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posted: September 21, 2025
tl;dr: A portrait of the artist as a young man wildly out of sync with his culture and heritage...
Junot Díaz has created a sweeping masterpiece with The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, a deserving choice for the Pulitzer Prize in fiction in 2008. Díaz brings the history and culture of the Dominican Republic and lower-class immigrants in New Jersey to life by creating memorable characters and putting them in situations that seem both plausible yet fantastical at the same time. He simultaneously explores both mystical beliefs and the hard realities of street life, showing how the former influences the latter. He does this all with an engaging, easily understood storyline that keeps the reader’s interest. I doubt anyone will be bored by this book.
From outward appearances, the title character is one of the most unlikely heroes in literature. I hesitate to apply labels or adjectives to him because that would reduce him to something less complex than he is. I will say that his alienation from his culture and background will be recognizable to many, as is his reaction to it. You don’t have to look too hard in today’s world to see people reacting to alienation by creating their own fantasies and alternate versions of reality that exist entirely in their minds and, perhaps, among a few other like-minded compatriots. One of the benefits of the Internet, I believe, is that it makes it easier for people with similar beliefs to find each other.
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, like The Orphan Master’s Son which also won the Pulitzer Prize, is written from multiple first person perspectives, which adds to the artistry of the novel. In the audiobook version, which is how I consumed the book, the different sections are read by a reader with the same gender as the supposed author of that section, which helps make it more understandable as to what is going on. One of the mysteries of the book is which character the primary author is. Don’t worry, you will eventually find out, in an ironic twist. Because Oscar is such a pitiable character that you can’t help rooting for, and who spends much of his time writing, you may be hoping it is Oscar himself. You eventually learn what happens to Oscar and his writings, and it is an ending in accordance with the overall arc of the story. It’s not a Hollywood ending.
Be warned that the language used in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, as well as the scenes and action described, is not what you would find in an English comedy of manners. It certainly sets the appropriate tone. Whether this is the way that characters like the ones portrayed actually speak and behave is for others to decide. For me, it added to the authenticity of the book.
Would I read another book by Junot Díaz? Definitely. The question I have, however, is how much of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is based on his own life experiences. If a lot of the book is fictionalized personal history, he may have depleted a large portion of it. On the other hand, one of my favorite authors is Philip Roth, and he was able to adeptly use New Jersey as a setting and his own life experiences for many memorable books. Here’s hoping that Díaz is able to do the same.