Junot Diaz's new novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao, promises to be an incredible read. Diaz talked with Tom Ashbrook on ON POINT recently, and the interview is worth a listen. Here's a description of Diaz on Ashbrook's site:
Son of the Dominican Republic and New Jersey, Junot Diaz made a huge splash a decade ago with a tough, vivid collection of short stories on Latino ghetto life called "Drown." Now, Diaz is back with a debut novel that is knocking the socks off critics.
"The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" tracks one heart-torn family from surreally brutal dictatorship in Santo Domingo to a sexy, urban, sci-fi, Spanglish tragicomedy in the USA. Time magazine calls it "astoundingly great."
You can listen to the broadcast HERE.
- BH.
2 comments:
Your post got me thinking about the impact our favorite writers have on our lives. I'd say that we've all come across novels that have made us feel a part of the action. Characters become a fully-realized person we've just met, and their stories reach out and speak to us.
Sunday, a well-known author died and left behind a world, and a story, largely unfinished. Robert Jordan, the writer of the Wheel of Time series, finaly succumbed to a disease he had been battling for years.
Although I have never met him, the news struck me down nonetheless. It's amazing how writers manage to capture a bit of themselves within their work, and that small piece can make us feel kinship with them.
Jordan's goal was to create a 12 book series, but he has passed before the twelfth could be written. The news articles I've read suggested that he had the first and last chapter written, as well as the outline for the rest of the plot, and kept within a safe. But I doubt it will be the same. As selfish as it sounds, I wonder how satisfying a finale the next book can be. I am torn as a reader--do I soldier on and finish the series so I can discover how it ends, or do I put it aside, fearing disappointment since it cannot be written with the same caliber.
I've also read some phenomenal reviews of this - I've added it to my staggeringly daunting list of books to read. Given all the positive hype, however, it may end up flying up to the top of the queue.
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