The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

 The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao was written by Junot Diaz. The author won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2008 for this book. The author and Oscar were born in the Dominican Republic. The story is about Oscar but also about Oscar's mother and Oscar's Grandfather. Oscar's Grandfather was a physician. The Grandfather was an acquaintance of the dictator El Jefe. In some respects this book has historical facts about the Dominican Republic. When El Jefe asks Oscar's Grandfather to bring his daughters to a political event, the Grandfather does not obey because he knows they will be raped. El Jefe eventually tortures and kills him. Throughout the book a Dominican curse known as fuku. The curse affects the lives of the Grandfather, Oscar's mother, and Oscar himself. Oscar grows up in New Jersey with his older sister Lola. Oscar is overweight and nerdy. He enjoys reading and science fiction. He lacks the social skills to make friends or attract women. The book  is narrated by Junior who dated Lola and was Oscar's roommate when they were in college. Where Junior has the typical Dominican machismo, Oscar is the complete opposite. Oscar treats women with respect. Oscar and Lola go back to the Dominican Republic to visit their Grandmother. I enjoyed this book. I listened to the audio version. Sometimes the language went from English to Spanglish to Spanish so I didn't understand all of it. I enjoyed the characters in the book and the descriptions of the neighborhoods in New Jersey and the Dominican Republic.