tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post4879400172993710899..comments2024-03-25T22:38:46.822+08:00Comments on in lieu of a field guide: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (Junot Díaz)Risehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17446964640160585194noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post-40574782802201912112011-07-07T00:07:13.765+08:002011-07-07T00:07:13.765+08:00Indeed yes, Sarah. The history lessons, the LOTR r...Indeed yes, Sarah. The history lessons, the LOTR references, the whole swagger - despite their entertainment or information value - often seemed foisted on the novel, rather than explored. Overall, the story was as if overcooked.Risehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17446964640160585194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post-26958199321956667772011-07-06T19:54:29.457+08:002011-07-06T19:54:29.457+08:00"The danger with an unadulterated voice of ha..."The danger with an unadulterated voice of hate is that it puts a spin on things that rather trivializes the whole enterprise."<br /><br />Exactly!! And the incessant LOTR references didn't help any either. I found all the DR history interesting, but it made me wish I was reading an actual "history" instead. And in the light of all that came before, Oscar's own journeyAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post-16967756858538775552011-06-29T22:13:28.117+08:002011-06-29T22:13:28.117+08:00Exactly, Scott. The mordant medium is the message....Exactly, Scott. The mordant medium is the message. The novel just had too much fire raging that the smoke had obscured its thin and shrill rhetoric.Risehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17446964640160585194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post-67843946622183854222011-06-29T04:48:24.460+08:002011-06-29T04:48:24.460+08:00Thanks for this review, Rise. I've avoided thi...Thanks for this review, Rise. I've avoided this novel for some time, despite fairly loud raves on one side and more muted dissent on the other. But you've hit on one aspect that turned me off just from my reading the first few pages of the book: a sort of facile, topical, slightly suppurating voice that I knew I'd be unlikely to tolerate through to the end (I was, in fact, reading seraillonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17654593356535433945noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post-16460693410151223232011-06-28T18:58:31.208+08:002011-06-28T18:58:31.208+08:00Gary, the pottymouth was amusing, specially in his...Gary, the pottymouth was amusing, specially in his role as modern-day historian. As Richard noted, hip doofusism. But hip only to a certain point. It couldn't carry the novel past the language.Risehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17446964640160585194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post-37333564387389262692011-06-28T05:53:20.611+08:002011-06-28T05:53:20.611+08:00Great post, liking the idea of a potty mouthed tee...Great post, liking the idea of a potty mouthed teenager chucking foul words as a revolutionary act.@parridhlanternhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12793548943992250238noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post-23813654498447831152011-06-27T11:14:05.574+08:002011-06-27T11:14:05.574+08:00Thanks, Charlie. Now I think I just brushed up wit...Thanks, Charlie. Now I think I just brushed up with the "real" dictator novel - Jarry's <i>Ubu</i>!Risehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17446964640160585194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post-55638815264629348222011-06-27T02:13:25.982+08:002011-06-27T02:13:25.982+08:00Great review , couldnt agree moreGreat review , couldnt agree moreCharlie Cornflakeshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05814757305073338147noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post-20071817232056141612011-06-26T09:47:30.886+08:002011-06-26T09:47:30.886+08:00True, Richard. There is something liberating in re...True, Richard. There is something liberating in reading Bernhard's deranged narrators. <i>Oscar Wao</i>'s nerdisms are no match. If one had to be crass, might as well do it with some class.<br /><br />Always a pleasure to read along with the Wolves!Risehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17446964640160585194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3769714277850142841.post-73532139600228992472011-06-26T01:40:09.314+08:002011-06-26T01:40:09.314+08:00Rise, thanks for reading this with us--you always ...Rise, thanks for reading this with us--you always provide an interesting perspective as with this unexpected Bernhard comparison of yours! I, of course, agree that Díaz's narrator isn't really subversive at all despite the pose (the slang, the foul language, the hipster doofusisms). Also loved your paragraph featuring the lines about the "ad hominemic sentimentalidad" and how Richardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01746599416342846897noreply@blogger.com