Jonathan answers “Do you think this book was good enough to...”

Carl Koenemann asked this question about The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao:

Do you think this book was good enough to warrant the high accolades it went on to receive?

Jonathan No. This book should have a red warning note on the cover clearly stating that the reader needs to be bilingual in English and Spanish in order to und…moreNo. This book should have a red warning note on the cover clearly stating that the reader needs to be bilingual in English and Spanish in order to understand and enjoy the story. Spanish is used prolifically, and the context practically never makes it clear what the Spanish words mean. An example: "In her twenties, sunny and amiable, whose cuerpo was all pipa and no culo, a 'mujer alegre' (in the parlance of the period)." HUH?! A few sentences later: "Muchacha, you wouldn't believe el lio en que me meti anoche." Countless sentences like this one caused me to abandon the book, and have caused me to abandon the writer as well.(less)

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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

by Junot Díaz

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