(4.5) This was a uniquely told story, through annotations, focus on different characters through one narrator and time changes. But most of all, the author brilliantly wove together cultures, through his use of two languages (a decent amount of slang) and mythology. The book was also just entertaining to read with some laugh-out-loud moments, though the end was a bit of a slog.

So dark. Also very real, so I appreciate the intense discomfort it put me through. As a non-Spanish speaker, though, it would have been very helpful to have translations for at least some of the many many parts written in it.

The story of Oscar Wao and his cursed family, as told by Oscar's friend Yunior.
It took me over a month to get through the first hundred pages; the writing is very rich, and I had to keep re-reading paragraphs over and over at work, which is replete with distractions and the need to multitask; it needs a lot of your attention to get through and retain.
Checking out the audiobook helped to make everything so much more vivid, and gave Oscar more personality than just the typical sad nerd. He started to feel almost like a Don Quixote to me (and to others too, apparently, upon a quick Google search.)
The story has a lot of Spanish, a lot of swearing (also often in Spanish), a handful of D&D and other nerdy references, and a lot of mention of intercourse. If you can't handle that combo, this may not be for you. When the narrator mentions that the pendejo took 8d10 damage while getting beaten up, I smile even if it's because my favorite character is almost dying.
The main ways I connected were through character, language, and story.

3,5 если быть точной
Было очень интересно прочесть историю семьи как таковой на фоне диктатуры.
Герои прописаны довольно реалистично и сам стиль повествования соответствует тому от чьего лица написана книга.
Описания женщин отвратительны и язык используется унизительный, но что поделать это добавляет реалистичности временному промежутку и героям.

I absolutely love this author's voice. It was really well-written and very interesting. It was very crude, but I do think the crudeness was essential to the message. It was a great book, but some readers might need to beware.

DNF will not rate.

This book was pretty awful. The history of the DR was the only interesting part of it. I'm disappointed that this is a Pulitzer winner.

Amazing. Told from several different perspectives, in several time periods and in two languages, Oscar Wao will floor you. It's ostensibly about Oscar's life in New Jersey, but also covers two prior generations of his family, the history of the Dominican Republic and so much more. It's told in a way that's very real.