Interviews
An interview with Juno Diaz on his novel on May 2, 2008 from the NPR. In this interview Diaz speaks answers questions about the book and about how the novel related to him while growing up. The interview is decently long and offers a lot of insight into Diaz's writing of the book.
Slate offers another interview titled "Questions for Diaz" in regards to the book. The interview took place on November 8, 2007 In this Interview Diaz answers questions on how he went about writing the book and the choices he made to develop such an original novel.
This is an interview with Diaz that was done in August 2007. The person interviewing Diaz (Dave), asks him more about the main characters within the book to try and get some firsthand insight about who they are and why they do what they do in the book.
This is an interview from Narrative Magazine with Junot Diaz after writing the book The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
Video Clips
Junot Díaz visits Google's Mountain View, CA, headquarters to discuss his novel "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." This event took place September 26, 2007, as part of the Authors@Google Series. This video is considerably lengthy, but it offers valuable information in regards to the book.
Here is a video from The Colbert Report from June 18, 2008. It is an interview of Diaz that talks mostly about what it is like to be an immigrant, and also talks about the book. This video like most from this show is somewhat odd and funny, and shows a different side of Diaz.
"The City of Cambridge recognized, Junot Diaz, 2008 Pulitzer Prize-winning author of "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao." Boston Latino Tv was at the Central Square Theatre where City Councilor Ken Reeves presented Junot with the key to the city and declared January 25 Junot Diaz Day. Junot's fans were delighted by the talented writer's lively and humorous reading."
This clip is fairly lengthy at 30 minutes long, but it provides useful information about Diaz and his books. "Fiction author and 2008 Pulitzer Prize winner Junot Diaz appears at the National Book Festival. Speaker Biography: Junot Diaz was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, and is the author of the short-story collection "Drown" and the novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao (hardback 2007, paperback 2008), which won the John Sargent Sr. First Novel Prize, the National Book Critics Circle Award, the Anisfield-Wolf Book Award, the Dayton Literary Peace Prize and the 2008 Pulitzer Prize."
Book Reviews
At this New York Times website there is a book review "Travails of an Outcast" on The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. The article dates to September 4, 2007. In this article gives good reviews on the book while also providing a brief overview of the book and what it is about.
This review gives praise to the books unique, page-turning experience that it gives the reader. In this article it primarily talks about the "fuku" curse that plagues the book. The review is fairly short, but it helps provide an overall idea of the curse and how it is deal with throughout the novel.
This book review gives a summary about the book and then goes on to talk about how good/bad the book is. This review is a good to read because it talks about both the cons and the pros of the book. Overall it is more positive than negative, with the only negative mainly been that some readers may not like it because there is talk about sex and words that some readers may find offensive.
This review is a very positive one; it talks about how the writing style fits the novel and makes the reading more in joy able and something different that many readers have not seen before. Along with talking about the book it also talks about what the book could mean and the and why Diaz might have writing this novel .
Helpful Hints
Here is a link that is useful for translating some of the Spanish words and phrases found throughout the book.
The Annotated Oscar Wao: Notes and Translations for The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by Junot Diaz is a fan site that offers helpful notes for some of the unfamiliar content of the book. This can be helpful in clarifying some of the Spanish and cultural references found throughout the book. Though it is not always the most reliable source, it is a great place to start.
Author Website: This is the personal webpage of Junot Diaz. On this website he lists dates for his appearances, a brief biography, an email address to contact him, and the ability to purchase The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.
“The only way out is in. And that’s what I guess these stories are all about.” –Lola de León