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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
- Narrated by: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Karen Olivo
- Length: 9 hrs and 54 mins
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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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Summary
Things have never been easy for Oscar. A ghetto nerd living with his Dominican family in New Jersey, he's sweet but disastrously overweight. He dreams of becoming the next J R R Tolkien and he keeps falling hopelessly in love. Poor Oscar may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fuku - the curse that has haunted his family for generations.
With dazzling energy and insight Diaz immerses us in the tumultuous lives of Oscar; his runaway sister Lola; their beautiful mother Belicia; and in the family's uproarious journey from the Dominican Republic to the US and back.
Rendered with uncommon warmth and humour, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a literary triumph that confirms Junot Diaz as one of the most exciting writers of our time.
What listeners say about The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Rachel
- 20-12-16
Wonderful narration
What does Lin-Manuel Miranda and Karen Olivo bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?
The seamless switches between English and Spanish really worked during the narration for me, whereas I think it may have been jarring during reading. There was a depth and feeling and genuine enjoyment of the story from both of the narrators.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Reeshar S
- 07-05-17
First novel I've truly enjoyed for years
Totally transported by the text and the quality of the narration. So happy to have stumbled upon it.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nelo
- 14-04-18
lin manuels naration is everything
I can't recommend it enough. Absolutely beautiful. its sad and funny, the end was just perfect.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- cazzface
- 18-05-15
Fantastic
It's easy to see why this book is being hailed as the next modern classic, it's extremely well written with a very human and intriguing story. The different characters are all well developed and have their own distinct voices. The narrator does a brilliant job. Highly recommend, I only wish I spoke better Spanish, I'm going to be spending a lot of time on Google translator for my next listen!
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4 people found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Dale Linney
- 23-06-18
Impeccable Narration
Vivid story, full of wit, insight and anger. It's peppered throughout with delicate hints of foreboding, with cult references and with shades of history that give the narrative a wholly original sense of urgency, relevance and authenticity that's unrivaled. The narrators are such that once listened to, you couldn't imagine anyone else in their stead.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Creme Fraiche
- 28-03-24
Passionate. Real. Sad.
A brave and vibrant exploration of the roles that fate, culture and the political landscape play in shaping the lives of ordinary people. Amazing main narrator, who brought the story and the characters to life brilliantly. The audiobook has a great pace and I never lost interest.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Shaenandhoa R.
- 22-01-17
book, tribute to the Latin American imagination, culture and history.
This is a wonderful book, tribute to the Latin American imagination, culture and history. A fantastic story about families built upon diaspora and generational impacts of tirany. Full of references to contemporary topics, but also ageless one. If you are interested on insights into Latin American life and ways of thinking this a great book for you!
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- LT
- 02-10-17
I can see why this won the Pulitzer.
Absolutely incredible and stunning book! beautifully narrated and engrossing. Not at all surprised it's a Pulitzer winner.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- M.
- 12-03-15
Wow.
Awesome, educational, revolting, heartbreaking. I highly recommend this book. It's told in such a great way. So honest and with such cool references. It just blew my mind.
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9 people found this helpful
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
- Welsh Mafia
- 01-11-10
The Bard of Silk City
Junot Diaz is well known and this novel was much anticipated through his short-story work on The New Yorker and on that basis, I dived into this full length novel with relish. It represents a fresh voice which stands apart, above and beyond lots of new millennium city-lit in the States and is an invigorating read, though not necessarily from start to finish.
There are definite high-points through the narrative - in particular long sections of The Three Heartbreaks of Belicia Cabral and Poor Abelard are really engaging and fascinating for someone who knew nothing of the brutal regime of Rafael Trujillo its history and impact on the Dominican Republic - and these sections alone are worth the money. Elsewhere, the ?modern? GhettoNerd at the End of the World , whilst well ornamented, does not seem to sparkle to the same extent that is suggested by the wonderful ?Alma? on which the earlier expressed anticipation was based. Junot Diaz has certainly found the voice of Silk City, but the short-comings of Oscar as a central character on which to hang the narrative translates to a little disappointment on my part - whilst I?m really not interested in Star Trek and Marvel the litter of detailed Dominica detritus sustains the work through the less than dazzling sections. Maybe more (or is that less) simpatico on the part of hombre Wao might have livened this one up to consistent heights - but that?s just small potato criticism of a highly original and entertaining new voice on the New York scene.
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3 people found this helpful