So Far, Not so Good

Call me uneducated, call my uncultured, or call me crazy, but so far I am not a fan of Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I find this book to be difficult to follow and one that you must read very slowly in order to not miss anything, which in turn makes the novel seem slow and uneventful. The Spanish that is embedded throughout each paragraph is left untranslated and therefore creates a gap between you and the characters within the story. I understand the involving the main characters language to add a realistic effect but, I feel that due to the lack of translation the realness trying to be conveyed is loss, mostly because I am left frustrated. It is a book, I read it, therefore what is happening the story should be explicitly spelled out for me. If this were a movie perhaps the language barrier would not be such a big deal since when watching a movie you can pick up on body language and facial expressions. However, within novels these expressions, movements, or postures must be detailed through words to you and in this novel they are not.

Additionally, one of the main characters Oscar, constantly makes different literary references throughout the book. Yes, I understand he is a smart boy and one who loves to read and relate to these works of literature. However, I am not as educated in the English realm and I would have to say that most of our country is not as well, considering that our major newspapers are written at an 8th grade level in the first place. Therefore, while he is going on about some novel or comic book, I am left sitting, bored, confused, and feeling a bit stupid. The more he relates to these writings the more distant I feel from Oscar. The more he talks about these different pieces I have never read, the more I want to turn the page a move on. I don’t get the many literary jokes, and I doubt that many others do as well.

As of now I am disappointed in this novel. It could be due in large part to the fact that in class we just read one of the best books ever, Water for Elephants, or it could be due to the fact that the language and knowledge barrier is getting in the way and causing my brain to overload and slowly shut down. Either way I am praying that this book changes its evil ways and turn into a novel and I can actually get through. I will make the promise to read on and keep and open mind and I will say that I hope this novel proves me wrong and turns out to be an excellent book.