The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (edit title)

• Rated 4 stars

“Wow...I didn't know anything about Dominican history. Trujillo was not a nice man.”

• Rated 1 stars

“I really couldn't get into this book...so much family drama and not really a good story.

My book club read it....some liked it, but most didn't. It was pointless if you ask me.

I did like translating the Spanish since I do speak Spanish, but other than that I did not like it at all.”

• Rated 5 stars

“For the most part engaging and wonderful. Great imagery and thoughtful. Sometimes it was hard to follow and required rereading, especially with the switching between languages, the constant pop culture references and the historical references. Still, well worth the read and a wonderful addition to the mystical realism category.”

• Rated 0 stars

“It was amazing. I loved the detail and depth of the characters.”

• Rated 5 stars

“I am reading it again as I chose it for one of my book clubs. I've already heard some whining about the mix of Spanish, fantasy, bad language. I think it's an awesome book if, for nothing else, for the incredible footnotes that take on a life of their own. Oscar is weird and interesting but I think the book is about life in the Dominican Republic, the women of the book and their incredible strength and at the same time about being powerless, about immigrants and the inability to escape your own history... and more. It packs a lot in. And you're warned about the dreaded curse (fuku) and that you're about to leave Kansas in the intro! If you understand the Spanish or the (presumably) dead-on fantasy references, you will have additional levels of understanding. If not, I think it's still got plenty to offer.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Enjoyed it, but it lacked any real thematic aim. More of a comical, light version of One Hundred Years of Solitude. Loved Diaz' style though.”

• Rated 2 stars

“I read this book because a friend of mine RAVED about it. I didn't like it at all. It's just an ugly, negative portrayal of humanity. ”

• Rated 4 stars

“I decided to read this book because people were recommending it to me from left to right. This story is about an overweight Dominican nerd called Oscar. In this story one learns about his mother's past who was battling cancer when Oscar was in college and his sister who was known as the free spirited daughter. Throughout the story, Oscar is trying to fit into his Dominican culture and the real world. However, he only finds comfort in science fiction novels and comic books. This was a good book but I felt that it had too much going on at the same time. Whenever Diaz would want to say something,he would put his comments as foot notes which were a bit annoying at time. Some parts of the story are hard to understand if you do not speak Spanish or can relate to Dominican culture. Overall, I found it to be a funny book but with a devastating ending.”

• Rated 5 stars

“Great story with changing narrators. Wondrous for its word play, the character of Oscar, the references to comic books, sci fi films and the Lord of the Rings Trilogy, and for its historical insights into the Dominican Republic and the Fuku (bad look) he brought to the country.”

• Rated 3 stars

“Kind of a bummer, but very educational and imaginative, and I enjoyed all the sci-fi and fantasy references.”