339 pages
English language
Published April 19, 2007 by Riverhead Books.
Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar 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 Fukœ-the curse that has haunted the Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still waiting for his first kiss, is just its most recent victim.
I found myself reading this with a Spanish/English dictionary handy. Of course, there are some things you won't find in a respectable dictionary anyway. This isn't a detraction from the book however. I actually thought it was an interesting experience reading a book that would occasionally drop Spanish phrases and dominacano slang.
"Oscar" was written by a fellow Demarite so pardon me if I'm a bit biased in my review. Diaz weaves the tale of a family curse--a fuku--which leaves poor Oscar to suffer the loveless life of a typical nerd. I thought the writing was really amazing and I can certainly understand why this book won the National Book Critics Circle Award. Diaz brings his characters to life through his descriptive language and his humor made me laugh out loud several times. The ending leaves you hanging which is a bit frustrating, and the background story seems to lead nowhere at times, but still I found this to be a very enjoyable tale of a young man's unending faith in the power of love.
