jvictorious's review against another edition
1.0
Wouldn't recommend this book to anyone. I have no idea why it won so many awards. Not enjoyable.
kimjamlee's review against another edition
2.0
Ahh, well. I had high hopes for this one. I liked the beginning and the end of the story. The middle? I'm not so sure (but it was interesting, mind you).
As mentioned by several reviewers who gave this book a one star rating, the initial problem with this book is the misleading title. Don't you just hate it when you're so excited because this book with an interesting title and a promising premise just misleads you? This book mentioned Oscar during the beginning and the end of the story. The middle recounted his family's history (his sister, his mother, and his grandfather), the shit that they lived through under the DR's nefarious dictator, Rafael Trujillo. To be honest, I'm not familiar with the DR's history under Trujillo's regime but this book gave me a glimpse of the horrors and injustices of that time. Which was fascinating and a little world history doesn't hurt.
But again, I didn't buy this book for that. I bought it because of Oscar Wao. But I never really got to know him. If you combined the beginning and the end, I think I would have liked it better. The middle part felt like it was written to lengthen the narrative.
The mix of Spanish in the narrative bothered a lot of readers because they couldn't understand it; this didn't bother me at all since I understand a bit of it anyway (hooray for the Spanish-based Creole language that is Chavacano).
Would I recommend this book? Sure. Go ahead. Read it. Just go read.
As mentioned by several reviewers who gave this book a one star rating, the initial problem with this book is the misleading title. Don't you just hate it when you're so excited because this book with an interesting title and a promising premise just misleads you? This book mentioned Oscar during the beginning and the end of the story. The middle recounted his family's history (his sister, his mother, and his grandfather), the shit that they lived through under the DR's nefarious dictator, Rafael Trujillo. To be honest, I'm not familiar with the DR's history under Trujillo's regime but this book gave me a glimpse of the horrors and injustices of that time. Which was fascinating and a little world history doesn't hurt.
But again, I didn't buy this book for that. I bought it because of Oscar Wao. But I never really got to know him. If you combined the beginning and the end, I think I would have liked it better. The middle part felt like it was written to lengthen the narrative.
The mix of Spanish in the narrative bothered a lot of readers because they couldn't understand it; this didn't bother me at all since I understand a bit of it anyway (hooray for the Spanish-based Creole language that is Chavacano).
Would I recommend this book? Sure. Go ahead. Read it. Just go read.
pablo_drake's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is, at first sight, the story of a family, or rather the story of its curse, narrated by different characters, and going back a few generations. But, in tracing the evolution of this family, Junot Díaz reinterprets the history of Rafael Trujillo, the aftermath of his dictatorship in the Dominican Republic, and the Dominican exile communities in the US. Díaz is able to marvelously portrait the memory of and superstition about the dictatorship, and the way in which history and tale blend in creating both a compelling narrative and a new social pact in the DR. A better understanding of the text results from considering the comparison between The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and La Fiesta del Chivo, by Mario Vargas Llosa (in fact, a reference to La Fiesta del Chivo appears in Díaz’s text). While Vargas Llosa attempts to portrait the dictatorship exclusively through the figure of Trujillo and his direct subordinates, Díaz looks at its impact on a family, extensible to the rest of society. Vargas Llosa depicts violence as cruel, and unjustifiable, but he is unable to show the historical reach and consequences of this violence (which is also circumscribed erroneously to the figure of Trujillo). Díaz on the other hand, playing at times with the absences and silences of memory, paints a way more vivid image of violence in the DR, especially under Trujillo, but also up to present times. For this reason, it is worth valuing The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao for its excellent historical value.
But Díaz’s greatest success is not necessarily the plot of the book, this family’s history. Instead, in my opinion, Díaz excels in his subtle control of the narrative voice. On top of giving extensive voice throughout the narration to the different characters, Díaz presents a narrator that constantly reinterprets the plot through its fantastic elements. Reading The Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao feels like a fusion between García Márquez’s magical realism and 20th century sci-fi novels or comic books. The narrator appropriates Oscar’s (the character) love of sci-fi to retell his story in his own terms, adding a layer of irony that is present throughout the whole story. On top of that, a wonderful use of language (worth mentioning his inclusion of Dominican expressions in Spanish) makes this a pleasurable reading.
rahrahsayah's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
cdhotwing's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
agustinap's review against another edition
3.0
I read 'this is how you lose her' by Diaz and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately, I cannot say the same about this book. I like his writing style and the story-line was interesting but at times I was confused who was narrating and he kind of tells you how it's going to end early on so I was not so hooked to finish and find out the end.
amlagunas's review against another edition
4.0
Some of the narration was a little confusing (who was narrating what parts etc), but an interesting story. I thought the history interjected added good background too
anneb42's review against another edition
2.0
Read this as audio and I think I lost out on experiencing the writing a bit because of that. But I really didn’t like it. Hated how this book treated women, and Oscar wasn’t a character I rooted for at all.
I guess for the most part it did take place in the 90s, when women weren’t people yet.
I guess for the most part it did take place in the 90s, when women weren’t people yet.
tgbuck's review against another edition
5.0
Nothing if not who he is, never one thing and always a few things at once, with a way of tumbling through two languages as if they're one river. A reminder to own our experiences without demanding of ourselves that we attempt to represent others who might share them.
channelmanny's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0