It was a good book—definitely a bit challenging because of the code switching/translanguaging/Spanglish but it’s my own fault I don’t know Spanish so I obviously didn’t mark the book down for that. I enjoyed learning about Trujillo and the history I didn’t learn in school. The characters are complex.

show stopping. brilliant. phenomenal. 10/10. a touching story about intergenerational trauma that left me hopeful.

the narrator of this book really made it for me. surprisingly, it is not oscar. instead, it's a character who we do not meet until about halfway through the book, and even then, he holds little stake in the plot. yunior (the narrator) has such a unique voice as he tells the story of oscar's family, & that made the tales of the trujillo-era dominican republic all the more interesting to me, a white american reader. oscar- the protagonist of this book- is actually never a narrator, even though the book is named after him. i think that adds such an interesting perspective to the story: everyone is talking about oscar, so the book takes you on a ride to finding out who he is through other people's lives. (note: one of the chapters is in the pov of oscar's sister, and there's no real distinction between who is narrating. you just gotta pay attention to how the story is being told to get it.) 

this book travels through three generations of the de leon family: oscar and his sister lola, his mother beli, & beli's parents. though oscar & lola's stories are based in new jersey, beli & her parents are all living in the dominican republic under dictator trujillo. junot diaz does a wonderful job immersing the reader into each generation. in particular, some chapters have footnotes that give historical context, which i found really helpful. the dominican history bleeds through the pages.

ok spoiler time:

the de leon family is cursed w/ a fuku bc abelard, oscar's grandfather, defied trujillo. through the three generations, the de leon family is faced with extreme trauma. lots of death.

diaz knows his stuff about intergenerational trauma. each generation experiences it uniquely as it passes down in different ways. this book is a great examination of how government violence, ie a dictatorship, can extend generations, even decades after the violence has ended. 

this book has MAGICAL REALISM YAYYYY!!! the de leon family is cursed w/ a fuku that travels throughout the story. it's not too prominent, but when it's brought up, diaz knows how to bring it up. he has struck a good balance between a grounded-in-reality story & supernatural elements. also oscar is a sci-fi nerd so i like how both the character & his universe has an affinity for the unrealistic. 

spoiler time again:

oscar dies in the very end :(

the aftermath after that is treated so beautifully that it made me hopeful for the story. of course, the book ends like ten or so pages later, but the tiny epilogue about yunior & the de leon family made me tear up a bit. i love family dynamics, even when they're fucked up <3 

great read!!! this was the second time i've read it but the first was when i was like fourteen, & this book only gets better w/ age. i would recommend this book to dominicans & latines who want to learn more about their history, nerdy outcast kids who grew into nerdy outcast adults, & those w/ an affinity towards tragedies. wonderful book <3 

Come for the nerdy references, stay for the exploration of the multi-generational damage a dictatorship can do. Bit if a slow start, but this thing gives you SO MUCH to chew on!