(4/13/2008)
What an odd book! It’s without doubt one of the most unusual novels I’ve ever read. I think I did like it, more or less, and I recommend reading it. It’s so different, though, that it left me unsure for awhile as to how I felt about it. I’m sure, though, it’ll stick with me a long time, and it motivated me enough to read other works by this author.
The book’s description doesn’t provide a good idea of what it’s actually about. The jacket makes the reader think it’ll be a coming-of-age story, with the protagonist being a nerdy New York boy from the Dominican Republic. Some of it is, in fact, just that. There’s a lot more to this novel, however. There’s quite a lot of Dominican Republic history here, as well as the stories of Oscar’s mother and sister, as narrated by another individual (who isn’t revealed until about halfway through the book). The plot jumps around a lot, although the divisions are clear enough that it’s easy to follow the plot line. It was entertaining, and in places chuckle-out-loud funny.
The author slips in a lot of Spanish, and as someone who knows very little Spanish, I found this frustrating. He also included numerous fantasy references. If you’re not familiar with Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, and other classics of this genre, you may feel lost.
Overall, though, a fantastic novel. Very original.