I posted on this book about a week ago when I was about a third of the way through – the link will bring you back to my earlier post:
http://booksofbrian.com/on-the-nightstand-the-brief-wondrous-life-of-oscar-wao-3-18-2018/
I was able to finish last night and you can take everything I wrote in that first post and just double it. This was an exceptional read and Junot Diaz is an exceptional writer. Poking around online last night, I found that he has two other books out – “Drown” and “This Is How You Lost Her” – both of which focus on the life of the narrator in “Oscar Wao”. I have no idea how I’ll make time to read those two additional titles – I’m already pretty overwhelmed with On The Shelf selections – but I will find a way. Junot Diaz is that good a writer.
There’s an unpolished, very raw, very real feel to the way he writes – it makes it easy to relate to and identify with his characters. I’m an obvious outsider to the country and culture he’s writing into but he forced me to connect with the family he describes in a very personal way. Every bad choice is balanced by the realization that there are few good options and that the real challenge for each and every one of the DeLeons is to establish as much control over their lives as possible in a country that offers them very little. Even as the second and third generations of this family work to build lives in the U.S., they never truly escape the hold that the Dominican Republic – its politics and its culture – exerts.
One of the many things I loved about the book is that, while Diaz is pulling you through a hard, unhappy narrative, he never lets you stumble into condescension or pity. You never stop wishing for a better outcome but you also never stop admiring the DeLeons for the courage and determination they display on a daily basis. At all those points in the book where one of the characters could have made a better decision or headed off in a better direction, Diaz builds a context around their choices rooted in history or culture or just humanity that leaves you understanding and reluctantly accepting the outcome. Some hard stories leave you tired as you arrive at the last page. Diaz in “Oscar Wao” leaves you accepting.
Even the final, fateful decision made by Oscar – while in no way inevitable – can ultimately be accepted as a courageous and dignified choice that reflects a desire to seek closure on his own terms. Oscar is extremely intelligent. You know that he’s fully aware of the consequence of his choice. By the last page – the final internal monologue from Yunior – the narrator – you accept and understand and admire Oscar for doing what he does.
One final comment – as I mentioned in my earlier post – this book lies well outside my core genres – science fiction & fantasy and history – but it reminded me how important it is to step away from what I’m most comfortable reading and – every once in awhile – head out in new directions. There are so many incredible books and so many amazing writers that I would normally never find. I receive really good recommendations from subscribers – in this case from NG – thank you again – that give me the opportunity to expand my reading experience. I plan to be far more aggressive in seeking out those opportunities.