|
| The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao | 
 enlarge | Author: Junot Diaz
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy New: $12.50
You Save: $12.45 (50%)
New (59) Used (30) Collectible (24) from $11.94
Avg. Customer Rating:  198 reviews
Sales Rank: 663
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.8
Dimensions (in): 8.6 x 5.8 x 2.1
ISBN: 1594489580
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781594489587
ASIN: 1594489580
Publication Date: September 6, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
|
| Customer Reviews:
 Not at all up to the hype November 18, 2007
23 out of 68 found this review helpful
I had seen this title on the best seller's list and was intrigued.
However, was very disappointed by the book.
I do not speak Spanish so was very frustrated by the long passages I could not understand.
The footnotes also got distracting after a while.
However, the biggest downfall to the book for me was that I found the main character boring and sad instead of tragic.
I am a well-read individual, and would not recommend this book to anyone.
Kind of a mixed bag, but mostly good April 16, 2008
23 out of 26 found this review helpful
This Pulitzer-Prize winning novel tells the story of the unlucky Dominican-American family of an obese science-fiction nerd. It's narrated first-person by Yunior a friend of the family contemplating these events years after they've happened.
In sequential order, Yunior gives us chapters on Oscar's geeky childhood, the mother-daughter conflict suffered by older sister Lola, mom Beli's story back in the Dominican Republic, Yunior's own college days with Oscar, the story of Abelard the grandfather back in the Dominican Republic, and the rest of Oscar's story.
Things I disliked:
(1) The hyper-machismo of the narrator gets really tedious, really fast. I realize that the author is either parodying the typical Dominican male or - eeek -giving an accurate representation, and I recognize that it's all right for him to do so. But some readers are going to feel like they're trapped on an endless city-bus ride listening to an obnoxious drunk as they wade through 335 pages of the f-word, the n-word, the b-word, and countless other derogatory terms for women and men who are attracted to other men. Here's a typical sentence from our narrator from page 195: "Some n-----s couldn't have gotten a-s on Judgment day; me I couldn't not get a-s even when I tried."
(2) The characters are often too willfully stupid to give you much emotional return on your investment in reading through their sections: they get numerous warnings of danger that could be easily avoided and still they blunder on their mindless course straight into it. Some character flaws are interesting, but too much of this makes the reader disengage. I'm mainly referring to Beli and Abelard here, but also to Oscar.
Things I didn't mind, but other people might find annoying:
(1) Lots of long footnotes in tiny font interrupt the narrative to dispense information about dictator Trujillo.
(2) Lots of slang Spanish, but not just single words that are easy to pick up in context. Rather, there are sentences and even lines of dialog that you'll miss if you don't speak the language.
(3) The pop culture references are non-stop to science fiction novels like Dune, war-gaming terms, Marvel comics, B-grade movies, etc.
Things I liked:
(1) The writing is very good and very energetic.
(2) Oscar is a fascinating character - but very sad. Readers may not find his story nearly as "hilarious" as they might expect.
(3) The history and culture of the Dominican Republic really comes across vividly.
Readers who might appreciate this book most are going to be much like the author: well-read, heterosexual guys who belong to ethnic minorities. Others include extremely open-minded readers from other demographics who seek a window into something very different from their own experience.
A Life Without Love Isn't Worth Living September 10, 2007
17 out of 19 found this review helpful
Although Diaz's message, that a life without love isn't worth living, is far from original, it nonetheless is a timeless one, and one he manages to convey to his readers in a heartbreaking beautiful way. We are introduced to Oscar Wao, a nice guy, who unfortunately, possesses a few characteristics (he's fat, a rabid comic book, sci-fi, and fantasy connoisseur, and a loser) that all but annihilate his chances of finding love. As the love he so desperately craves, continues to elude him, we witness the desperate and hopeless actions Oscar feels suffocated into performing, given his unrequited love. And finally, we learn the cost and lengths he is willing to endure just for the opportunity, however brief that may be, of being loved.
In short, Oscar's search for love is told with wit, humor, compassion, and love for comic books, and sci-fi and fantasy, and as such, makes The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, something more than just enjoyable - it makes it a moving ode to the value and power of love.
 An author in the right circles? April 9, 2008
16 out of 25 found this review helpful
I read this book when it first came out a couple of months ago. Since I enjoyed reading this writer's short fiction, I so looked forward to his first novel. What makes me scratch the proverbial head is: did I miss something? I mean, A Pulitzer? For this?
Firstly, there's no story here. It's about a geeky guy and the predictable trials of being young, foolish and wanting "the girl". That's really it. If you can merit the writing, as far as quality, then, yes, there is strong prose here. But there is not really much else. The only thing I can say is: Junot Diaz must be some well-connected writer. I can't help but think there is a clique enviornment when it comes to these things...it seems so smug to me. Who are the judges for these things than others who are in the clique? And it's almost always going to be men that win the Fiction Pulitzer. (when I think of how Joyce Carol Oats--a veteren writer of the first order--being turned down a few years ago, I can't help but think "the old boys network is alive and well.") So here we go again.
CORRECTION: To those who disagree--I admit, I'm over-the-top about the male vs. female. So I stand corrected. I was sore that Oats was passed over. And I still think this is a so-so book, and the author is one well-connected guy. Sorry.
As a Pulitzer Prize Winner, if I could rate it lower I would May 22, 2008
16 out of 47 found this review helpful
You will have to excuse me if I don't quite understand the latest standards being used to select a Pulitzer Prize winning novel-but it must parallel the lowering standards of the entertainment industry in general.
This rates with some of the worst books I have ever read. I am not sure what the point of this book was-it was not an enjoyable novel to read nor was it an effective essay of the life and times of past and present Dominican lifestyles. I assume his clever use of Spanish and never ending so called informative footnotes of past Dominican dictators is supposed to add some redeemable value to this book-quite frankly, I don't buy it.
Pulitzer Prize Winner???? I guess for political correctness but not for any other reason.
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
