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What Members Thought
This book is a true wonder and treasure, the very definition of a 5 star read. I'm placing it in the exhalted position of one of my 3 favorite books of all time, sitting alongside The World According to Garp and Love in the Time of Cholera. It is a magnificent chronicle of a Dominican-American family and the fuku that haunts them throughout generations, with its main focus on poor Oscar, a heavyset nerd personified in eternal search for love, preferably the variety that is accompanied by sex. Th
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I really liked this book, almost gave it 5 stars,if I continue to think about it as much, I will change to 5 stars. By far the best book I read in '08.
Learned lots about the Dominican Republic,. Remembered names from my ancient past like Trujillo (what a monster, may have made Papa and Baby Doc look almost benevoent).
There was lots of myth,fantasy, and superstition woven into the story.Also a lot of spanish that sometimes threw me off the story, but, that usually added to it (no I don't speak or ...more
Learned lots about the Dominican Republic,. Remembered names from my ancient past like Trujillo (what a monster, may have made Papa and Baby Doc look almost benevoent).
There was lots of myth,fantasy, and superstition woven into the story.Also a lot of spanish that sometimes threw me off the story, but, that usually added to it (no I don't speak or ...more
The author won the Pulitzer in 2008 for this novel, his first BTW and I can certainly say it was well deserved. This was a fantastic read from beginning to end and I especially enjoyed the bits of history of the Dominican Republic added in as footnotes. I will definitely be on the look out for more from this very promising author!
This story bounces across the pages. - A novel about the imigrant experience in America, mixing pop culture and politics.
This is not what I expected at all. Even if the setting is different, the premise of the novel is timeless - overweight nerdboy struggles through adolescence and early adulthood blah blah blah, only he comes across as so pathetic and helpless that it is hard to root for him. Come to think of it, all of the characters throughout the book are shallow and generally unlikeable. Yes, the story provides an occasional laugh and even a couple of moments where the reader feels sympathy pangs for Oscar, b
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Wow. This story has everything - beautifully wrought characters, under-known historic setting, multi-cultural understanding. Diaz walked the love/fear tightrope with nary a wobble, or shall I say "fuku'/zafa tightrope?" Even thought there are good guys and bad guys in both the personal-to-Wao sense, and the broader sense of the world, Diaz presents all of his characters with the type of sleight-of-pen that kept me turning the page to see who was going to be what next. Love/fear, fuku'/zafa, good
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It's a tragedy. I don't know how I could've thought it was anything else. It's a tough read, but in that way that sticks with you.
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Aug 23, 2008
Olympia
marked it as to-read
Jan 01, 2009
Gaijinmama
marked it as to-read
Mar 20, 2009
Potjy
marked it as to-find
Feb 26, 2010
Debra Harrison
marked it as to-read
Jul 14, 2013
Kayleen
marked it as to-read
Mar 24, 2014
Stephen
marked it as to-read
Jun 23, 2016
Padya
added it
