| |  | Author: Junot Dfaz
Publisher: Riverhead
Category: eBooks
In Stock
Rating:  488 reviews
Sales Rank: 1,987
Format: Kindle Book
Media: Kindle Edition
Pages: 352
Number Of Items: 1
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
Publication Date: September 6, 2007
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 6-10 of 488
 I didn't like it, didn't finish it. July 15, 2010
J. Clark (Canyon Country, CA USA)
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
I picked up this book in an attempt to find some some good, modern writing. I figured something from a list of award winning books would be a good bet, but in the end I became bored with this book and didn't bother finishing it; which for me never happens.
My first problem with the book actually had more to do with the writer and his style. This book feels like a forced patchwork of other notable author's styles, sort of like a magician that learns a bunch of famous tricks and then slams them all together in one show as if to say "Look what I can do." The author's lack of punctuation or sentence structure reminds me of Falkner and Joyce. His self absorbed protagonist Oscar reminds me of a Dominican Holden Caulfield in that his internal dialog seeks to cover up his short comings with witty banter. The seemingly pointless interjection of Latin slang in the middle of sentences reminds of of Clockwork Orange, only the slang in that books was easier to figure out in context.
Next were the characters. They were all easily predictable archetypes that were understandable, but not likable or interesting in any way. Each was clearly defined and had a specific style, but that wasn't enough to make me want to find out anything about what was going on in their lives.
Finally, in an attempt to be hip and/or demonstrate pop culture credentials, the story is filled with strong language and sexual references that in no way promote the story or create atmosphere. I'm a heavy reader of a lot of different styles, and if gore, sex, or raw language benefits the story I'm all for it; but that wasn't the case here. Many times it felt forced and pointless.
Pros:
The story does capture the life of a character that has been done before, but puts a different spin on it, which may give a certain demographic a reason to be interested in this book.
The use of Twain-style local color is convincing, and of the other devices used by the author, works the best.
I guess if you wanted to learn something about the post-colonial period in the Dominican Republic then this book is good. It's crammed with all sorts of historical minutia about the nation that shares an island with Haiti.
Cons:
The characters aren't compelling.
Even though I know something tragic happens to Oscar, I just really couldn't care enough to finish the book and find out.
The author seems to be more impressed with his ability to use literary devices than to make them work in a way that makes the story better.
If you are going to sprinkle phrases from a foreign language in a story without giving the reader some contextual clues as to what they mean, then you should footnote or end note them.
 brilliant from start to finish July 9, 2010
Bookworm123
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book is a five-star read. I was shocked to see that this book had only received 4 stars in the reviews. It is an amazing story that it not only superbly written but captures you and keeps you page-turning. I carried the book everywhere so I could try and get to the next part of the story. It is steeped in knowledge and yet maintains a fantastic blend between history and realities of life. His other book drown is also excellent.
 Okay June 30, 2010
M. Griffin (Central Islip, NY United States)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This novel was very interesting in some parts and it dragged in others. The interesting sections were the ones dealing with the former dictator Trujiullo and the story of Oscar's mother and grandparents in the Dominican Republic. The story of Oscar's life in New Jersey was okay. The narrator of the story briefly uses offensive laqnguage and th "N" word. I could have done without that. I would recommend this book with reservations.
WHAT did I just read??? June 25, 2010
Helen T. Diehl (Ivyland, PA)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Oscar Wao was a strange book for me to read. I would not recommend it but at the same time I wouldn't discourage someone who wanted to give it a go. As you can see by the many mixed reviews - some people LOVED it & others (like me) just didn't get it. It was too discombobulated for me going from present to past, back & forth. Some parts are written in Spanish which I could guess at their meaning but didn't know for sure how it translated. At many points I was like "what did i just read?" & "HOW does it relate to the story?". After reading reviews I have a better understanding of the book hence why 2 stars & not one.
Not Enough Oscar June 18, 2010
C. Brown
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I was interested to read this book about an overweight Dominican nerd from the ghetto but I was very disappointed. Too much of the story focused on Oscar's family and other people in his life. While it was interesting to see how the events in their pasts shaped their present, all of their stories felt very familiar, especially if you've read other books about people living in a society ruled by a cruel dictator. Oscar was a character I'd never met (in a novel) before but at the end of the book I felt like I had merely observed him without getting to know him more deeply. I think this was because the narrator of the book was a family friend who didn't fully understand Oscar. What a strange choice to tell the story from his perspective instead of Oscar's. My other main objection with this book was the constant obscene language the author used, mainly lots of n*****. Yeah yeah that's the way the character talked so it's authentic to write the way he would talk - I understand that, but I don't want to read it any more than I would want to talk to someone who always used bad language.
One good point about the book was that it was interesting to learn a thing or two about Dominican history and kind of funny to read about the stereotypes of how Dominican-Americans are supposed to act (I don't think I know any Dominicans so this was all new to me).
Showing reviews 6-10 of 488
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