SSR Book Review

This semester, I read a book that I would least expect a teacher to give me! Not because of what people would consider to be the vulgarity of it, but because it was actually a story that someone of my age would enjoy without being intellectually overwhelmed. The book I read is called The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Dίaz. It is about a Dominican boy named Oscar who has had no luck with women which causes his depression. His whole life all he wanted was to have a girlfriend, but all of the odds were against him. He was a fat, shy nerd who spent most of his time writing science fiction books. He doesn’t want to end up being a virgin for the rest of his life, and neither does his family. He states that it is basically the Dominican way for the men to be players. This is why sometimes people question his sexuality. He believes that all of his bad luck with women is because of what Dominicans call a fύkύ. A fύkύ is basically a curse. Oscar wasn’t always a loser. After he broke a fellow classmate’s heart in elementary school everything went downhill. It seemed to him that his bad luck was also his karma for what he did to her.
Throughout the book Oscar complains and sulks about not having someone to love or a woman to get him “laid.” In the book he progresses with a few women but is constantly put in the “friend zone.” Also, Oscar discovers his roots by visiting his homeland, the Dominican Republic. He soon finds out all of the corruption that existed and still exists there because its former dictator Trujillo. He finds himself in the same situation as his mother once was. No matter what Oscar did it seemed like he couldn’t win. He wasn’t accepted by his peers throughout his whole life because they thought he looked disgusting and weird.
The book is told from several different people for the reader to understand Oscar’s full situation. The reader can’t help but feel sorry for him. He’s just trying to find love like the rest of the world. The audience gains insight into another type of culture, society, and history. I would definitely recommend this book! Despite the fact that there is some sadness, there is also a lot of laughter. It was hard for me to put it down and I also learned some Spanish along the way. I guarantee anyone who reads it will enjoy it.