Hey y'all! I hope fall is treating you well. Things are starting to settle for me after attending so many events. I just found out today that I may be heading to Istanbul early November for a business trip. I'm super excited because I've only been to China^^
I've been trying to stay on my reading game as well as reading books with POC in them and/or written by POC authors. I heard great things about Junot Diaz and I really love magical realism. So, I decided to read The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao and enjoyed it. Ugh the way that man writes slang is amazing! The book follows Oscar de Leon and his family's history with a curse known as fuku. Oscar is a huge nerd and wants to be a sci-fi/fantasy writer.
The book is broken up into three parts and jumps around chronologically and follows different characters in the Wao family or close to one of its members. While in some books this may be confusing, I feel the author does this skillfully and uses it to enhance the story. And for me it makes since because of how complicated family dynamics and past history can be. It helps capture the intricacy of how family does not operate on a linear timeline. Our present day family life is affected by decisions our ancestors have made often without our knowledge because those that carry those memories are no longer with us.
Switching to other characters' point of view helped the reader understand their actions and motivations. I personally did not care for Oscar's mother, but when you learn about her past you understand why she is who she is in present day. I wish we would have received more information on Lola and Oscar's father because I wonder how a woman so spurned by love fell in love again.
The novel covers a lot of themes and it really leaves you thinking even after it's over. It also gave me more insight into the Dominican Republic's history. A few things the novel illustrated that stuck with me was being othered by your own race for your interests. Growing up I was called white by my some of my peers or told that black guys wouldn't like me because I was weird and not a typical black girl. This came from some people thinking that if you were black and liked things that weren't considered "black interests" then you were strange and didn't fit in. Oscar's Dominican heritage is often called into question because of his geeky pursuits.
I def want to read more of Junot's work because this book was wonderful and took me on an emotional rollercoaster. If you decide to pick this book up please let me know what you think of it. I hope you enjoy it^^
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