Book Review: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

I don't know why I do this to myself. I don't really have the time to be reading novels. School already has me bogged down with more reading than I can handle. Yet, I always desire to force down a novel in my(non-existent)spare time. Just like a new years resolution, I vowed not to touch a book and focus solely on my school work. I would get ahead. I would be the student that every teacher dreams of. My professor would invite me to a special "excellent students club" in which only the elite in education are invited. However, as soon as I made that vow, a man at my coffee shop threw a book my way. It was, and still is, Junot Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

When I first picked up this book one night, I was incredibly disappointed. In the same vein as Cormac Mccarthy and a slew of other authors, Diaz forgos being formal in his writing. Every line feels like you are merely reading a transcript of a conversation one would hear on the street. A conversation riddled with big words. While this approach allows the reader to really immerse his or herself in the story, it can also pull the reader out of the story when it feels too contrived. Many times I felt like Diaz was trying too hard to make it feel authentic. His colloquial style made me step back a couple of times and think to myself, "there is no way anybody would say that."

Faults aside, Diaz creates a very interesting story. Revolving primarily around a multi-generational family curse known as Fuku, Diaz tells the story from the perspective of different family members and how this so called curse has changed their lives. One of Diaz's strong suits is how he is able to weave a compelling story together with the real life events that took place during the vicious reign of Dominican dictator Rafael Leónidas Trujillo Molina. From the lovable Oscar who hopes to one day become the Dominican J.R Tolkien, to the distant relatives who brought the Fuku upon the famiy, Diaz braids together history and fiction in a way that is both enthralling and informative.

On an interesting note, I have not seen footnotes in a novel until I picked up this book. The footnotes supplement the references made about those characters and events that took place during the Trujillo's reign. While sometimes daunting, these do enhance the experience and give the reader a better picture of the Dominican Republic during this time. Also, it would help if the reader should have a minor grasp of rudimentary Spanish since the author frequently uses it without translation.

Overall, while the book is not without its shortcomings. It is a very enjoyable read and an experience I am sure most readers have not had with a novel in a long time.

I give this book 3 out of 4 dead horses.