This month's Book Club pick: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I picked this one for two reasons: it was a Rave & Fave, so I knew there'd be loads of copies at the Public Library; a non-reader friend had actually read, finished AND liked it. Curiosity.
So, the title tells you that Oscar is not destined to live for long. For me, I spent the entire book thinking "...and how?" Will it be the train tracks? an irritated girl? his unhealthy lifestyle? a freak accident? How will it all happen. And when it does... oooh, boy.
Things I liked:
- the prose (poetic and guttural at the same time);
- the footnotes (contentious, I know, as they could be very long, but awesome because I learned all sorts of neat history and they were written in an almost comedic fashion);
- the characters were deep (unlike The Mists of Avalon, which I didn't even bother reviewing) and had unique voices which you could tell apart distinctly. When a new narrator began talking, you knew who was without talking any explicit mention
- the nerdiness: jebus, there were Sci-Fi references on almost every page, leaning heavily on Tolkien, Star Wars and Star Trek, with a good chunk of comic books thrown in. This is the kind capital-L Literature that a fanboy would just eat up. Honestly, it kinda made me want to read the LOTR trilogy, but then I snapped myself out of it.
Things I could have done without:
- the Spanish phrases which had no English translation. I like the Spanish! Why no English for us non-Latino types? perhaps in a footnote?
- Beli. I know, I know, she's essential to the story, so you can't not have her. She's awful though. I guess the story needs her, but the world doesn't.
Should you read it? If you are at all into post-colonial or sci-fi or latino lit or magic realism or easy dialogue, I think you'd like it. I'm recommending it for my Mom. Do with that info what you will.
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