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  • Intense Character Study

  • Great story of a born loser who becomes quite the sympathetic underdog. Lots of interesting parallels to popular science fiction. Some of the Spanish was tricky but not confusing. (My high school Spanish for the most part is evasive.) Interesting Dominican historial bits. Great read.

    "The ... Continue

    Great story of a born loser who becomes quite the sympathetic underdog. Lots of interesting parallels to popular science fiction. Some of the Spanish was tricky but not confusing. (My high school Spanish for the most part is evasive.) Interesting Dominican historial bits. Great read.

    "They walked him into the cane and then turned him around. He tried to stand bravely. . . Love was a rare thing, easily confused with a million other things, and if anybody knew this to be true it was him."

    

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• ― Bibliophile (jjordan) said on Jun 13, 2009 | Add your feedback

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  • The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao

  • A raw and moving tale of life in the Dominican Republic under the rule of Rafael Trujillo, the effect on Dominican-Americans, and one family's struggle under the weight of a multi-generational curse.

    

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• ― Readingrat said on Apr 20, 2008 about the Hardcover edition| Add your feedback

Things have never been easy for Oscar. A ghetto nerd living with his Dominican family in New Jersey, he's sweet but disastrously overweight. He dreams of becoming the next J.R.R. Tolkien and he keeps falling hopelessly in love. Poor Oscar may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fuku - the curse that has haunted his family for generations. With dazzling energy and insight Diaz immerses us in the tumultuous lives of Oscar; his runaway sister Lola; their beautiful mother Belicia; and in the family's uproarious journey from the Dominican Republic to the US and back. Rendered with uncommon warmth and humour, "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" is a literary triumph, that confirms Junot Diaz as one of the most exciting writers of our time.

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