Whew! What an intense read! Junot Diaz brings together so many narratives, references, and voices at times it reminded me of living in New York City. Just walking down the street and hearing so many accents, languages, slang throw together and able to function together cohesively. I wondered if he was trying to reflect his own cultural upbringing (Dominican Republic to New Jersey wow). It would create a pretty distinct voice. As the book traces the violent history of the DR, I wondered if we were reading the story of the ultimate culture clash. No matter how hard you try to outrun your heritage with fantasies and role playing games you can always be pulled back into it. Beli tried to literally escape her past, but watched as her son was seduced and destroyed by it. Whether that is a fuku or just the natural order of things (many desire to run away like Lola, and most of us never get very far, again like Lola).
What about our narrator, Yunior? Where does he fit into this? He has total control of the narrative of the novel and yet he seems so distant from so much of it. The information he is providing is mostly second-hand, about events he has not seen. He can not be completely trusted, nor can his account of the actions of the novel be trusted. Then he is just a storyteller, a fantastic storyteller, but still…I believe his control to be a negative that many of the characters would fight against. So much of the novel is about breaking free from cruel regimes and yet the cruelest may be when one controls the narrative of a history that is not their own. Dictators rewrite history to suit themselves, don’t they?
September 11, 2009 at 1:59 pm |
I totally agree with you that Junot Diaz’s book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is an intense book to read. I found it interesting about Diaz using different voices to narrate his story. I find it interesting the way that Diaz uses reflections of his own cultural throughout the novel. It was also interesting how he used a third person voice to detail the storyline. I felt there where tow narrators telling the tale. There was the perspective of Lola, Oscar’s sister who told of the curse, “Fuku,” as well as Yunior who details other situations. I as well think that you cannot trust Yunior account because it does appear as if it is second hand. However, as far as Lola’s narration it more concrete. The “Fuku” has affected her and her whole family. It is mind-blogging how a Dictator can alter a family’s life.
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