The Brief Wondrous Life Of Oscar Wao

By (author) Diaz Junot
Short description/annotation:

A SUNDAY TIMES TOP 100 NOVEL OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
#11 in the New York Times ''100 Best Books of the 21st Century''

A ghetto nerd living with his Dominican family in New Jersey, Oscar''s sweet but disastrously overweight.

Description:

A SUNDAY TIMES TOP 100 NOVEL OF THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY
#11 in the New York Times ''100 Best Books of the 21st Century''

A ghetto nerd living with his Dominican family in New Jersey, Oscar''s sweet but disastrously overweight. He dreams of becoming the next J. R. R. Tolkien and he keeps falling hopelessly in love. With dazzling energy and insight Díaz 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.

''The Best Novel of the 21st Century to Date'' - BBC Culture.

Biographical note:
Junot Diaz was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He is a graduate of Rutgers University and received his Master of Fine Arts Degree from Cornell University. His collection of short stories, Drown, was described as "a dazzlingly talented first book" by Hermione Lee in the Independent on Sunday. He teaches creative writing at MIT (Massachussetts Institute of Technology).
Promotional headline:
Junot Diaz''s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - the winner of the Pulitzer Prize 2008 - is an astounding debut novel from one of today''s most original and electrifying literary voices.