The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz is bar far the best book I have read in a long time. The tale of 300+ Dominican uber nerd is compelling and complex. The nuances of life that Diaz captures continues to amaze me as the pictures he paints stay fresh in my mind. Throughout the text, the emotional qualities of the characters are portrayed in such a way that compels the reader to continue reading to find out what happens to this family and its disparate pieces. With a writing style similar to that of David Foster Wallace and a cultural connection to Latin and Dominican culture Diaz brings to life a wonderful, sexy, scary, and renowned piece of fiction. I was also left with a new understanding of the Dominican Republic and Latin culture. I was skeptical at first having stumbled across this book in an airport bookstore but am happy and pleasantly surprised that I did.

This book also recently battled another piece of fiction on The Morning News.