How will Oscar Die?

The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz

I liked Oscar and I hated him.  What a crazy life.  One characteristic of Oscar that I liked is even though he was a sad and lonely creature he found escape in sci-fi books, Comics, and other nerd culture.  He found other gamers and even tried to draw others like him, but to no avail, he was always alone.  I loved his sister and no matter what was going on in her life, she always loved Oscar and wanted him to have the best life.  She still traveled and did what she wanted in life, but always kept a close eye on Oscar through friends and staying in touch. 

It was immediately apparent that the author of Oscar Wao was in academia.  The introduction that explained a Fuku, which was the theme of the entire book and also the footnotes throughout the book carried the story line and gave interesting facts on Dominican history.  If these two stylistic features alone were not enough proof of Diaz’s background, the short blip about the author on the back explains that he is a professor at MIT. 

I was very confused by the narrator and the point of view pretty much the entire book.  Every time a chapter began I didn’t know who it was about until almost a page into the book or who was telling me about the chapter.  This was a good thing and a confusing thing.  It kept me on my toes, but also made me want to scream.  Each chapter took on the attributes of the characters within that given story and I enjoyed them all until it got to Oscar’s grandfather’s story.  That was the longest most boring chapter, but necessary to explain why Oscar’s mother was the way she was.  Even now, I do not feel confident in my reading and understanding to say who I believe the true narrator was, was there one?  Was there two?  I am unsure so I will not even disclose that information. 

When asked by a fellow book club member if I liked the book, I told her that it was better than a kick in the head.  But I could not say that yes I loved it or no, I didn’t like it at all.  I had mixed emotions about how I felt at the end of the book.  I will just say that it stretched me and it made me dig way back and try to remember some of my Spanish from high school and college. 

Keep Reading my Friends!