The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a fiction-based novel written by Dominican American. Oscar de León (nicknamed Oscar Wao, a parody of Oscar Wilde) grew up in Paterson, New Jersey, as an overweight Dominican. Oscar has always wanted to be successful with ladies but has struggled to do so since he was a child, owing to his nerdish obsession with science fiction and comic books.

The story's threads about Oscar's family, particularly those set in the Dominican Republic during Trujillo's reign of terror, are the most compelling, brought to life by Daz's funny voice, which is generously sprinkled with Spanish. Oscar recuperates and graduates from Rutgers. He substitutes teaches at his former high school and dreams about writing an epic work of science fiction.

Eventually, he moves to the Dominican Republic and falls helplessly in love with Ybon, a sex worker who lives near him. Ybon is kind to Oscar but rejects his frequent romantic overtures. Ybon's boyfriend, a violent police captain, becomes jealous of Oscar and sends two goons who kidnap Oscar, take him to the sugarcane fields, and beat him into a coma. Oscar's family takes him back to the United States to heal. Oscar recovers from the beating, borrows money from Yunior, and returns to the Dominican Republic.