Brief Wondrous Life.... - Title

We know from the start that Oscar is destined to die in the course of the book—the title suggests as much, and there are references to his death throughout the book ("Mister. Later [Lola would] want to put that on his gravestone but no one would let her, not even me." (p. 36)). Why do you think Díaz chose to reveal this from the start? How does Díaz manage to create suspense and hold the reader's attention even though we already know the final outcome for Oscar? Did it actually make the book more suspenseful, knowing that Oscar was going to die?

Brief Wondrous Life.... - Characters

The author, the primary narrator, and the protagonist of the book are all male, but some of the strongest characters and voices in the book (La Inca, Belicia, Lola) are female. Who do you think makes the strongest, boldest decisions in the book? Given the machismo and swagger of the narrative voice, how does the author express the strength of the female characters? Do you think there is an intentional comment in the contrast between that masculine voice and the strong female characters?

Brief Wondrous Life.... - Yunior

Yunior characterizes himself as a super macho, womanizing jock-type—and yet in narrating the book, his writing is riddled with reference to nerdy topics like the Fantastic Four and Lord of the Rings. In other words, there seems to be a schism between Yunior the character and Yunior the writer. Why do you think that is? What could Díaz be trying to say by making Yunior's character so seemingly contradictory?

Brief Wondrous Life... - Footnotes

Díaz, in the voice of the narrator, often employs footnotes to explain the history or context of a certain passage or sentence in the main text. Why do you think he chose to convey historical facts and anecdotes in footnote form? How would the novel have read differently if the content of the footnotes had been integrated into the main text? What if the footnotes (and the information in them) had been eliminated altogether?

Brief Wondrous Life... - Narrator

The book centers on the story of Oscar and his family—and yet the majority of the book is narrated by Yunior, who is not part of the family, and only plays a relatively minor role in the events of the story. Yunior even calls himself “The Watcher,” underscoring his outsider status in the story. What is the effect of having a relative outsider tell the story of Oscar and his family, rather than having someone in the family tell it? And why do you think Díaz waits for so long at the beginning of the book to reveal who the narrator is?

Brief Wondrous Life.... - Language

Throughout the novel, Spanish words and phrases appear unaccompanied by their English translations. What is the effect of this seamless blending of Spanish and English? How would the novel have been different if Díaz had stopped to provide English translations at every turn? Why does Díaz not italicize the Spanish words (the way foreign words are usually italicized in English-language text)?

Brief Wondrous Life.... - Response, Author

A day late, but not a dollar short :>

Wow! Needed the extra day to recover from reading this book. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz, with the following honors:

• Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2008
• National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction 2007
• New York Times Notable Books for Fiction and Poetry 2007
• Library Journal Best Books 2007

among others, is one of the most graphic books I've read in some time. But with so much acclaim, I continued reading past the first 30 pages and I'm glad I did.
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According to Contemporary Authors Online, author, Junot Diaz was born in 1968, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He immigrated to the United States around 1975 and became a naturalized citizen. He received his B.A. in Literature and History at Rutgers University and his Creative Writing M.F.A. at Cornell University. He currently resides in Brooklyn, NY. The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is his first novel, following his collection of short stories entitled Drown (1996).
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On April 28 of this year Newsweek published an article in which Mr. Diaz reveals that a book he hopes parents will read to their kids is Richard Adams's Watership Down, "which is about the very thing kids dream of: that something small can still be a hero." Does this remind you of The Brief Wondrous Life...?

Veil of Roses - Conclusion

In the United States, it is a sound assumption that love is a prerequisite to marriage. However in order to stay in America, Tami may have to forfeit this privilege and concede to an arranged agreement. Considering Nadia’s situation, do you think giving up this choice is worth gaining the other potential freedoms?

Veil of Roses - Ardishir

Maryam’s husband, Ardishir, seems to be the voice of reason throughout the novel. Why and in what ways is his character’s role essential to the story?

Next title selected for October 15

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao will be our next title, starting October 15. Two weeks to get your copy and start reading-