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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: $7.45
You Save: $6.55 (47%)
New (46) Used (14) from $7.45
Avg. Customer Rating:  195 reviews
Sales Rank: 46
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 190 more reviews...
 if you speak Spanish and are interested in Dominican History read it October 5, 2008
1 out of 1 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 1 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.
Weird, bad, mad, PC October 3, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
How did this ever get published? It is just another politically correct anti-American rant, no plot, no good dialogue, no interesting characters, no fun. Avoid.
Only Read If You Enjoyed "Confederacy Of Dunces" September 30, 2008
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
I got through about a third of this book and decided not to waste any more time. Oscar is about as appealing as Ignatious Reilly in "Confederacy of Dunces". I'm not interested in the rantings and obsessions of social misfits, unless they are insightful and well written, neither of which was the case in this book. Also, Spanish words and phrases are tossed around with the assumption that everyone speaks the language.
Pulitzer? Surely, you jest..! September 29, 2008
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
Painful read. Grasping for some enlightment here. Well read and a fully bilingual Dominican educator, I cannot comprehend what gives here. Pulitzer prize? Many of the references here seem to never have been checked for historical accuracy or for lingustic legitimacy. The author uses a lot of mispelled dominican jargon and words. Wasn't there someone who actually could write Spanish from the ton of people he thanks for their help and contribution? The trivializing of historical facts and constant joking using far too frequent expletives is ofensive and it diminishes the little value the story or the storytelling might have. The unnecessary and tiresome references to Tolkien, comic books, and fantasy literature is truly irksome after a while. What a waste of talent, really. Who is the intended audience for this book? The author resorts way too many times to regaling us with all this jargon that can only be known to dominicans. What is the merit in that? I would have liked to have seen some of this ability to write go to something less self centered and petulant. I read DROWN too and it is just more of the same. What a shame. It occurs to me that this is literature of the worst kind. Pandering to multiculturalism without really making a point. The story of Oscar Wao would be a great success if it is turned into a film. There are too many people who think that blunt talk about sexuality, ofensive language and violence is the esthetics to which the urban masses should aspire. Shame. Que verguenza.! I do not recommend this book.
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