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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao | 
 enlarge | Author: Junot Diaz
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Category: Book
List Price: $14.00
Buy New: $7.58
You Save: $6.42 (46%)
New (46) Used (15) from $7.54
Avg. Customer Rating:  201 reviews
Sales Rank: 60
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
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
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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
The most talked aboutand praisedfirst novel of 2007, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd whofrom 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 fukúa curse that has haunted Oscars 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 persevereand risk it allin the name of love.
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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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