A Google user
Let me preface this with a personal disclaimer. This was not an easy book to navigate with an audio version, although the reader was superb, because of the many Spanish words and colloquialisms which I did not recognize. With a visual, I could have looked back, checked the spelling, looked up words, and perhaps I would have found the book far more entertaining. I found some of the subject matter very distasteful and the language unnecessarily profane. The most vulgar language and sexual descriptions left little to the imagination. Although the descriptions were apt and spot on, they were sometimes absolutely gross. I was not a bit interested in reading graphic descriptions of violent, senseless beatings or gratuitous, sadistic sex that did not in any way enhance the story. As in “A Visit From The Goon Squad” by Jennifer Egan, the language and descriptive sex in this novel, detracted from its beauty.
The book is written with subtle humor even as it describes horrific scenes. The characters are not very likeable as they are all very naïve and ill informed, making poor judgments leading to abysmal consequences in their lives. They never seem to learn from experience and repeat the same mistake, generation after generation, choosing the wrong mate and the wrong path to follow, hence the aura of a curse around the family.
That said, the author did a masterful job of setting the time and place. Through the history of Oscar Wao’s troubled family, beginning with his grandfather, Abelard, in the Dominican, and continuing with Oscar’s upbringing, we learn what it was like for him to live and grow up in Patterson, NJ, as well as in the Dominican Republic, right under the nose of Trujillo. He forces the reader to experience the brutality of the regime. We learn of the fucu, the faceless man, the dreams and the tragedies that befell this family, generation after generation.
The history of Oscar’s family is filled with despair. Under the Trujillo regime, his family was stripped of their wealth and prominence. It was an oppressive regime which left no records of its monstrous cruelty to individuals. Oscar’s cousin was destroyed by friends, the very friends who turned him in with their lies, who then became the recipients of some of his wealth. It was a corrupt society, hopeless. Oscar believes his family has a background based in superstition or the supernatural, that it is cursed. He is very intelligent and very creative with a wild imagination.
Oscar’s mom had a hard life in the Dominican Republic and she moved to the states. Oscar grows up in Paterson, New Jersey with his sister. He is a loser, a nerd; he has no social life, has no social skills and is not especially pleasant looking, being overweight and wearing glasses, among other things. He is a misfit from a broken home; his father left his mom after 3 years of marriage. His mom is a taskmaster who rarely gives compliments or encouragement and his sister eventually runs away and is sent back to the Dominican to live with a cousin. We continue to follow Oscar as he grows up but never seems to fulfill his dreams. He is unsuccessful with women and has few friends. When he finally doe, succeed, it is in the Dominican Republic, and it is a tragic and final ending.
There are several concurrent narratives, causing some confusion. The narrator, Yunior, relates the highlights of the different character’s lives. For a time, they seem to have no connection, but eventually, all the parts coalesce. There is Beli, Oscar’s mother; Lola, Oscar’s sister; Yunior, his “so-called” best friend; La Inca, Beli’s cousin; Ybon, Oscar’s true love and others. They all have their own stories; they all come from the Dominican. It is an immigrant's story, a story about superstitions and fantasies, nightmares and dreams, dysfunctional families, doomed relationships, poor choices, abandoned hopes and unattainable dreams and desires.
Having lived in NJ, I found the places mentioned in the book a walk down memory lane. I remembered with fondness, the drive-in, in Perth
A Google user
While Oscar may have had a brief life (true statement, there) I had a difficult time discerning what was wondrous about it. From the outset we learn that Oscar's life was beset by Fuku - "generally a curse or a doom of some kind; specifically the Curse and the Doom of the New World." What Diaz should have added in his opening chapter was that not only was Oscar plagued by this God-Awful curse, but so was his entire family lineage & fellow citizens of the Dominican Republic. It also would have been kind if he'd been slightly more forthcoming about the totally depressing nature of his novel. Quite simply this book is a real downer. Granted, it is a beautifully written story with great characters, fully fleshed out - brave & proud & cocky & defiant & strong & in the end, crushed like so so many grapes in a vat. This is not a happy book. At the end you do not want to stand up & cheer for the triumph of the human spirit. Instead, you might want to go curl up in a corner, pull a shawl over your head & wait for the storm to pass.
Moi Castillo
For the most part I loved the book all throughout the flash backs, the nerd references, and the action. The book's narration was something new to me too. Overall it was a great example of a Metafiction piece. The book clearly went over a lot of what does happen in immigrant families, single parent homes, old school dictatorships, as well as many more thrilling events. I read this book for class and was actually surprised it was good. I would highly recommend this book again. I am so glad I bought it as an e-book.