Lateral Excursions

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, by Junot Díaz

“Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd, a New Jersey romantic who dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love.  But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the fakú – the ancient curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starrred love.  Oscar, still dreaming of his first kiss, is only its most recent victim – until the fateful summer that he decides to be its last.”

Díaz, Junot. Abstract.  The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.