Book Club Discussion Questions
For supplemental discussion material see our Beyond the Book article, A Short History of the Dominican Republic and our BookBrowse Review of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
Please be aware that this discussion guide will contain spoilers!
IntroductionWinner of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction,
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar
Wao tells the story of Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto
nerd, a New Jersey romantic who 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 fukúthe ancient curse that has haunted Oscar's family for
generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and ill-starred
romance. Oscar, still dreaming of his first kiss, is only its most recent
victimuntil the fateful summer that he decides to be its last.
With dazzling energy and insight, Junot Díaz immerses us in the uproarious
lives of our hero Oscar, his runaway sister Lola, and their ferocious mother
Belicia, and in the family's epic journey from Santo Domingo to New York City's
Washington Heights to New Jersey's Bergenline and back again. Rendered with
uncommon warmth and humor,
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao presents
an astonishing vision of the contemporary American experience and the endless
human capacity to persevereand to risk it allin the name of love.
A true literary triumph, this novel confirms Junot Díaz as one of the best
and most exciting writers of our time.
Discussion Questions
- Throughout the novel, Spanish words and phrases appear unaccompanied by
their English translations. What is the effect of this seamless blending of
Spanish and English? How would the novel have been different if Díaz had
stopped to provide English translations at every turn? Why does Díaz not
italicize the Spanish words (the way foreign words are usually italicized in
English-language text)?
- The book centers on the story of Oscar and his familyand yet the
majority of the book is narrated by Yunior, who is not part of the family,
and only plays a relatively minor role in the events of the story. Yunior
even calls himself "The Watcher," underscoring his outsider status in the
story. What is the effect of having a relative outsider tell the story of
Oscar and his family, rather than having someone in the family tell it? And
why do you think Díaz waits for so long at the beginning of the book to
reveal who the narrator is?
- Díaz, in the voice of the narrator, often employs footnotes to explain
the history or context of a certain passage or sentence in the main text.
Why do you think he chose to convey historical facts and anecdotes in
footnote form? How would the novel have read differently if the content of
the footnotes had been integrated into the main text? What if the footnotes
(and the information in them) had been eliminated altogether?
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- How does the author develop themes of identity and belonging throughout the narrative?
- What role does the setting play in shaping the characters' decisions and relationships?
- Discuss how the ending reframes the events of the story. Were you surprised?
Unless otherwise stated, this discussion guide is reprinted with the permission of Riverhead Books.
Any page references refer to a USA edition of the book, usually the trade paperback version, and may vary in other editions.