I confess, I was slightly skeptical of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao before I read it. I heard Junot Diaz read at Central Park Summerstage, and he was so clever and so funny that I thought he must be a better showman than a writer.
I was so wrong.
There wasn't a thing I didn't like. The characters are beautifully and intricately drawn, and Diaz creates innovative new vocabularies for each of them. The novel moves quickly through a wide variety of settings and manages to incorporate a detailed history lesson about the Dominican Republic without feeling preachy. My only complaint is that, as a non-Spanish speaker, I could have used a glossary for some of the slang. But that's a really minor complaint. Run, don't walk.
[this is good] I loved it too! I'm glad you liked it.
Posted by: eliz. s. | 05/14/2009 at 11:19 AM
I am just finishing this and wondered if you'd read it!
Posted by: Jillian | 07/22/2009 at 01:39 PM