough Spanish and limited knowledge of Sci-Fi culture, but I still believe Oscar's story to be genuine. I found myself heartbroken by his lack of will, but also strangely delighted by his quirky,inaccessible type of personality. My final thoughts is that I haven't read enough contemporary fiction to truly appreciate Oscar's narrative. At times I found the Spanish to be pretentious rather than authentic. I am left wondering why I feel that way. For now, I would say that I'm a little indifferent to how I feel about the novel. Again, I really loved the story but I cannot help but feel that the novel is more trend than substance.
 Boring! December 2, 2008
Kaydee A (Florida)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
I got as far as page 106 and couldn't waste any more time on this book. Too many random words in Spanish-just enough to wonder what the author is talking about. There were also a lot of footnotes-tiny footnotes-that made this feel like a boring school book. I tried, but couldn't finish this book. We read it for a book club and others had the same opinion.
Story of a dominican family November 30, 2008
Andres C. Salama (Buenos Aires, Argentina)
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
This story of a Dominican family, from the 1930s to the present, as they face a curse because one of its ancestors once displeased the all powerful Dictator Rafael Trujillo. Each chapter is about a particular member of the family. Some of them are memorable - the Oscar of the title, a black teen living in a New Jersey ghetto, a virgin weighing over 300 pounds, obsessed with videogames, Tolkien and genre literature and with zero game on women, is a memorable literary creation. Also compelling is the character of his grandfather, a respected doctor in the Dominican Republic who grew foul on dictator Trujillo by refusing to give her young daughters to him to deflower (the Dominican ruler apparently enjoyed Droit de Seigneur on his republic). Other characters (Oscar's sister, Oscar's mother) are less interesting, so this is a case of a book that has great moments and less great ones. Still, it is a recommended read, even if the Pulitzer prize it won was probably a bit too generous.
Not that brief and not that wonderous. November 30, 2008
J. Becker (Berkeley CA USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
I read this book for a book club I am in and would say that I enjoyed the read. It's a look into a culture and a history (Dominican-American) that I was unfamiliar with and found interesting and often entertaining. Diaz's writing is very good, sometimes lyrical. However I found it hard work to get through the book and probably would have dropped it if I hadn't felt obligated to finish it. In discussing the book with others I stated that I would not read it again, it just didn't feel substantial enough. Diaz is a good but not great storyteller.
 a brief history of Dominicans and Dominican-Americans November 30, 2008
N. Dimaio
A compelling look at how torturous it is to live under a dictatorship and how strong and defiant the human spirit is. A history lesson in the Dominican Republic which unfolds in a very interesting and personal way as Trujillo's curse effects 3 generations. If you dont know any Spanish, have a Spanish-English dictionary or someone who does speak Spanish (I had a Cuban born husband on hand to ask the words they dont teach in school. He said Oh, you're speaking Dominican?) A great book.
|
|
|
Bluecygnet.com Store
International Sites: United States |
United Kingdom |
Canada |
Germany |
France
This is an Amazon associate - the products referenced on this site are manufactured and sold by parties other than Bluecygnet Store. Bluecygnet Store makes no representations regarding either the products or any information vendors offer about their products. Any questions, complaints, or claims regarding the products must be directed to the appropriate manufacturer, vendor or to Amazon.com. | |
