The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Junot Diaz with his novel

By Junot Diaz, New York, Riverhead Books, 2007

Oscar is fat, smart, loves science fiction, and is part of a truly crazy Dominican family.  There's a lot to love in Diaz's storytelling.  He writes in a literate and funny version of Spanglish.  I often don't understand the Spanish words he using in the novel.  That's OK with me.  I grew up in LA where I didn't understand 95% of the Spanish spoken around me.  There are footnotes about DR history and political culture that are quite interesting.  There's pain and suffering in the story, but its off-set by elements of magical realism and a warm, wry narrative voice.