The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (1-89)

Summary:

I am really enjoying the fact that I chose this book to read for ROAR. It reconnects me with Spanish when I have to research what a particular word means. But perhaps one of the biggest reasons that I love this book is because the protagonist Oscar Wao, and how he is described in the first chapter, makes me think of myself, and in a book that is the first time that has happened to me as a reader. The story at the moment has no real pattern and I think it is because of the point of view utilized by Junot Diaz. Diaz uses third person omniscient and so the reader knows what every character is thinking, and also what they have experienced. The first chapter was some background information on Oscar, the second was some background on Oscar’s sister Lola, and the third which I am currently on is some background on his mother Belicia aka Beli. Each chapter has a small timeline of when the events of the chapter took place. The timeline is really helpful to me so that I may be able to follow what is going on in the story. The novel is full of foreshadowing because of the way that the story is told, the chapter about Beli has not spoken about her having Lola and Oscar, but on the previous chapters I already know that eventually Beli will have her two children, I also know based on previous chapters that Beli is going to move to New Jersey, I just don’t know why and for what. The narration is difficult, but it makes me feel like I have all the answers to any questions the book may have, all I have to do is find them.

Quote:

“No amount of wishful thinking was changing the cold hard fact that she was a teenage girl living in the Dominican Republic of Rafael Leonidas Trujillo Molina, the Dictatingest Dictator who ever Dictated.”

Reaction:

This quote has some alliteration with the words Dictatingest (fake word) Dictator, and Dictated. I believe that he capitalized those words to grab the reader’s attention to them. I also think this is an important quote because as many Dominicans know, Trujillo is an infamous dictator for all the cruel things that he has done in the Dominican Republic. This is one of many lines where Diaz refers to Trujillo, and I think it is important because he may be the reason why Beli moved to New Jersey and did not stay in the Island.