pennylane86's review against another edition

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challenging funny hopeful sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

No sé bien cómo describir esta novela. Me gustó.

Es lo más dominicano que leí en mi vida (no es que haya leído mucho pero, de entre toda la literatura latinoamericana que tengo entre mis lecturas, nada grita con tanta fuerza República Dominicana). Les personajes, las descripciones locales, los modismos al hablar, la pobreza casi inconcebible, la "machirulez" tan latina, las lecciones de historia -lo que es vox populi y la mirada que sólo un dominicano puede impartir-, esta novela está tan bien construida desde ese aspecto que da gusto.
Siendo argentina y conociendo las dictaduras de latinoamérica, nunca me siento preparada para leer con detalle las atrocidades que cometieron quienes estaban en el poder; Trujillo fue una bestia que cometió crímenes tan terribles que son casi inverosímiles.

Me parece que, más que ser una novela sobre la maldición -o el fukú, como le llaman les dominicanxs-, es una novela sobre el amor; el mal amor, la obsesión con le otre y también con el mandato social. La obsesión de tener que tener un marido, la de tener que no morir vírgen, la tozudez de esta familia que lleva a que el fukú se termine cumpliendo, en su mayoría.

Para terminar, una de las nerdeadas de Óscar que más representan a esta novela:

     • Veidt dice: «Hice lo que debía, ¿no? Al final, todo salió bien».
Y Manhattan, antes de desaparecer de nuestro Universo, contesta: «¿Al final? Nada termina, Adrián. Nada nunca termina».




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singalana's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Takakansi ja ylistävät arvostelut johtivat minua jälleen kerran harhaan. 

Kirja on oikeastaan perhesaaga Oscar Waon sukua vainoavasta kirouksesta, fukústa. Tosin jää lukijan arvioitavaksi onko kyseessä todellinen kirous vai surkeiden olosuhteiden summa. Kirjassa kerrotaan Oscarin suvun elämästä Dominikaanisessa tasavallassa diktaattori Trujillon valtakaudella ja myöhemmin Yhdysvalloissa. 

Oscar Wao on “nörtti”, joka ei saa naisia, vaikka haluaisi. Hänen sukunsa naiset tuntuvat aina sotkeutuvan vääriin miehiin, jotka aiheuttavat heille hankaluuksia. Kirjassa miehet panevat ja naiset käyttävät seksuaalisuuttaan välineenä tai joutuvat sen uhriksi. 

Mitä itse tekstiin tulee, ei ehkä ollut hyvä merkki käydä lukemassa kirjailijan Wikipediasivulta syytöksiä seksuaalisesta ahdistelusta. Kirjasta välittyy jonkin verran misogyniaa, eikä kirjailijan naiskuvaus ole hääppöinen. Jos tätä ei oteta lukuun, kirjoitustyyli on sujuvaa ja omaperäistä. Kirjan tekstiä on ryyditetty lukuisilla pitkillä alaviitteillä, jotka tarjoavat lisää kontekstia mm. Trujillon diktatuuriin. 

Kirjaa markkinoidaan hauskana. Itse en allekirjoita tätä, mielestäni se on pikemminkin raadollinen ja epätoivoinen. Myös näkökulma naisiin ärsyttää. 


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apikaliaxo's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny informative medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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savreads28's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0


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standardgoose's review against another edition

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challenging dark slow-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

It was an interestingly slow book that focuses a lot less on the main character than you'd expect. Still a good book, but you're looking at something more of like a family history than a kid's adventures as an author.

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mirandyli's review against another edition

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dark funny informative sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

Geniusly written. Took me a while to finish but I really enjoyed it.

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deebee223's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging informative fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0


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lucinotlucy's review against another edition

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dark emotional lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25


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lacifaeria's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This was the best book I've read all year. Hands down. Couldn't wait to give this a 5 stars. Would give more if I could. 

I see Oscar so much in the people I've known and in myself, the Nerd of Color. The deeper connection with the women in his family was so beautiful (Lola and Beli for sure! and a whole monument to La Inca), these beautiful complicated women creating the structures that he would develop within, complete with their own difficulty grappling with freedom and independence, womanhood and the role love plays within it, generations of de Leon's fantasizing about being saved. This was just - amazing. 

Oscar, that lovable nerd, and the own nerdiness of the narrator, Lola's novio, was cringeworthy in accuracy and I laughed and cringed with each self-sabotaging, self-deprecating line. Being a teenage/early adult nerd in constant love was something I felt so deeply. That juxtaposed against his cultural pedigree, the reputation that smothered him about Dominican men and their lothario prowess, was a new level of angst and anxiety I have rarely articulated but wholeheartedly appreciated seeing in print. 

And the cadence of the narrator? UGH -- amazing. I've heard this language, this perfect weaving of the profane and the obscene with salient witticism, was comfortably colloquial and so accessible. It felt like the stories you heard in hushed whispers once the relatives got enough liquor in them at the cookout. Like....nostalgia. Like home. 

I don't want to go into detail because I think the story is so perfect that I'd rather someone read it first. It made me literally laugh out loud more times than I can count, and actually made me cry on no less than three occasions. Truly the best book I've read this year and there were some heaters on the list already but this was truly a fucking awesome read and I am now a Junot Diaz forever fan. 

Stop reading this review and go read it. Just -- go read it right now!!!

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jessgreads's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

Rating: ⭐⭐✨⬜⬜⬜
Title: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
Author: Junot Diaz
Genre: Fiction
Setting: New Jersey, USA & The Dominican Republic
Month Read: March 2022
Book Type: Paperback
Publication: 2008
Publisher: Riverhead Trade
Pages: 340
*PBS Great American Read Book



TRIGGER WARNING- 
Murder / Forced Abortion / Abuse / Graphic Violence / Sex / Alcohol / Suicide Attempt / Language / Racism / Classism / (there are more, these are the big ones I remember)




"...and when he thought about the way she laughed, as though she owned the air around her, his heart thundered inside his chest, a lonely rada."







No Spoiler Summary:
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is about Oscar, a Dominican-American nerd who lives in New Jersey. He's overweight, loves J.R.R. Tolkein, is bad with the ladies, and watches tons of anime and manga. He wants to find love more than anything else, but because he believes his family is cursed, he is unlucky. You follow Oscar's family through a few generations as you follow the curse through their familial line as you travel from Santo Domingo to Jersey.







Review:
I'm not sure what I was expecting in this book, but whatever it was was not what I thought it would be. I think the writing was really beautiful in spaces, and the story, while sort of confusing to me, was really interesting. I didn't love this book, but I think, like with Harlem Shuffle this book was certainly not written for me in mind. I did google a LOT of Spanish during this book, so that was cool. I did love how Junot Diaz didn't simplify the Spanish very often, you almost never got an explanation as to what the Spanish meant, and I really enjoyed that because it forced me to do the work to figure it out.


I think I would have liked this book if I didn't recently read The Love Songs of W.E.B. Du Bois, as well. The books were pretty similar in theme (a generational family epic following many, many generations of people), and personally I think Love Songs did it a lot better? Or maybe it was just more engaging. I definitely recommend giving this a shot and seeing if you like it. Let me know if you've read this and what you think! I'm open to discussing this!







"She was the kind of girlfriend God gives you young, so you'll know loss the rest of your life."


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