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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

By: Junot Diaz
Narrated by: Karen Olivo, Various, Lin-Manuel Miranda
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Summary

 Things have never been easy for Oscar. A ghetto nerd living with his Dominican family in New Jersey, he's sweet but disastrously overweight. He dreams of becoming the next J R R Tolkien and he keeps falling hopelessly in love. Poor Oscar may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fuku - the curse that has haunted his family for generations.

With dazzling energy and insight Diaz immerses us in the tumultuous lives of Oscar; his runaway sister Lola; their beautiful mother Belicia; and in the family's uproarious journey from the Dominican Republic to the US and back.

Rendered with uncommon warmth and humour, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a literary triumph that confirms Junot Diaz as one of the most exciting writers of our time.

©2007 Junot Diaz (P)2008 Recorded Books LLC Contemporary Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Funny Heartfelt Witty Tear-jerking Thought-Provoking
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I love the story and I love the performance. Is this the first time a Pulitzer winner is narrated by a different Pulitzer winner?
Ipf I have a criticism, in the US most people may have rudimentary school Spanish. Other English language countries, not so. Translations alongside the frequent Spanish would have been helpful.

just great and brilliantly told

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Like the review says there's warmth and humour aplenty in this book, but more overwhelmingly there is a lot of pain and tragedy. At points it is a very tough listen. You will learn a lot about the Dominican Republic and it's dark past under a vicious dictator, and probably goes a long way to explain why people leave beautiful countries for a far from easy life in '1st World' countries. Narration is brilliant, although the liberal use of spanish phrases could've done with a translation as I felt I was missing something poignant at times - who knows though, i don't speak Spanish!
Story is told through the eyes of a number of characters, and Diaz seems to have so much to say it never gets boring. A vibrant, colourful, truthful and painful story well worth the download.

wonderful and very painful

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This is a wonderful book, tribute to the Latin American imagination, culture and history. A fantastic story about families built upon diaspora and generational impacts of tirany. Full of references to contemporary topics, but also ageless one. If you are interested on insights into Latin American life and ways of thinking this a great book for you!

book, tribute to the Latin American imagination, culture and history.

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Junot Diaz is well known and this novel was much anticipated through his short-story work on The New Yorker and on that basis, I dived into this full length novel with relish. It represents a fresh voice which stands apart, above and beyond lots of new millennium city-lit in the States and is an invigorating read, though not necessarily from start to finish.
There are definite high-points through the narrative - in particular long sections of The Three Heartbreaks of Belicia Cabral and Poor Abelard are really engaging and fascinating for someone who knew nothing of the brutal regime of Rafael Trujillo its history and impact on the Dominican Republic - and these sections alone are worth the money. Elsewhere, the ?modern? GhettoNerd at the End of the World , whilst well ornamented, does not seem to sparkle to the same extent that is suggested by the wonderful ?Alma? on which the earlier expressed anticipation was based. Junot Diaz has certainly found the voice of Silk City, but the short-comings of Oscar as a central character on which to hang the narrative translates to a little disappointment on my part - whilst I?m really not interested in Star Trek and Marvel the litter of detailed Dominica detritus sustains the work through the less than dazzling sections. Maybe more (or is that less) simpatico on the part of hombre Wao might have livened this one up to consistent heights - but that?s just small potato criticism of a highly original and entertaining new voice on the New York scene.

The Bard of Silk City

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I need to be honest; I had to "read" this for a university course, and I would have never been able do it had I not been pressured to do so. I did not enjoy the story, although I found the changing perspective to give the book more dimensions, which enhanced the experience somewhat. The narrators are doing an incredible job, so kudos to them.

Excellent narrators, disappointing story

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