- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Faber and Faber (21 Feb 2008)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 057117955X
- ISBN-13: 978-0571179558
- Product Dimensions: 23.2 x 15.2 x 3 cm
- Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (35 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 213,683 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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More About the Author
Product Description
Time Out Book of the Week
'Celebratory and heartbreaking ... and filled with something many novels lack: an enormous amount of love, and heart.'
Observer
'A work of startling originality and distinction, narrated with an irresistible, manic energy.'
Inside This Book
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
49 of 57 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This is a good book. I'm English, not merely old but "old school", so a full-length novel written in "hip" American ghetto slang and liberally peppered with Spanish terms and phrases unknown to my large Collins Spanish Dictionary, and with a heavy reliance on references to science and fantasy fiction and comic books (all of which I despise), I would not usually touch with a barge-pole, but I loved this one and neglected my other duties until I had finished it.
I have read most of the ninety-odd reviews of the book on Amazon UK and US and I think that many readers miss the point when they complain that the title is a misnomer because only a small part of the book describes Oscar's "life" and that while he may be a physically well-rounded person his character is flat and clichéd. The title surely is ironic. Oscar has really neither a life or a personality to speak of. He is just a peg on which to hang an analysis of Dominican society on the island and in New York, which the author perceives to be generally nasty. It is Dominican "culture" itself which is the "fukú" and bad things and bad people will inevitably surface because the whole fabric is built on rotten foundations of ignorance, greed and racism. You could almost say that the heart of the book is in its historic footnotes.
I have read most of the ninety-odd reviews of the book on Amazon UK and US and I think that many readers miss the point when they complain that the title is a misnomer because only a small part of the book describes Oscar's "life" and that while he may be a physically well-rounded person his character is flat and clichéd. The title surely is ironic. Oscar has really neither a life or a personality to speak of. He is just a peg on which to hang an analysis of Dominican society on the island and in New York, which the author perceives to be generally nasty. It is Dominican "culture" itself which is the "fukú" and bad things and bad people will inevitably surface because the whole fabric is built on rotten foundations of ignorance, greed and racism. You could almost say that the heart of the book is in its historic footnotes.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Interesting and unusual book though a knowledge of Spanish would help enormously. Also found all the fottnotes irritating as you get into the story. But a worthwhile read.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book was clearly well written, but I didn't find that I could relate to the characters or their world. It seemed to be written with a knowing readership in mind and maybe if I had grown up with an understanding of these immigrant communities, then it would have spoken to me. But it seemed at times to be such an alien world, that it lies unfinished on my 'wish I had read it' pile.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Disappointing
Usually one can be pretty sure that a book that won a Pulitzer prize is very good. Well, this for me is the exception to the rule. Read more
Published 3 months ago by anonymous
Great story, too long
I tried to like this book. Because I like the author. Junot is a masterful writer. But here he tells an interesting story that could have used some editing. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Shunzi
Won over by the Wao Factor!
I was infuriated by this book! Many a time I was on the verge of giving up on it, and would have if I hadn't actually paid good money for it, 12,000 WON in S. Korea! Read more
Published 5 months ago by J. M. Gardner
Rich detail - often shocking
Oscar's life chronicled from several perspectives, including his sister Lola and his room-mate, interspersed with the story of his mother's early life in the Dominican Republic and... Read more
Published 10 months ago by JoTownhead
Should it have nabbed the pulitzer?.... Course it should of!!
Upon reading 'Drown' I was blown away by Diaz's unsympathetic, journalistic outlook on the sorrows, hardships and the nitty-gritty reality of the immigrant struggle before and... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Chazabo
Great novel on the fulfillment of family patterns and the weight of...
This book took a while to engage me as a reader: the chief protagonist is an obese youth who cannot get laid and loses himself in modern American scifi-fantasy junk. Read more
Published 12 months ago by rob crawford
A look into one of the US's subcultures
This is one of the most entertaining books i have ever read. It was beautifully written in modern English, with spanish mixed in. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Savanna Puckett
Oscar WOW!
One of the most stunning books written in years.The quality of the writing is quite exceptional and fresh.No wonder it won the Pulitzer. Read more
Published 14 months ago by O'Cinneide
A Great One
There are already many terrific reviews of this book and perhaps little that I can add except to say that it is outstanding writing and a fantastic read. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Cynthia B. Burns
Definitely worth reading
Reading this book you get sucked into a family's world and history. I for one found it hard to tear myself away - you've got to love Oscar and his family and feel awfully sorry for... Read more
Published 21 months ago by J. L. Clifton
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