The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao cover art

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

By: Junot Diaz
Narrated by: Karen Olivo, Various
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About this listen

 Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2008.

Things have never been easy for Oscar. A ghetto nerd living with his Dominican family in New Jersey, he's sweet but disastrously overweight. He dreams of becoming the next J R R Tolkien and he keeps falling hopelessly in love. Poor Oscar may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fuku - the curse that has haunted his family for generations.

With dazzling energy and insight Diaz immerses us in the tumultuous lives of Oscar; his runaway sister Lola; their beautiful mother Belicia; and in the family's uproarious journey from the Dominican Republic to the US and back.

Rendered with uncommon warmth and humour, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a literary triumph that confirms Junot Diaz as one of the most exciting writers of our time.

©2007 Junot Diaz (P)2008 Recorded Books LLC Contemporary Fiction Fiction Genre Fiction Funny Heartfelt Witty Tear-jerking

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Most relevant  

What does Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The seamless switches between English and Spanish really worked during the narration for me, whereas I think it may have been jarring during reading. There was a depth and feeling and genuine enjoyment of the story from both of the narrators.

Wonderful narration

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Totally transported by the text and the quality of the narration. So happy to have stumbled upon it.

First novel I've truly enjoyed for years

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I can't recommend it enough. Absolutely beautiful. its sad and funny, the end was just perfect.

lin manuels naration is everything

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With memorable prose, great characters and a nice story arc, this novel crosses generations, conveying the brutality and futility of living under a dictatorship and the prospects of a social outcast.

Brilliant prose

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It's easy to see why this book is being hailed as the next modern classic, it's extremely well written with a very human and intriguing story. The different characters are all well developed and have their own distinct voices. The narrator does a brilliant job. Highly recommend, I only wish I spoke better Spanish, I'm going to be spending a lot of time on Google translator for my next listen!

Fantastic

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Vivid story, full of wit, insight and anger. It's peppered throughout with delicate hints of foreboding, with cult references and with shades of history that give the narrative a wholly original sense of urgency, relevance and authenticity that's unrivaled. The narrators are such that once listened to, you couldn't imagine anyone else in their stead.

Impeccable Narration

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A brave and vibrant exploration of the roles that fate, culture and the political landscape play in shaping the lives of ordinary people. Amazing main narrator, who brought the story and the characters to life brilliantly. The audiobook has a great pace and I never lost interest.

Passionate. Real. Sad.

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This is a wonderful book, tribute to the Latin American imagination, culture and history. A fantastic story about families built upon diaspora and generational impacts of tirany. Full of references to contemporary topics, but also ageless one. If you are interested on insights into Latin American life and ways of thinking this a great book for you!

book, tribute to the Latin American imagination, culture and history.

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Absolutely incredible and stunning book! beautifully narrated and engrossing. Not at all surprised it's a Pulitzer winner.

I can see why this won the Pulitzer.

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Awesome, educational, revolting, heartbreaking. I highly recommend this book. It's told in such a great way. So honest and with such cool references. It just blew my mind.

Wow.

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