As I've stated before, I have a very big thing about books being "readable". I think that it is possible to achieve literary greatness without making it impossible for someone with anything less than a college degree to be able to read, enjoy, and appreciate. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao achieves just that.
It's the story of family plagued with fuku. The book jumps around time and POV to show us the unfortunate luck the family has had throughout the ages. Oscar is no exception. Oscar begins as a chubby, charming little boy and evolves into an obese, awkward, sci-fi obsessed teenager.
One thing to know about me is that teasing and bullying is something that has always driven me crazy. Even in fiction-when i see it, I feel as though I'm going to cry. (As a little kid, I once walked out of the theatre when we went to go see The Nutty Professor during the scene where the comedian is humiliating him) I was never really the victim of it in my own life- but something about it has always struck a chord with me. That being said, parts of this book were very difficult for me to read. Granted it's hard to read about Oscar's ancestor's being horrifically killed in the DR- but it was equally hard to read the never-ending hopelessness and isolation that (to be fair) often comes with being a teenager anyway.
But as it often goes in literary greatness- Oscar did go on a journey. No, he didn't go off to war or ship off to sea as it often goes in literary fiction. He went to college, which (if you can believe it) was about as emotionally turbulent as high school. But the thing that really keeps bringing hope into Oscar's life and smashing it down again, is his aching desire to fall in love. Not that he really has any trouble falling in love, he doesn't. But true just as it is in reality- unrequited love is life's cruelest joke. That's why I can't help but label this a love story. No, it's not about his love for just one girl. But the thing that's really beautiful (and what I think truly makes Oscar one of the most honest and tragic literary figures I have ever read) is that Oscar admits to what most people don't: above anything else in life he wants to find someone to love and who loves him back.
I would almost venture to say that every character in the book (and there are some fantastic ones) has their own love story- even if not every single one is romantic love.
Even though much of the book is written in a particularly vulgar tongue- it does not take away from the overall value of the book. Given the background of most of the characters- the vulgarity makes it more realistic, I'd say. Either way, the message of love comes across in an understandable and existential way. Truly, just a beautiful, beautiful book.
A
*Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2008
*National Book Critics Circle Award
*Dayton Peace Prize Fiction
*New York Times Notable Book
*Entertainment Weekly's: The New Classics
*AV Club, Best Books of the '00s
*BuzzFeed 65 Books You Need To Read In Your 20s
*AV Club, Best Books of the '00s
*BuzzFeed 65 Books You Need To Read In Your 20s
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