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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao | 
 enlarge | Author: Junot Diaz
Publisher: Riverhead Hardcover
Category: Book
List Price: $24.95
Buy Used: $9.00
You Save: $15.95 (64%)
New (58) Used (46) Collectible (24) from $9.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  201 reviews
Sales Rank: 1188
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
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Amazon.com Review
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2007: It's been 11 years since Junot Diaz'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
This is the long-awaited first novel from one of the most original and memorable writers working today.
Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fukoe-the curse that has haunted the Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still waiting for his first kiss, is just its most recent victim.
Daz immerses us in the tumultuous life of Oscar and the history of the family at large, rendering with genuine warmth and dazzling energy, humor, and insight the Dominican-American experience, and, ultimately, the endless human capacity to persevere in the face of heartbreak and loss. A true literary triumph, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao confirms Junot Daz as one of the best and most exciting voices of our time.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 196 more reviews...
 Brief Wondrous Life October 10, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
The humor of the book is hard for me to connect with. I found it boring, and never completed the book.
 spanish readers only October 8, 2008
if you can read spanish this book is for you. most of punchh lines are in spanish i did not understand alot of the book
 Impressive October 8, 2008
This book delves into layers of history, despots, struggle, and the courage of everyday human beings in a less than welcoming world. A masterpiece!
Junot Diaz is amazing and so is Oscar Wao October 7, 2008
This book was one that I couldn't put down. I have liked Junot Diaz since I read Drown but this book showed a side of him that is deeper and more intricate. I do think that it's possibly a bit difficult to understand, or maybe not as amazing if you do not know anything about Dominican culture but if you have even the slightest understanding of the culture you will be as engaged and amazed as I was with The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
 Overrated. October 6, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I'd heard good things, but was disappointed... This book had its moments, but hype aside, I found it pretty offensive (frequent use of the n-word etc) with a nearly indecipherable plot. There are lots of giant footnotes which are kind of fun at first, but so irrelevant to the story I eventually stopped reading them. Character development in the Oscar Wao department (isn't he the main character?) was so poor, I found it difficult to care about him. This coming from a girl who cries at sad TV commercials.
In a nutshell: The book wanders aimlessly and comes to an ending which evokes little emotion or feeling... aside from being painfully predictable.
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