Books : The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Rating: - Delivered As Advertisd
The book was autographed with ownership documentation. it was in new condition with no damage or wear. I'm very pleased.

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Rating: - Navigating in Two Worlds
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is the best piece of literature I've come across in the last year or so. Usually novels or stories from Latino authors --characters, ambiance, and locations --feel like an ardous path toward fitting in, socially or culturally. In Junot Diaz's novel you are compelled to join a new world. A world in which you live the experience of highly achiever Hispanics in their quest to define themselves against themselves. The combination of English and Spanish is hilarious. I had fun from the beggining to the end.

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Rating: - I really liked it but it's not for everybody
I read this book based on the Amazon reviews and I really liked it a lot. His writing style is different from what one is probably used to reading, but once I understood what he was doing, I really enjoyed it. The book is very conversational in the way the story is told.

I gave it to my husband to read as soon as I was finished and he could not get past page 30. He did not like it at all. He didn't like the "Spanglish" (however, that was one thing I loved about it, but I also speak Spanish so I'm sure that's why) or any of the characters. It's a lot funnier though if you do speak the language.

The book, while very funny, has a melancholy tone to it that is throughout (which I also like). He tells the story thru many different characters eyes, and you get all of their back stories so no matter how flawed the character is, you feel for them.

He does a great job of developing all the main characters which is almost everything in a story to me. It's definitely worth reading.

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Rating: - excellent
great book. incredibly entertaining. wonderful history of the dominican republic. the book is wild and sexy and you won't be disappointed.

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Rating: - Worthy of the Pulitzer
This book is beautifully written and contains a story with such a human touch. In the first 75 pages I wondered how it could have won a pulitzer prize. The rest of the book proved to be one of the finest I have ever read. I did need a Spanish dictionary next to me while I read, to interpret all the "Spanglish", but the author had his pulse on the dual nature of the soul of a modern immigrant. I wondered how autobiographical the book is. It stimulated me to read more about the Trujillo regime in the Dominican Republic. (I had previously read "In the Time of Butterflies", another great book about the DR under Trujillo, and I would also recommend that book.)