Literary Award Winners Fiction Book Club discussion

Please use this discussion thread to discuss the entirety of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

I've read this book previously and was absolutely ready to throw it at the wall a few times while reading it, and only continued to read it because my building's book club was reading it. I, for one, despised this book.

I did not like Oscar as a character at all. He was a pathetic main character who I could not relate to or even care about. He struck me as a big whiny baby who when he did finally decide to do something about his shit hole of a life, went about it all the wrong way.

I understand why the author used Spanish throughout the book, but it took away a lot for me as I did not understand it.

I hated the narrator. Why was he the narrator anyway? It wasn't his story to tell.

Also the title is misleading, the story is not about a wondrous life of Oscar Wao, it's about his family history and why his life is so pathetically awful.

I do not in the least understand why this book got so much praise from readers and the literary awards world. The only conclusion I can come to is one VIP loved it and so everyone decided to listen to that person. I found this book to be a waste of my time and not something I would recommend to anyone.

I finally read and finished this book a few weeks ago (long wait at the library). It was a bit of a chore to get through and I found the Spanglish to be confusing. I found a few parts of the book to be funny but nothing really stands out in my mind as to which parts. I didn't really like the narrator or Oscar, but I found his mom's and sister's stories to be a bit more interesting.

I am also baffled to why this book received so much praise and would not recommend it to anyone.

Wow, there are some really tough comments here about Oscar. Maybe, as a man, I just found it easier to relate to him, though I thought that appeal might be more universal. Oscar is a gentle person who finds it hard to adjust to world that is often vicious. I feel as if I've met him many times.

This isn't one of my favorite books, but the beauty of much of the writing was astonishing, and some of the scenes linger a long time after the fact. As for the title, I think "wondrous life" is intended to be both ironic and genuine (genuine in that "marvelous" moments for him are all too brief and in the sense that he is something of a wonder given his upbringing and surroundings).

Spanglish? Yeah, well, I think it's as integral to the book as French is to War and Peace. It's part of the culture in which he lives. The narrator is an ass, but we give him credit for trying to understand Oscar, someone so different from himself; the disparity between him and Oscar is part of what makes Oscar "wondrous" and the attempt at empathy redeems the narrator in part.

Okay, so those are some of my defenses of the book. In the end, however, I found it hard to take. Maybe I'll come back to that ending someday and see if I feel differently about it.

Mark wrote: "Wow, there are some really tough comments here about Oscar...."

I am not one to enjoy a book simply because the writing is beautiful. I can appreciate it where it's due (like in The Night Circus) but it doesn't make or break a book for me. That said, I don't even think the writing in this book was that good!

Yes, War and Peace has quite a bit of French in it, but depending on the editor and translator you can get one with footnotes in translation. I always make sure to get those. I'm currently reading Jane Eyre and my old used copy has no translations for the French and it's making me a bit batty.

I think your defenses are all valid, but I personally can not be dissuaded at all to change my mind of this book. I'm also aware that this is quite a polarizing book. It's usually either loved or hated by readers, and it seems I fall into the latter camp. And, most of the readers in this group agree with me. It was not a very good first selection to get membership and participation going, that's for sure!

Tamara wrote: "It's usually either loved or hated by readers, and it seems I fall into the latter camp."

Oddly enough, I guess I'm in that middle minority, but let me just quote a couple of quick lines: "My mother was one of the tallest women in Paterson, and her anger was just as tall. It pincered you in its long arms, and if you showed any weakness you were finished."

I just think that's fine writing. And it makes the following sentences, which comes shortly after and in relation to her illness, even more devastating:

"But she stood there shaking, in her stupid wig and her stupid bata, with two huge foam prostheses in her bra, the smell of burning wig all around us."

In a very short time, we understand the mother, her power, her terrible influence and her even more terrible decline.

So, I stand by "astonishing."

It's not that I'm trying to influence anyone to love this book: it's just that I think the book deserves some respect.

I'm also sort of in the middle with this book. I didn't hate it and found parts of it to be hilarious and parts of it did stick with me. The last half of the book was way better than the first half.

I thought the Spanglish was well used but I wish I understood it. I felt I was missing parts of the book.

I felt a lot of sympathy for Oscar. I too feel like I have met a lot of people like him. I just wish he would have helped himself a bit.

Ashley wrote: "I just wish he would have helped himself a bit."

Thanks, Ashley. I think that pang of regret is a major part of the book. In the end, do you think he did help himself at all? My sense is that he was trying. I sort of wonder what help would look like for Oscar.

Mark wrote: " I sort of wonder what help would look like for Oscar..."

That is a really interesting thought. I think it's something that needs to be pondered in the real world too because unfortunately many children aren't getting the "help" and resources they need in order to live their lives let alone live their lives successfully (whatever that means).

Tamara wrote: "That is a really interesting thought. I think it's something that needs to be pondered in the real world too because unfortun..."

Yes, I agree, Tamara. And it's not just children. It's often difficult, even for adults, to help themselves to the degree they'd like. Thus we have drug addiction, obesity, lousy relationships, bad habits, and a whole range of other issues that hinder or even destroy lives. It's often hard to "help ourselves," especially if we are sensitive souls like Oscar living in a universe that seems (or is) hostile to us. If we can figure out what "help" really looks like for Oscar, maybe we can figure it out not just for other children in the world but for ourselves.

Tamara wrote: "I've read this book previously and was absolutely ready to throw it at the wall a few times while reading it, and only continued to read it because my building's book club was reading it. I, for one, despised this book. ..."

I actually enjoyed reading about Oscar Wao, perhaps because I live in Florida and have known men like him. However, I've since read a few more of Junot Díaz's published books, and have found the same characters repeated. He seems to only be able to write about two types of Dominican men - the womanizer and the womanly.

I am really glad to see it wasn't just me who didn't 'get' this book! If I'm honest it's not the type of book I would normally pick up but because it was one of the prize winners I picked it up secondhand. Didn't gel with it from the start, but as I say it's not my usual type of book. I didn't hate it, just felt I was missing something because it got such good reviews and won awards. Don't see what the fuss was about as I ought it was pretty average at best, but there you go!

Iam so sorry that I joined this group six months after this book was read. I read this one when it first was published and LOVED it. First of all, I thought the dialect was pitch perfect. What a gift for capturing the cadence of spanglish. I grew up in Edison (where part of the book is set), so reading this story was a throw back to my childhood (although Oscar is much younger than I am). Second, I loved the complexity of the characters and their relationships. I appreciated that there was no neat endings, no simple solutions to difficult social situations. My heart went out to Oscar. I could sympathize with the way life acted as a sort of quick sand that sucked him under.