Summary Of When The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

When The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao- Junot Diaz’s coming-to-America novel came out in 2007- it took the literary world by storm. Author Junot Diaz’s endearing blend of humor and history forms a challenging, yet exciting narrative. The 352-page novel unravels the tale of Oscar, “a disastrously overweight ghetto nerd,” from Paterson, New Jersey. Oscar, the character who the book is named after, shares his home, and part of the novel, with his old world mother and rebellious sister. The novel is written in different perspectives, alternating characters back and forth. A devotee of what Dominican bullies call “the stereotypical white-boy nerd,” Oscar is “a hardcore sci-fi and fantasy man,” whose greatest ambition is to write a space fantasy

Oscar’s longing for a transcendental love is overshadowed by the fuku, a hereditary curse. This curse weaves it way through the story, inviting the reader to interpret its meaning and dive deeper into the plot; nevertheless, reigning terror over the Dominican Republic and their people. Every Dominican family claims to have a wild fuku story, especially Oscars. The novel won a handful of prizes, including the John Sargent Senior First Novel Prize and the Dayton Literary Peace Prize. It later won 2007’s Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the National Book Critic’s circle awards, and made the BBC’s, “Best Novel of the Century So Far” list. As a result, Junot Diaz was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship, better known as a “genius

The novel shows how such experimentations are driven by both internal and external (community) factors. The characters trouble with not only finding themselves, but also with how to do that while remaining true to, and fitting gin with, their Dominican or Latino heritage. Oscar is ostracized for his inability to blend in with other Latino boys. His true personality, as well as his interests, science fiction and fantasy, are unable to fit the mold. In contrast, Yunior hides his personality due fear of risking rejection and alienation. He pretends to be a stereotypical Latino, when, really he is just as big, if not a bigger fan of comic book and sci-fi. Yunior wishes to be like Oscar. Although the story’s tone is somewhat sympathetic towards Oscar’s insecurities, it underlies the respect and awe Yunior has for