by Junot Díaz
Review:
The story revolves around Oscar a 300-pound-plus teenage Nerd. He is your stereotypical 1980's version of a Nerd, he loves role playing games, fantasy fiction and video games. The interesting thing about Oscar is that he is Dominican and lives in New Jersey. He stands out amongst his peers and longs for a girlfriend, but has no idea how to get one. The book is also the story of a multi-generational family curse that courses through the book, leaving troubles and tragedy in its wake.I know that this book won the Pulitzer Prize and everyone has been talking about this being a great sophomore effort from Diaz, but I really did not love this book at all and would not even recommend it to a fellow reader. I only tackled it because it has been weighing on my "to read" list and when it won, I found that to be a good reason to try it out. The writing style is comedic and the story seems biographical, but other than that, there isn't a lot there that kept me interested as a reader. I love the NJ references and the "coming of age" drama, but overall I still give this book a thumbs down.
