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Book of the Month: exploring family curses

05/02/2012 By 16 Comments

Join us as we explore the work of Latino authors together, both old and new! If you missed last month’s book, no need to worry. The Book of the Month for May is The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao by author Junot Diaz, who was born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. His book The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao has won numerous prizes and awards.  He is also the author of the book Drown.

Read excerpts from a discussion with Junot Diaz here.

The blurb on the inside cover of the book gives us an idea of what’s in store for us this month:

Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight ghetto nerd, a New Jersey romantic who dreams of becoming the Dominican J.R.R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the fukú- the ancient curse that has haunted Oscar’s family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still dreaming of his first kiss, is only its most recent victim – until the fateful summer that he decides to be its last.

Join our book club group on Facebook to partake in our discussions throughout the month.

As always, suggestions for subsequent Books of the Month are welcome and appreciated. Click here to submit your book suggestion.

Happy reading!

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About Cindy Tovar

Born in Flushing, Queens to Colombian parents, Cindy has always loved reading and writing. For this reason, she entered Montclair State University to pursue an English degree, but instead fell in love with and graduated with a B.A. in Psychology. During her time at Montclair State, Cindy joined the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) on campus. She immediately felt comfortable surrounded by peers that shared both love and pride for the Latino culture, something she had never experienced before. She ultimately became president of LASO. Since then, Cindy has earned her M.S. Ed. in Early Childhood Special Education from Bank Street College, and works as a bilingual Special Education preschool teacher in Brooklyn. Despite feeling exhausted by the time she reaches her New Jersey home, she still uses her spare time to write. Joining the Being Latino family is one of the best things that has happened to Cindy because it fulfills her in two ways: She can write to her heart’s content while reaching an engaging audience, and it helps her stay connected to her Latino culture. You can find more of Cindy’s writing on her personal blogs: Dagny’s Dichotomy, and Cindy’s Chronicles.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be understood to be shared by Being Latino, Inc.

Comments

  1. Markos Arellano says:
    05/02/2012 at 8:10 pm

    Junot’s my boy

  2. Helen Martinez Purfield says:
    05/02/2012 at 8:16 pm

    One of the best books I ever read

  3. Angela Marie Pulido says:
    05/02/2012 at 8:21 pm

    Read it last summer, good book. Thanks to my roomie for suggesting it!

  4. Jessica Abalos says:
    05/02/2012 at 8:26 pm

    wow that sounds good

  5. Enedelia Sauceda says:
    05/02/2012 at 8:27 pm

    Great book!

  6. Martha Cheraz says:
    05/02/2012 at 8:34 pm

    I will check it out.

  7. Markos Arellano says:
    05/02/2012 at 8:43 pm

    Imma put y’all on a new little gem: http://www.newyorker.com/fiction/features/2012/04/23/120423fi_fiction_diaz

  8. Markos Arellano says:
    05/02/2012 at 8:43 pm

    you’re welcome

  9. Jessy Tomas says:
    05/02/2012 at 8:53 pm

    I own it, one of the greatest books I’ve ever read, it’s great great great, and beleive me, fuku some beleive is a real thing and it might not be financial it could be health wise, some wonder in certain families if health curses were put on them.

  10. Alba Osorio says:
    05/02/2012 at 8:54 pm

    Love that book

  11. Emily Gonzalez says:
    05/02/2012 at 9:54 pm

    This is a great read I do recommend.

  12. Emily Gonzalez says:
    05/02/2012 at 9:54 pm

    This is a great read I do recommend.

  13. Sandra Mancilla says:
    05/02/2012 at 10:27 pm

    Great book! And Junot Diaz is a pretty cool person

  14. Lizbett Perez says:
    05/02/2012 at 11:39 pm

    Love this and Drown!

  15. Kathy Santos says:
    05/03/2012 at 12:40 am

    Amazing book great insight on the Latin culture….

Trackbacks

  1. Back home, everybody, back home! says:
    06/14/2012 at 10:00 am

    [...] means more family time, and for Latinos, this family often extends across national borders. Fellow Book of the Month members may remember the following [...]

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