marksanders's review against another edition
5.0
i am a sucker of for masters of dialect, twain, eggers, chabon et al. and junot diaz's colloquialisms and quips soar in this family's epic tale. encompassing 4 generations, i really enjoyed learning more about dominican history and the myth that leads to sweet tragedy in the end.
atlasofclouds's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-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
4.25
yusrara's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
5.0
salshrem_nardea's review against another edition
3.0
I have to start out saying that I had to read this book for school, which always makes a difference with the approach to the book.
Now that that's out of the way, the actual book was OK, not great, not bad, just OK.
It was confusing at times and there are a lot of characters to follow. The way it is written is very odd but arguably adds a different dimension to the book. I enjoyed Junot Diaz's writing style as it made the book less boring. But after all was said and done, it was nothing great.
Also, I don't particularly like the footnotes and explanations of Dominican Republic's history. I wish he just smoothly added it into the story.
Now that that's out of the way, the actual book was OK, not great, not bad, just OK.
It was confusing at times and there are a lot of characters to follow. The way it is written is very odd but arguably adds a different dimension to the book. I enjoyed Junot Diaz's writing style as it made the book less boring. But after all was said and done, it was nothing great.
Also, I don't particularly like the footnotes and explanations of Dominican Republic's history. I wish he just smoothly added it into the story.
blueberryshake's review against another edition
2.0
I would enjoy this book is a lot more if I spoke a word of Spanish or was a LoTR fan, the book is filled with references to the Lotr series that I did not connect with. The characters were memorable and inspiring (especially Oscar's female family members whose stories were interconnected and they were all followed by the "Fuku"curse). The book is filled with political references which turned out to be particularly interesting, also made me realise how little I know about Dominican history. I recommend not reading it all in one go, like I did... the non linear timeline and trying to translate the spanish-english hybrid words gave me a headache.
goodmorningcaptain's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
moonsxx20's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
medium-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
4.0
w0rmonastring's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
topbob's review against another edition
4.0
Great stuff, I think the most compelling aspect (and the most limiting part) was that it read like a short story collection with a similar cast of characters. Nonetheless, the book is remarkably solid throughout. Characters are endearing, story is captivating, interesting themes, and the book has some sharp humor to it. Yet, I feel like no aspect stood out in order to bring the novel to masterpiece status.