A Wondrous Read

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

by Junot Diaz
New York : Riverhead Books, 2007.
1st U.S. ed.
340 p. ; 22 cm.

No wonder Wondrous won the Pulitzer Prize for 2008. It is a stunning read - full of passion, humor, history, wit, and anger (and an unforgettable protagonist, the overweight and unlucky in love Oscar). Reading this book, most Americans will realize how little they know of the Caribbean Stalin aka Trujillo, who merits some unsavory nicknames from the author, the nicest of which is the Cattle Thief. Unfortunately, Trujillo ruled with help from Uncle Sam, and when overthrown, popular rule was again thwarted by US Marines sent in by LBJ. The joy of this novel is all in the telling though - the history is woven in with such scathing humor and deadpan craziness that it only really sinks in after you have put the book down.

And what about the high school audience? Well, the book was written for adults, though Booklist recommended it for mature YA readers, which makes sense with the teen/college-aged protagonist. It's definitely not a book one could assign since it has mature sexual scenes and rather salty language. It's also rough with political violence, but for any student who wants to get a grip on the history of the Dominican Republic through an inspired coming of age/immigration novel - this is it.