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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 New: $12.50
You Save: $12.45 (50%)
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Avg. Customer Rating:  198 reviews
Sales Rank: 655
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 193 more reviews...
 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
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.
awesome October 6, 2008
Awesome...loved the story, the way it was told, the history (when else do you smile while reading footnotes?), the informal tone, the rhythm of the language, the imagery. I was intrigued from the first page, riveted through the entire book, had knots in my stomach, and laughed at the same time repeatedly. Didn't want it to end. If you don't enjoy this book, you've got problems.
 if you speak Spanish and are interested in Dominican History read it October 5, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
I just could not get into this book. There was too much pity and whining. I was put off by the Spanish only because I had no idea what the author where talking about. I was also confused when I had to stop reading and read the notes or whatever they where concerning Dominican History. it interrupted my train of thought. It is a mystery to me why this own the Pulitzer prize. It was so slow in the beginning I wanted to speed it up by reading the last chapter. That did not help. I think it would have helped me if I spoke SPanish and I could relate to Dominican History. Otherwise this was a waste of my time.
Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao October 4, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Although different than most books and I suppose in literary circles thought to be intelligently written, I found it depressing, sad, funny and strange. Although I don't read/speak Spanish, some spanish phrases/descriptions written could be deciphered simply by the context of the story itself, but most were undecipherable, leaving one trying to figure out what was going on. The "footnotes" were sometimes too long and onerous to be able to read and still stay with the context of the story. All in all a difficult book to read - with no [personal] satisfaction for having read it.
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