The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (2007)

Ugh. So the whole thing was about a guy wanting to get laid and being willing to die for it? I liked the idea of the fuku but I felt like that wasn't the focus. Also, all of the talks about anatomical parts and Dominican men trying to get what they want didn't sit super well with the accusations against the author. I tried to separate the art from the artist, but with subject matter like this, it was very difficult. I'm not sure what the hype was about surrounding this book. ( )

Engaging and well-written. I learned a lot about the DR, tho plenty of the spanglish didn't have enough context to understand. ( )

I loved:

The nerd culture. Of course. All the LotR references pulling right back into the Dominican Republic horrorshow. The space opera, the Role-Playing fun, the excellent Homage to Akira. With one exception: DUDE, DON'T DISS DUNE.

I loved just how amazing the characters are. Not just Oscar, but all the PoVs, the clever national history lesson, the epic family history, and not just New Jersey, but DR with Trujillo as Sauron. :) Totally brilliant.

I didn't love the tragedy.

Come on. I knew it was a tragedy before I started this. It's in the title. But like all tragedies, we have to hold onto just ONE THING. One thing to keep us going.

In this case, it's fat and obsessive Oscar finally living up the Dominican Republican tradition of: "Dude must get laid." You know, one time before he dies.

Just... damn.

Still, the rest of the novel is pretty awesome from start to finish as long as I'm just there to enjoy the hell out of the nerdy ride. And I did. :) ( )

I would recommend this enthusiastically to someone else.
( )

Spoilerz. Really liked the first half; thought it lost a bit of its shine once Oscar gets to the DR. His emotional (and sexual) climax didn't fully hit home with me. After the incredible build of the first 300 pages, I was ready to die for Oscar, but those last 30 pages seemed rushed and I ended up not really fully sympathizing with him in the most heavy and brutal scenes.

But, I absolutely loved the voice of Yunior, the narrator. I don't think i've ever read a voice that seems to flow so easily and doesn't make "slang" or young-person talk or whatever sound totally forced and stupid. Having absolutely zero spanish, i feel like a lot was lost on me, but at least I know a few new words now. ( )