[Recommendation] The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

[IdanShir]

Here is a short introduction…It pays off, trust me.

So there is a specific reason why I would recommend this novel in this forum.

I was never a hardcore reader. I've read a few books here and there but I wasn't as passionate about literature as I became when I first picked up A Game of Thrones. GOT the first time I fell in love with fiction. After I've finished A Dance with Dragons, I started reading "Realistic Narrative" novels. Ironically enough, the worlds and the characters weren't as compelling and themes weren't as profound as in the novels by GRRM. So when I picked up Junot Diaz's 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao', I once again felt like I was reading a novel with compelling morally ambiguous characters. Also this novel shares a lot of similar themes from A Song of Ice and Fire. And also an outrageous amount of Lord of The Rings and comic book references.

So 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao' is the 2008 Pulitzer Prize winning novel by Dominican-American Author: Junot Diaz.

The story revolves around the life of 3 generations to a "cursed" Dominican (and future American) family. The main protagonist of the story would of course be Oscar, an over-weight Dominican boy living as a teenager in New Jersey in the late 80's and early 90's with his immigrant mother and older sister. Oscar is a nerd of the highest caliber and dreams of becoming the Dominican Tolkien. The story also follows Oscar's older sister, Lola and jumps between time lines a follows their mother, Beli as a teen in the 1960's Dominican Republic and then jumps again to the 1930's and follows her father, Abelard.

This story's themes felt very relatable to ASoIaf. It focused on patriarch and masculine culture. About being raised by generations that lived through insane tyranny (Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina/ King Aerys). The importance of family, the conflict of identity,( as in being raised in the US and finding yourself more invested in that culture as opposed to your island cultural (Theon much?)). but most of all is the sense of having a limitation that prevents you from being the masculine persona that your culture demands you to be (Bran, Tyrion)

Anyway, the book is masterfully written and I had an amazing time reading it. A true page turner.

Also please excuse me if my grammar is a bit off…English is not my first language.

[Joe Abercrombie]

Oh, yeah, a brilliant book. Strong voices, quick wit, and some superb Lord of the Rings, Star Trek and Dungeons and Dragons references.

[Rhom]

Oh, yeah, a brilliant book. Strong voices, quick wit, and some superb Lord of the Rings, Star Trek and Dungeons and Dragons references.

If Joe Abercrombie recommends it... then I'm on board!