false 167336 female Cambridge, MA 07/2007 12/2009 9 56 54 true 5710704 read 2 true 346855 currently-reading 0 true 346854 to-read http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79657526 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255571633s/297673.jpg 167336 Brenda Pike http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/167336-brenda-pike Wed, 09 Dec 2009 07:30:45 -0800
If I had written this book (and isn't that what every review really is about?) I would have made the stories nest inside each other more, so you progressively went farther into Oscar's family's history and then progressively back out again, all of it leading to a greater understanding of Oscar. Like Cloud Atlas, but with more cohesiveness. Diaz did this a little bit, but not in as structured or thorough a way as I would have liked.

Most of the Spanish seemed to either terms of endearment or insults, so I didn't feel like I missed much. That said, I am compiling a list of words that I want to look up. But I like that sort of thing. :)

Did you like the footnotes or were you pulled out of the story by them, too? I really liked having the history in there, told in the same very jokey style.]]> The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Hardcover) by Junot Díaz]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79657526 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255571633s/297673.jpg 167336 Brenda Pike http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/167336-brenda-pike Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:32:07 -0800 more...]]> The Prisoner and the Fugitive: In Search of Lost Time (Vol. 5) by Marcel Proust]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/79657473 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167946475s/28391.jpg 167336 Brenda Pike http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/167336-brenda-pike Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:29:36 -0800 Sodom and Gomorrah: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 4 (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Marcel Proust]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/72107607 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167095074s/18799.jpg 167336 Brenda Pike http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/167336-brenda-pike Wed, 02 Dec 2009 11:28:55 -0800 more...]]> Don't Throw It Out: Recycle, Renew and Reuse to Make Things Last (Paperback) by Lori Baird]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/73797527 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1188232226s/1780324.jpg 167336 Brenda Pike http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/167336-brenda-pike Wed, 07 Oct 2009 17:38:34 -0700
I’m sure I could ha...more...]]> Ship Fever (Paperback) by Andrea Barrett]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/71558076 http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51NWFVNCVBL._SL75_.jpg 167336 Brenda Pike http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/167336-brenda-pike Thu, 17 Sep 2009 10:38:10 -0700 more...]]> The Guermantes Way: In Search of Lost Time, Volume 3 (Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition) by Marcel Proust]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/70480481 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167095073s/18798.jpg 167336 Brenda Pike http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/167336-brenda-pike Tue, 08 Sep 2009 11:21:15 -0700 more...]]> Olive Kitteridge: A Novel in Stories (Hardcover) by Elizabeth Strout]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/65447728 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1239113569s/1736739.jpg 167336 Brenda Pike http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/167336-brenda-pike Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:35:52 -0700 more...]]> The Life You Can Save: Acting Now to End World Poverty (Hardcover) by Peter Singer]]> http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/64654800 http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1255828999s/4722934.jpg 167336 Brenda Pike http://www.goodreads.com/images/nophoto-F-50x66.jpg http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/167336-brenda-pike Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:38:18 -0700 the article it's based on in the NY Times, I was deeply affected by it. It prompted Jason and I to decide to increase our donations from 1% to 5% of our income once we pay off our student loans this year. But I...more...]]>