'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao' by Junot Diaz

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is Junot Diaz's first novel. Oscar and his family, who emigrated to the US from the Dominican Republic before he was born, suffer an unbreakable string of bad luck that is said to have started when his grandfather offended the psychotic DR dictator. Oscar Wao won the Pulitzer and other awards, and has the distinction of being one of the best books of 2007 according to at least 20 publications and organizations; however, I didn't think it quite lived up to the hype.

Though Oscar Wao was born in New Jersey, his family has a horrific history in the Dominican Republic. Oscar is an obese, sci-fi nerd -- a rare combo for a Dominican. He badly wants someone to love, but between his weight and his "nerdliness," he can't get a girl to look even askance at him. Eventually Oscar will realize that his family suffers from a fuku -- a curse. The novel travels back in time to tell the story of Oscar's mother and her family, and their unfortunate demise under brutal Rafael Trujillo, the dictator in the Dominican Republic from 1930 to 1961.

The teller of this story is Yunior, briefly a friend of Oscar, who is sharp and witty though often crude. The narrative is laden with Spanish, which is natural given the narrator, but it can be frustrating to the non-Spanish speaking reader. As historical fiction, Oscar Wao educates while it entertains, though it can be hard to follow. The storyteller switches from Yunior to Oscar's sister a couple times, and the reader doesn't even know Yunior is the narrator until close to the book's end.

Brimming with references to The Lord of the Rings and plenty of other science fiction, fantasy, and comic book works, Oscar Wao is a book for readers -- for that's what Oscar is -- and it is enjoyable in that respect. Since the story is of a curse, there's not much hope throughout, and the reader isn't left with much at the end either. While it might be worth a read to determine for yourself what all the fuss is about, don't expect a cheerful telling or a happy ending.