Humorous, romantic, tragic, and uplifting, Junot Diaz’s debut novel The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao hits all the right notes. The eponymous Oscar de Leon is one of the most memorable literary inventions of the past 25 years. The larger than life protagonist is an overweight, socially awkward nerd with quixotic ambitions. Fighting the fuku, a curse of bad luck that has run in his family for generations, the sheepish but endearing Oscar is determined to find someone to love against all odds and at all costs. There are secondary and tertiary stories that orbit and match the richness of Oscar’s own: one that explores Oscar’s mother’s abusive domestic relationship before she had a family, one that follows his sister’s dangerous romances and runaway escapades, and one that examines his grandfather’s politically perilous life. Footnoted to these stories is the tumultuous history of the Dominican Republic. The language of the novel is a streetwise and sensuous mix of English, Spanish and pop culture jargon that Diaz masterfully uses for both hearty laughs and heart wrenching moments.

Recommended by Dale