The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao in Terminalcoffee

Jun 25, 2008 RandomAnthony rated it really liked it · review of another edition

You know those books that remind you why you like reading so much? The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is one of those books. Diaz’ whip-smart writing and brilliant characterizations pulsed on the page and his integration of Dominican history (which could have dragged this book down big-time) melded with Oscar’s story as naturally as if (and I suppose Diaz would say they are) one. You have to fight through some of the thickets of the intertwining plots but the effort is worthwhile. Did it deser ...more

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Apr 07, 2010 Oriana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-2010

after: Oh I don't know. I stand by what I said earlier in the comments: this book was really fast-moving and engaging and fun, but I kept thinking, Is this really Pulitzer-worthy? I mean, I haven't read many (any?) other Pulitzer winners, but I didn't feel like this was some kind of pinnacle of literature. I wonder, though, if the extremely fluid, casual style kind of belied the book's actual high quality. Like, maybe I have some inherent prejudice that for a book to be a work of serious literat ...more

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Aug 01, 2008 Sarah rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction_non_genre, 2007

This book was a mixed bag for me. I just finished it this morning, so I think I'm still sorting it out. I enjoyed the interspersed Spanish that made me work for comprehension, and the historical passages. The prose was rhythmic rather than lyrical: it had the urban snap and cadence appropriate to the main narrator. It was coarse and lacked beauty, which makes sense since there wasn't a lot of beauty to be found in either setting.

Structurally, it was somewhat similar to Zadie Smith's White Teeth This book was a mixed bag for me. I just finished it this morning, so I think I'm still sorting it out. I enjoyed the interspersed Spanish that made me work for comprehension, and the historical passages. The prose was rhythmic rather than lyrical: it had the urban snap and cadence appropriate to the main narrator. It was coarse and lacked beauty, which makes sense since there wasn't a lot of beauty to be found in either setting.

Structurally, it was somewhat similar to Zadie Smith's White Teeth, jumping between past and present, and from character to character; however, in that book I found it clever, while in this case, the effect seemed more jarring. I guess a composite narrative is sometimes all you have to piece together a story, but I think the changes in perspective could have been telegraphed better, and the omniscience of the narrator addressed. Why does Lola get to tell one part of the story, but not any of the others, even when she was there and Yunior wasn't? Why does Yunior have so much insight into the family? He was an acceptable guide through the story, but I found some of the sci-fi and other nerd-ly references forced.

When Lola did get a chance to tell her own story, her voice seemed too similar to Yunior's. It's ironic: Diaz has incorporated some strong and distinct female characters, and they are much better realized than the men, up until one of them speaks for herself, at which point she becomes generic. The stories of the family's women - and the family's history - are much more moving when assigned back to the narrator; in fact, I think those are the strongest parts of the book.

Perhaps most unfortunately, I didn't believe in Oscar. I didn't buy his dialogue, and we got none of the story from his own perspective until the very end. He was a caricature. Yunior -and Diaz - clearly have affection for Oscar, but all he evokes in me is pity.

I think I understand what Diaz was going for in this book, and I understand why it was recommended so highly, but it didn't resonate with me.
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Nov 28, 2007 Chloe rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, 1001-list, immigrant_song

I finished this last night. I thought that I was going to put off the whole Part III until this morning, but once things started going to hell for Oscar I was unable to put the book down until after the final page.

I loved Diaz's descriptions of Santo Domingo under Trujillo, it all reminded me of the style of Garcia Marquez and Allende- the charting of the family curse from its inception to its bitter end- except written by a very contemporary speaker. The narrator's voice was a source of endless ...more

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Dec 09, 2011 Lisa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Oscar is the most tragic, but lovable hero. He embraces everything nerdy, has an endearing want to simply experience love, but the misfortune of being obese and carrying a supposed family curse leads to his lifelong struggle. The story has actually less to do with Oscar and more to do with this curse and how it has affected each of his family members. We follow the narrator, Yunior as he tells each story and watch as the mascot or guardians of the curse (a talking mongoose and faceless people) m ...more

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Dec 28, 2007 Valerie rated it liked it · review of another edition

I didn't know how to review this book for a while. After I read it, the bits and pieces of it were kind of like a little Dominican tornado in my brain. Oscar (the nerdy overweight fantasy-writing main character) lives a life that has been infected with fukú - a bad luck curse that has stuck with him and his family for generations. His story is told not only from his point of view, but that of his sister, mother and grandfather, all of whom played a role in shaping Oscar's life. They all live wit ...more

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