Some families have bad luck. And some families fall victim to such horrendous, cruel, cosmically unjust twists of fate that they believe they’re cursed. In the opening pages of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, the reader is introduced to the concept of fuku: the family curse that casts its shadow across generations and brings woe and misfortune to everyone it touches. The book bears witness to the capricious whims of fuku that befall Oscar de Leon (“Wao” turns out to be a nickname) and his forebears.
Oscar is, according to his best friend and the book’s chief narrator, an overweight Dominican ghetto nerd living in Jersey who is absolutely hopeless around girls. The book abounds with references to Lord of the Rings, Watchmen, Planet of the Apes, Dune, and other major and minor works in the geek canon. Oscar fancies himself a writer and spends countless lonely hours in front of his computer, cranking out page after page of what he hopes will be the next space opera masterpiece. More than anything, Oscar wants a girlfriend, but his all-consuming crushes (on women with significant flaws of their own) usually end in disappointment and heartbreak.
The novel isn’t just about Oscar, though. We are transported back in time to the Dominican Republic of Oscar’s parents and grandparents, a place where beauty and terror exist in close proximity. Trujillo, the country’s psychotic fascist dictator for much of the twentieth century, looms over events like a modern-day Sauron. Trujillo’s murderous rule leads to the downfall of Oscar’s grandfather, a familial calamity that sets a tragic chain of events in motion that have implications even for Oscar.
This is an enthralling book narrated in several distinctive voices. The prose is beautiful, funny, and generally a pleasure to hear in my own head. Oscar’s sad sack state of being is treated with empathy without elevating him to geek sainthood. Oscar is no hero, but he does the best he can.
While reading Oscar’s story, I had a nagging feeling of familiarity. Oscar reminds me of someone. I’ll figure it out who it is eventually.
A very beautiful tribute to this book!
Ah, so THAT’s how you spell “fuku”. I was wondering. (I listened to this book on my iPod while sitting in traffic.)
I found it a bit depressing… (well, duh!) and Oscar also reminds me of someone that I can’t quite place. I think he is the loser that lurks in the insecurity of all true geeks.