This is one of those books I've seen everywhere lately - prominent in bookstore displays, good NY Times review, and very long queue at the library. So, when it finally arrived my expectations were high. This is the epic story of Oscar Wao, an insufferable Dominican-American nerd growing up in New Jersey who can't get a date to save his life, but wants nothing more than a girlfriend. Except perhaps another comic book or sci-fi thriller. After introducing us to Oscar, Diaz takes us back to the DR and the lives of Oscar's sister and mother. The book is rich in DR history and quite epic in developing Oscar's familial past. But, after about 100 pages, I just couldn't take the writing style anymore. It reminded me of Jonathan Safran Foer and Gary Shteyngart - you can tell the writing is "good" and "interesting," but at the same time it just grates on your nerves. Well, at least mine. I found the character of Oscar flip, and his obsession with sex got really old, really fast. I also felt about this book like I did about Zadie Smith's White Teeth - a book that tries to take on important issues (like race, class, immigration, identity and "otherness"), but doesn't quite come together in a satisfying way. Saturday, February 2, 2008
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Junot Diaz
This is one of those books I've seen everywhere lately - prominent in bookstore displays, good NY Times review, and very long queue at the library. So, when it finally arrived my expectations were high. This is the epic story of Oscar Wao, an insufferable Dominican-American nerd growing up in New Jersey who can't get a date to save his life, but wants nothing more than a girlfriend. Except perhaps another comic book or sci-fi thriller. After introducing us to Oscar, Diaz takes us back to the DR and the lives of Oscar's sister and mother. The book is rich in DR history and quite epic in developing Oscar's familial past. But, after about 100 pages, I just couldn't take the writing style anymore. It reminded me of Jonathan Safran Foer and Gary Shteyngart - you can tell the writing is "good" and "interesting," but at the same time it just grates on your nerves. Well, at least mine. I found the character of Oscar flip, and his obsession with sex got really old, really fast. I also felt about this book like I did about Zadie Smith's White Teeth - a book that tries to take on important issues (like race, class, immigration, identity and "otherness"), but doesn't quite come together in a satisfying way. 
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