
At times, tender and crude. Always fluid. It comprises a series of voices telling the story of a nerd on the quest for that mysterious thing called love. One might think that the countless references to sci-fi heroes and themes, his failed attempts at hooking-up and the ensuing reclusion into a world of fantasy make up for the character's lack of an open cultural and political stand. The opportunities are numerous, however. The story unfolds in turbulent political times, both in the USA and the Dominican Republic, culturally charged territories that seem to pass unnoticed by Oscar Wao as he strategizes on getting thin and falling in love. Everybody else has something to say about the Trujillato, that despicable dictatorship in the DR. Everybody has something to say about life in the USA for newly arrived immigrants. Except him. In the end, he is only the result of what everybody, including Tolkien, wanted him to be.
It is also the story of a family joined by a common vision of the world, one that goes on from generation to generation, and which dictates the misfortune of its family members. Some sort of karmic science, a fantastic disposition towards the inexplicable, the so-called fukú. The different narrators succeed in building the story, all from different perspectives, different times, different places. And in all of them, there is a sense of doom, of tragedy that Oscar meets and accepts, although at times, reluctantly. His embracing of its sad faith is heroic to the point of cheesy-ness, the rather unpredictable end of the story is relieving as many stories with geek stories tend to move towards the redemption of the protagonists by means of a self-discovery complete with coolness and umph. Oscar Wao waddles in melancholy, impotence, and a sense of humanity that made me stop reading from time to time to reread that sentence, to replay the scene in my head. It is humorous,too, so much that sometimes I would reprimand myself for doing so at moments where tragedy and comedy would meet.
In fact, I learned a new word thanks to Oscar Wao: Schadenfreude, pleasure derived from the misfortunes of others. It has become of my favorites.