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Books : The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Click to Display
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781594483295
Edition: Reprint
ISBN: 1594483299
Label: Riverhead Trade
Manufacturer: Riverhead Trade
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: September 02, 2008
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Studio: Riverhead Trade
Related Items:
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
The most talked aboutand praisedfirst novel of 2007, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd whofrom the New Jersey home he shares with his old world mother and rebellious sister dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, finding love. But Oscar may never get what he wants. Blame the fukúa curse that has haunted Oscars family for generations, following them on their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA. Encapsulating Dominican-American history, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao<./I> opens our eyes to an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and explores the endless human capacity to persevereand risk it allin the name of love.
Amazon.com Review:
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2007: It's been 11 years since Junot Díaz's critically acclaimed story collection, Drown, landed on bookshelves and from page one of his debut novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, any worries of a sophomore jinx disappear. The titular Oscar is a 300-pound-plus "lovesick ghetto nerd" with zero game (except for Dungeons & Dragons) who cranks out pages of fantasy fiction with the hopes of becoming a Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien. The book is also the story of a multi-generational family curse that courses through the book, leaving troubles and tragedy in its wake. This was the most dynamic, entertaining, and achingly heartfelt novel I've read in a long time. My head is still buzzing with the memory of dozens of killer passages that I dog-eared throughout the book. The rope-a-dope narrative is funny, hip, tragic, soulful, and bursting with desire. Make some room for Oscar Wao on your bookshelf--you won't be disappointed. --Brad Thomas Parsons
Rating:
- New classic
I picked it up based on the hype and while my Spanish is weak I still could follow the flow. The audio version is great as you can hear the sound of the Spanglish.
BTW if you ever doubted that Spanglish is the next hot Vernacular of the street, this book will cure you of that doubt. If you have not been to the Mex border, Fla, or spent time in an NJ city this book will leave you confused by its mix of Spanish and English.
A bigger warning is if you have no background in ... Read More
Rating: - Not So Brief, But Just As Wondrous
Junot Diaz hammered the nail right on the Dominican head in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. A curse that was born out of love and fear, that follows a family for generations, and ends with tragedy kept me glued to this book (and away from my homework unfortunately). For those who don't like to read subtext (as there are a lot in this book) I'd recommend that you read through it anyways, as the author adds a lot to the background story. Overall, it was well worth the 3 days of reading.
Rating:
- Self-indulgent and throws away its inspirational power
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is an interesting window into the life of the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, its protagonists are anti-heroes who get carried from one tragedy to another without making the smart choices that would inspire us or make us identify with them. I don't mind a story that ends with a downward turn, if it reveals something about life (Angela's Ashes) or has a clever ending we don't see coming (The Sixth Sense). If the point of the story was to knock down people who ... Read More
Rating:
- One of the best bad novels or one of the worst good ones?
Part of the pain of this book is realizing that my life was so similar to Oscar's. Diaz is a brilliant writer, juggling historical nonsense, emotionally deformed characters and dense relationships. But at the same time the book has a super heavy feel. Like Oscar himself. And, like Oscar, there's a fundamental question -- sure, it's challenging to try to get at his core, but is it really worth the challenge?
Oscar is a heavyset loser who seems to be going balls out to try to be the ... Read More
Rating: - Joys, suffering, fears and passions
This is a terrific book. I'm not usually so colloquial in my reviews, but "terrific" suits the complete lack of pretense in this book. Oscar Wao is a wonderful portrait of Dominican life. Junot Dias's language is filled with love for life, in all its joys, suffering, fears and passion. His language is a rich landscape for the reader to traverse. His protagonists experience the world in vivid, at times unbearable technicolor. The story itself becomes almost background music for the vibrant people ... Read More
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
by: Junot Díaz
Our Price: 129,360.00
Prices excluding shipping charge.Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Save $10.00 when you spend $50.00 or more on Qualifying Items offered by Amazon.com. Enter code BMLSAVES at checkout. Click to Display
Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781594483295
Edition: Reprint
ISBN: 1594483299
Label: Riverhead Trade
Manufacturer: Riverhead Trade
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 352
Publication Date: September 02, 2008
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Studio: Riverhead Trade
Related Items:
- Drown
- Unaccustomed Earth
- Tree of Smoke: A Novel
- Out Stealing Horses: A Novel
- The Gathering (Man Booker Prize)
- see more
Editorial Review:
Product Description:
The most talked aboutand praisedfirst novel of 2007, and winner of the Pulitzer Prize.
Oscar is a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd whofrom the New Jersey home he shares with his old world mother and rebellious sister dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, finding love. But Oscar may never get what he wants. Blame the fukúa curse that has haunted Oscars family for generations, following them on their epic journey from Santo Domingo to the USA. Encapsulating Dominican-American history, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao<./I> opens our eyes to an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and explores the endless human capacity to persevereand risk it allin the name of love.
Amazon.com Review:
Amazon Best of the Month, September 2007: It's been 11 years since Junot Díaz's critically acclaimed story collection, Drown, landed on bookshelves and from page one of his debut novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, any worries of a sophomore jinx disappear. The titular Oscar is a 300-pound-plus "lovesick ghetto nerd" with zero game (except for Dungeons & Dragons) who cranks out pages of fantasy fiction with the hopes of becoming a Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien. The book is also the story of a multi-generational family curse that courses through the book, leaving troubles and tragedy in its wake. This was the most dynamic, entertaining, and achingly heartfelt novel I've read in a long time. My head is still buzzing with the memory of dozens of killer passages that I dog-eared throughout the book. The rope-a-dope narrative is funny, hip, tragic, soulful, and bursting with desire. Make some room for Oscar Wao on your bookshelf--you won't be disappointed. --Brad Thomas Parsons
Average Rating:
Rating:
- New classicI picked it up based on the hype and while my Spanish is weak I still could follow the flow. The audio version is great as you can hear the sound of the Spanglish.
BTW if you ever doubted that Spanglish is the next hot Vernacular of the street, this book will cure you of that doubt. If you have not been to the Mex border, Fla, or spent time in an NJ city this book will leave you confused by its mix of Spanish and English.
A bigger warning is if you have no background in ... Read More
Rating:
- Not So Brief, But Just As WondrousJunot Diaz hammered the nail right on the Dominican head in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. A curse that was born out of love and fear, that follows a family for generations, and ends with tragedy kept me glued to this book (and away from my homework unfortunately). For those who don't like to read subtext (as there are a lot in this book) I'd recommend that you read through it anyways, as the author adds a lot to the background story. Overall, it was well worth the 3 days of reading.
Rating:
- Self-indulgent and throws away its inspirational powerThe Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is an interesting window into the life of the Dominican Republic. Unfortunately, its protagonists are anti-heroes who get carried from one tragedy to another without making the smart choices that would inspire us or make us identify with them. I don't mind a story that ends with a downward turn, if it reveals something about life (Angela's Ashes) or has a clever ending we don't see coming (The Sixth Sense). If the point of the story was to knock down people who ... Read More
Rating:
- One of the best bad novels or one of the worst good ones?Part of the pain of this book is realizing that my life was so similar to Oscar's. Diaz is a brilliant writer, juggling historical nonsense, emotionally deformed characters and dense relationships. But at the same time the book has a super heavy feel. Like Oscar himself. And, like Oscar, there's a fundamental question -- sure, it's challenging to try to get at his core, but is it really worth the challenge?
Oscar is a heavyset loser who seems to be going balls out to try to be the ... Read More
Rating:
- Joys, suffering, fears and passionsThis is a terrific book. I'm not usually so colloquial in my reviews, but "terrific" suits the complete lack of pretense in this book. Oscar Wao is a wonderful portrait of Dominican life. Junot Dias's language is filled with love for life, in all its joys, suffering, fears and passion. His language is a rich landscape for the reader to traverse. His protagonists experience the world in vivid, at times unbearable technicolor. The story itself becomes almost background music for the vibrant people ... Read More
Arts & Photography • Biographies & Memoirs • Business & Investing • Children's Books • Comics & Graphic Novels • Computers & Internet • Cooking, Food & Wine • Entertainment • Gay & Lesbian • Health, Mind & Body • History • Home & Garden • Law • Literature & Fiction • Medicine • Mystery & Thrillers • Nonfiction • Outdoors & Nature • Parenting & Families • Professional & Technical • Reference • Religion & Spirituality • Romance • Science • Science Fiction & Fantasy • Sports • Teens • Travel •
