The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

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Average customer rating 4.6 (34 comments)

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I liked this book more than I expected to, and I'm likely to read more Junot Diaz in the future. Even though I missed a good chunk of the novel due to my complete lack of Spanish, and even though it's full of footnotes (which I generally dislike in my fiction), I found this book compelling. And, I found it compelling even though this is not a happy novel. But it feels real. Most characters are so distinct and filled out, complex with desires and goals that aren't always the most honorable. There is no magical redemption, no saving grace... just life, in a harsh and yet somehow beautiful way. This book has violence, both physical and emotional. It has love, in its most twisted manifestations. It has degradation, and ostracization. It has hope and resignation, sometimes in the same thought. Yes, I liked this one.

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I loved this book because it was a surprise in every way. I've never read a book with a main character like Oscar before but he's so real that he feels like he could be the boy down the street. How is your Dominican history? Don't worry, I didn't know the first thing about the DR either. This book will rectify that wrong. How is your Spanish? I don't speak any but I love how the story was peppered with spanish words I could understand by context. This novel takes you on a cultural road trip. My next read will be Mr. Diaz's first novel.

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Powerful!!!

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Couldn't put it down.

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Best book I've read in years! The story was superbly told and the unique writing style kept it interesting and fresh. Loved it so much!

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A delicious book--loved the read out loud language and the laugh out loud story.

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Utterly transporting. Should be read in tandem with Moby-Dick. Seriously. Diaz's range of allusions & references is dazzling and yet the book is never "lofty" - - instead the story is consistently grounded and beautifully humane.

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An excellent novel. Engaging and sympathetic characters keep you involved, and dynamic perspective changes keep it interesting. Forces the reader into the perspective of Latino immigrants and their children, and the way their beliefs and culture are effected by the shifting sands of modernity and popular culture.

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This is the novel my wife and I most shared with others in the past couple of years. We loved the writing and characters.

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One of the best books I have read. Junot Diaz is an amazing writter.

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I loved this book! It made me laugh, cry, and learn new things. Oscar, the main character, was memorable and lovable in all his pain and longing for a better life. Beautifully structured and written with warmth and wit--the novel instructs us on the Dominican Republic, as well as keeping us turning the pages to see Oscar's ultimate destiny.

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I enjoyed reading this book because I can relate to all the characters in the story. I know what it's like to be from a Dominican family and move to the United States. I also know what it's like to be the nerdy Dominican kid in school. As I read this book, I felt as if I somehow was reliving my childhood but from another point of view. I definitely recommend this book.

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For reasons very obvious to those who read this, never has a book stayed in my head quite as much as Junot Diaz's "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao". The blend of fantasy, culture, love-ache, and curses, left an indelible mark on me and made me reconsider what constitutes a great novel.

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Fantastic and wondrous.

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Simply, the very best book I've read.

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Diaz's amazing tome is the perfect amalgam of history lesson, character study, pop culture encyclopedia and geek chic. This is undoubtedly the best book I've read in years. I read about 150 books per year, so that's really saying something.

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This was by far one of the best reads of the aughts. I hope it wins the Puddly!

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A great, exciting and engaging book.Even a relative oldie like me who didn't get all of the cultural references couldn't help but be swept up in this great tsunami of storytelling. My joint favourite book of the decade along with That They May Face The Rising Sun by John McGahern (a completely different kind of book).

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Definitely the best book I've read in many years.

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Amazing book that spans several generations of a Dominican family and the mysterious curse that weaves its way through each family member's life.

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I read this book for a class, which caused me to delve into it more than I normally would. It was great. The farther in we went the more I was blown away by what an incredible creation this novel is. It's kind of an inexhaustible source of ideas, there's so many things to look into and think about that it raises both explicitly and by its own functioning. It's definitely one of the best books I've ever read. It's funny too.

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Okay. I don't much believe in stars, ratings or best of the decade contests. My favorite book is usually the last one I read. This book stands out. It tries to capture the diaspora which is America. It fails in many places, but it mostly succeeds. I love it for its successes.

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Some of the most amazing dialog I have ever read. Diaz's ability to create unique characters is the best I have come across in a long time.

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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao completely bowled me over, and is my favorite read of the decade. Funny & heartbreaking, beautiful and vulgar...densely woven narrative voices tell the story of a multi-generational family living in two worlds: the Dominican Republic under Trujillo, and the East Coast Dominican Diaspora (NY/NJ/+) -- a mother, a sister, and a great geek of a boy named Oscar...I loved and feared for them all. Junot Diaz works magic with language. At times, I had to stop and read passages out loud so I could hear them. There has only been one book that I've had to re-read every ten years or so -- One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez -- but I believe this novel may have joined the rotation.

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This was an unexpected find for me and was definitely one of the best books I read in the last decade. Wow, that sounds so significant.

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junot diaz is brilliant. His ability to swing you through the emotions of life with Oscar was terrific. He delivered with great form and restraint...i so wish the he would come out with another book soon.

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After reading all of the praise for this book, I felt ashamed I couldn't finish it. For someone with only high-school level Spanish, I couldn't get past all of the untranslated Spanish woven into the story. It was tough to stay interested when I wasn't sure exactly what was going on or what was being talked about. For someone fluent in both English and Spanish, probably a great book.

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I can understand why Diaz won the Pulitzer Prize. He's created a novel that encompasses the Dominican Republic's brutal history, complete with footnotes, while simultaneously presenting us with the engaging personal story of the fictional Oscar Wao and his family. And what a story it is! The characters are richly drawn and we feel for Oscar, the overweight dorky outsider; his sister Lola, who calls him Mister and fiercely loves him; we even come to understand their mother Beli who raised them with a strict hand, while suffering from a tragic past. Diaz presents us with the rich back-stories of these characters, enabling us to envision the family's history. By giving us Oscar's family's history Diaz also gives us the D.R.'s history. The novel, although breath-taking in its storytelling, can be confusing for the non-Spanish speaking reader as there are many Spanish words and phrases throughout. Wikipedia proved useful for me. It's a very dense novel, definitely not for the lazy reader; but it's highly rewarding.

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A "wondrous" illuminating family saga with believable characters that I could see in my mind. However, the reading experience was marred by an abundance of untranslated Spanish--to a non-Spanish speaker, the meaning was often unintelligible.

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A winner all the way around!

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I purchased the book on a whim. I wasn't sure I'd enjoy it, colonialist that I am, but was very pleasantly surprised. I especially enjoyed the parts of the novel that focused on Oscar. I did not find the footnotes distracting or annoying as I anticipated. And when the novel jumped to a storyline with a new character, while I was initially frustrated, I was sucked in very quickly. It felt a little bit like he jumped the shark at the end but overall I enjoyed the book and would recommend it. I'm still not sure why it won the Pulitzer but what do I know, I'm just some dummy that reads books.

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parts are good many parts dreary repetitive about a fat guy noone is interested in..plus this book is not a novel ..it is short boring stories great title spell losing

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I had heard of Junot Diaz, but didn't know his work. He came to my area to do a reading, and I fell in love with his words and his personality. I ran into The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and had to get it, even though I still have yet to get Drown. All I can say is that Oscar Wao made me fall even more deeply in love with Junot Diaz and his work. This book is such a good example of the crossroads where extensive research, personal experience, beautiful prose, humor and an empathetic portrayal of disappointment all meet. The book feels so human, and it's consequently lovely to read.

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This novel was A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. The language is creative and visionary. The story is identifiable for every type of reader. This is a must read for any lover of literature. The only thing I can say that was a downer was my own lack of knowledge of the Spanish language. However, I give major props to Diaz, who made the general idea clear even if I didn't always understand the words written. This is a novel to be enjoyed countless times.