When is a Novel Not a Novel? When It's Not

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Díaz

My review

rating: 3 of 5 stars
I'd read Junot Diaz's short stories and really enjoyed them, and so was looking forward to this novel. Again I give the author, of Dominican Republic heritage, credit for fantastic writing: broad, witty, gritty, multilingual. Yet this book was not really a novel so much as a collection of interconnected short stories, which is why I felt a curious lack of tension.

That and the book felt composed of 90% telling and 10% showing, as in, "This happened and this happened and this happened." So while I learned a lot about each character, most of the content felt like background. There was no particular build toward a climax.

Did you read the book? If so, what do you think?


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