amariehoyos's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Violence, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Colonisation, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
lennatheunicorncat's review
dark
slow-paced
1.0
And now I can yeet this book out of my life and preferably into the trash where it belongs *yeets*
I guess I should write a comprehensive review as to why I did not like this book, and boy is there a lot! First of all, we're introduced to Oscar, who is so obsessed with love and wanting to get laid as he grows up. We follow him through his childhood, teens, and young adulthood in brief snippets. And every single time the reader is with him, Oscar is whining about how none of the girls want to date him because of xyz and how he will die a virgin. He does not stop complaining at all, even to the point of obsessing about other girls or women to stalker levels. The remarks in regards to domestic violence and the abuse some of these young girls go through sickened me. Oscar's remarks towards 11 year old Maritza and her dating men 2x to 3x her age and getting beaten and abused by them was "I guess she just likes men who do that since those are all the guys she seems to date." I started out annotating my book but stopped around 30 pages in when all my annotations became "WTF?!" Oscar's obsession continues on, but the moments of relief from his obnoxious views on the world were then replaced with different family members and their unrelenting trauma. From his sister's trauma, to his mom's, to his grandfather's, never ending trauma was brought up that made me sick to my stomach, especially a particularly gruesome scene that seriously needed a trigger warning for the beating and gang rape of a pregnant teen who was left for dead in the fields (she survives thankfully, but at a price). This book just made me depressed, apathetic, and sick to my stomach. I get that the author wanted to show the horrors that the people of the Dominican Republic faced with Trujillo as the dictator, but as someone who has already dealt with enough trauma of my own with domestic violence, sexual assault, and all forms of abuse, this was triggering and kept pushing me into a darker mindset. I finally had to skim read when I reached the 50% mark and the book was STILL GOING ON but back in Oscar and Yunior's heads. Their toxic masculinity is what did me in. I finished it, but at the price of my sanity this week. I will be tossing this book out of my collection and I don't think I'll pick up another one of this author's works since some of the other books he's written deal with a few of these same characters I hate.
I guess I should write a comprehensive review as to why I did not like this book, and boy is there a lot! First of all, we're introduced to Oscar, who is so obsessed with love and wanting to get laid as he grows up. We follow him through his childhood, teens, and young adulthood in brief snippets. And every single time the reader is with him, Oscar is whining about how none of the girls want to date him because of xyz and how he will die a virgin. He does not stop complaining at all, even to the point of obsessing about other girls or women to stalker levels. The remarks in regards to domestic violence and the abuse some of these young girls go through sickened me. Oscar's remarks towards 11 year old Maritza and her dating men 2x to 3x her age and getting beaten and abused by them was "I guess she just likes men who do that since those are all the guys she seems to date." I started out annotating my book but stopped around 30 pages in when all my annotations became "WTF?!" Oscar's obsession continues on, but the moments of relief from his obnoxious views on the world were then replaced with different family members and their unrelenting trauma. From his sister's trauma, to his mom's, to his grandfather's, never ending trauma was brought up that made me sick to my stomach, especially a particularly gruesome scene that seriously needed a trigger warning for the beating and gang rape of a pregnant teen who was left for dead in the fields (she survives thankfully, but at a price). This book just made me depressed, apathetic, and sick to my stomach. I get that the author wanted to show the horrors that the people of the Dominican Republic faced with Trujillo as the dictator, but as someone who has already dealt with enough trauma of my own with domestic violence, sexual assault, and all forms of abuse, this was triggering and kept pushing me into a darker mindset. I finally had to skim read when I reached the 50% mark and the book was STILL GOING ON but back in Oscar and Yunior's heads. Their toxic masculinity is what did me in. I finished it, but at the price of my sanity this week. I will be tossing this book out of my collection and I don't think I'll pick up another one of this author's works since some of the other books he's written deal with a few of these same characters I hate.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Toxic relationship, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Violence, Terminal illness, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Racism, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Cancer, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Torture
jessgreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Rating: ⭐⭐✨⬜⬜⬜
Title: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Author: Junot Diaz
Genre: Fiction
Setting: New Jersey, USA & The Dominican Republic
Month Read: March 2022
Book Type: Paperback
Publication: 2008
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Pages: 340
*PBS Great American Read Book
TRIGGER WARNING-
Murder / Forced Abortion / Abuse / Graphic Violence / Sex / Alcohol / Suicide Attempt / Language / Racism / Classism / (there are more, these are the big ones I remember)
"...and when he thought about the way she laughed, as though she owned the air around her, his heart thundered inside his chest, a lonely rada."
No Spoiler Summary:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is about Oscar, a Dominican-American nerd who lives in New Jersey. He's overweight, loves J.R.R. Tolkein, is bad with the ladies, and watches tons of anime and manga. He wants to find love more than anything else, but because he believes his family is cursed, he is unlucky. You follow Oscar's family through a few generations as you follow the curse through their familial line as you travel from Santo Domingo to Jersey.
Review:
I'm not sure what I was expecting in this book, but whatever it was was not what I thought it would be. I think the writing was really beautiful in spaces, and the story, while sort of confusing to me, was really interesting. I didn't love this book, but I think, like with Harlem Shuffle this book was certainly not written for me in mind. I did google a LOT of Spanish during this book, so that was cool. I did love how Junot Diaz didn't simplify the Spanish very often, you almost never got an explanation as to what the Spanish meant, and I really enjoyed that because it forced me to do the work to figure it out.
I think I would have liked this book if I didn't recently read The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, as well. The books were pretty similar in theme (a generational family epic following many, many generations of people), and personally I think Love Songs did it a lot better? Or maybe it was just more engaging. I definitely recommend giving this a shot and seeing if you like it. Let me know if you've read this and what you think! I'm open to discussing this!
"She was the kind of girlfriend God gives you young, so you'll know loss the rest of your life."
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Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Abortion, Genocide, Blood, Child death, Cursing, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and War
Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Excrement, Confinement, Drug use, Abandonment, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Classism, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Gore, and Gun violence
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