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Junot Diaz weaves the story of an overweight teenager in New York with Dominican history, comic books, and US foreign policy in "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." (MPR photo/Euan Kerr)
Junot Diaz and 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao'
September 17, 2007
While most authors strive for clarity, Junot Diaz says he wanted to create a story that would be difficult to grasp.
St. Paul, Minn. — On it's surface his novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" is the story of a monstrously overweight Dominican teenager living in New York.
Yet it's also the story of the Dominican Republic, blended with everything from comic books and role playing games to US history and political science.
The New York Times described it as "Mario Vargas Llosa meets "Star Trek" meets David Foster Wallace meets Kanye West."
Diaz says it all grew out of the character of Oscar himself.
Audio
- Junot Diaz reads from 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao'
- Junot Diaz and 'The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao' (feature audio)
- Junot Diaz talks to Euan Kerr about where his characters come from
- Junot Diaz talks about language and his next book
Photos
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