City News

I have heard a lot of good things said about The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. A lot of people around me had an enjoyable time reading this story. In fact it was recommended multiple times, and is featured in a lot of people's top ten books. The level of enjoyment for this book may depend on what certain type of stories that the reader liked. If you like fast paced, drama type of stories, this book may not be for you. For me, it just was not my cup of tea. This is definitely not to say that I hated reading the book. In fact I thought it was a pleasant read. I enjoyed the plot and the characters, but I didn’t become invested in it like I would for other books. It just would not be the book that I would reread and have it close to me. I give this book a seven out of ten. (It still is in the higher ranks of recommended books.) The age recommendation definitely is a lot older. I would say sixteen and up. If you like a mature read perhaps you could read it around fifteen. There are elements of the story that are hard to relate to as a high schooler, and I think that is why I could not find the story as one of my favorites. I definitely do want to reread this later in my life and see if I can find the story more relatable. 

Before I start the summary of the story, I would like to put out a disclaimer that there is a lot of jumping of time periods in the story that may become confusing. At first, I was thrown off by this but later I became accustomed to it. 

The plot of the story follows the life of Oscar Wao. However the narrator is not Oscar, rather it is his college roommate, Yunior. Throughout points of the story, there are brief flashbacks to his family in the Trujillo regime. There seems to be a chain of misfortune that follows Oscar and his whole family. This misfortune is referenced as fuku. Oscar is an awkward Dominican American who is in search of the love of his life. His dream, starting at a young age, is to become an author. He pursues his passion until he finds something else, love. To put it in the nicest way possible, Oscar is a nerd who desires to fall in love and to be loved back. In this process he meets Ana Orbegon. Oscar gets his feelings played and thrown away. The next point of the plot is with Oscar’s sister and mom, Lola and Beli. Beli has breast cancer and Lola is left in charge of taking care of her sick mother. Even though Lola tries her best to support her mother it is hard. Beli appears to have taken a mental toll due to her physical illness. This causes them to fall apart. Lola is sent to the Dominican Republic. The story then jumps back in time to Beli’s past in the Domincan Republic. The readers get an insight to the mother and why she is the way she is. The rest of the story focuses on the growth of Oscar as a character and his realization of love and the battle to defeat bad luck. 

The plot grows into a progression of stories and lessons that both the characters and the readers can learn and take into their personal lives. I hope that the next reader of this story is able to enjoy the the story and become close with Oscar Wao.