Junot Diaz: The Brief And Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

[Shmoove]

This book recently won the Pulitzer Prize and I can see why. The book takes turns with different characters narrating (sort of like The Corrections) which sometimes I do not like. This is not one of those times though because every character was very interesting. The main character (Oscar Wao) is nerdy, lonely, and somehow extremely likeable.

The last two Pulitzer Prize winners, The Road, and this book I have really enjoyed and probably would put both on my short list of all time favs. Junot Diaz is a very very good author and I would have to say he seemed very hip and spoke in a voice that 18 to 40 year olds would really enjoy. A very modern style of writing with lots of slang, and pop culture references.

There are some things I would like to discuss about this book so if anyone else reads it and responds I will be sure to ask some questions about it. All I can say is I loved this book and would recommend it to anyone. I give it 9.5 D&D maps out of 10.

 

[markjb20]

What Are Your Thoughts on Junot Diaz???

Junot Diaz won the Pulitzer a couple of years ago for 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao'? Do you think his book was deserving of the award? And what do you think of the book?

 

[Peder]

Junot Diaz is a very very good author and I would have to say he seemed very hip and spoke in a voice that 18 to 40 year olds would really enjoy.

Not us dinosaurs, éh? But then again:

A very modern style of writing with lots of slang, and pop culture references.

so maybe you are right.
I'll take your word for it, that I can skip it.

 

[markjb20]

'i'll take your word for it, that i can skip it.' LOL.

 

[Rocio44]

I must say this has got to be one of my favorite books. I myself, am Dominican and the book stays true to the culture 100% .

I found myself reading this book and laughing out loud in the train. If you are interested in learning more about the Dominican culture and people You MUST read this book.

 

[eldog]

I must say this has got to be one of my favorite books. I myself, am Dominican and the book stays true to the culture 100% .

I found myself reading this book and laughing out loud in the train. If you are interested in learning more about the Dominican culture and people You MUST read this book.

Has officially been upgraded to my TBR pile for February... hopefully!

 

[753C]

I'm reading this now, and thoroughly enjoying it so far. I wish I had read it when it came out instead of after reading and hearing all sorts of hype about it. It sort of added some lofty expectations, but so far, solely based on entertainment value, it is living up to the hype.
It's a well written story, and Oscar is painful to imagine in his ultra-nerdiness, but still he is lovable and familiar at the same time. The comic book/movie/sci-fi/fantasy/television/music references are fired fast and furious and without warning. and they are so dead on that I would honestly have trouble recommending the book to anyone outside the age brackets of 25-45 for fear that they would miss the humor.
Also a wealth of knowledge about the Dominican Republic and Dominican culture in general.
Looking forward to the rest of it and curious if anyone else read the book and their thoughts on it?

 

[Peder]

. . . I would honestly have trouble recommending the book to anyone outside the age brackets of 25-45 for fear that they would miss the humor.

Hmp. That seems to be a persistent observation in this thread. I'm beginning to wonder whether it is really about the book, or about the peception of us dinosaurs.

Although, I do have to say I skimmed through the book, and it didn't hold my interest (or "grab me," depending).

Cheers, anyway!
And thanks,

 

[753C]

Sorry Peder! You might like it, some of the references are pretty universal, at least to people who read. I know for one, I would probably be getting a lot more out of the story if I could understand Spanish. It seems like about 1/4 of the book is in Spanish.

 

[SFG75]

Not a dinosaur, more of a pleistocene mammal if I were to classify myself. I have to say that this book was...well.....wonderful. I don't believe its greatness is truly appreciated, time will add to it surely. Having written a lot of papers about Trujillo in my pleistocene days, I have to agree that it is good writing about the DR and the politics associated with it.

 

[Peder]

Still haven't read Oscar Wao, but I see that it continues popular here. So, rather than just repeat what I've already said, maybe I'll just add that I grew up in the midst of the culture, although not of it (as with so many cultures in New York City), so it didn't seem to present anything out of the ordinary for me. Or maybe I am just a dinosaur, after all.

 

[753C]

Diaz was one of my great finds of 2012. I read Oscar and then read everything else he had written. I am a pretty big fan at this point and will be happy to see anything new from him.

 

[Peder]

Diaz was one of my great finds of 2012. I read Oscar and then read everything else he had written. I am a pretty big fan at this point and will be happy to see anything new from him.

I have authors like that, just not Diaz, yet. Which is not to say that Diaz is not as great as you say. He just hasn't grabbed me (yet). It's wonderful to have a favorite author who keeps on giving.

 

[Dan Brown]

I haven't read it, just couldn't help note the similarity between the title and Hemingway's short story: The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber

 

[753C]

I never read that story so I don't know if there are similarities, but the names seem way too similar to be coincidence, don't they?

 

[Ian C Cat]

Interesting that you're mentioning that Oscar is kind of age-specific. I've got to say that I loved it for that reason, that it was written for a kind of Gen X/Millenial Geeky generation who were just crawling out of their twenties. I found that refreshing. It begs the question whether books are better if they are specific to their times and age-bracket (look at Dickens and Hugo) or have a certain timelessness (dare I say it, Hemmingway)?

Ian @ Collectiblecat.com

 

[753C]

I think the answer to that depends on who does the reading. Some people just love specific historical periods and places. Feeling connected to the subject matter in Oscar made me enjoy it much more.