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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

by Junot Diaz

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Hardcover, 339 pages, Penguin Group USA, List Price: $24.95 | purchase

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Paperback, 339 pages, Penguin Group USA, $15, published September 2 2008 | purchase
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  • The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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Book Summary

Living with an old-world mother and rebellious sister, an urban New Jersey misfit dreams of becoming the next J. R. R. Tolkien and believes that a long-standing family curse is thwarting his efforts to find love and happiness.

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Awards and Recognition

National Book Critics Circle Award (2007); Pulitzer Prize (2008)

45 weeks on NPR Paperback Fiction Bestseller List

NPR stories about The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Author Interviews

'Wondrous Life' Explores Multinationality

Novelist Junot Diaz's first novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao explores the complexities of living in two cultures at once. Set in both the United States and in the Dominican Republic, the novel follows the story of Oscar Wao in prose that frequently mixes Spanish and English in the same sentence.

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