Junot Diaz's - The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

I read about Junot Diaz sometime last year in the New York Times, and it was his Dominican heritage that caught my attention. Over the years I've befriended numerous Dominican immigrants who have always impressed me with their joie de vive at the same time surprised me with their machismo that they flaunt with such proud abandon. It was my dichotomous reaction to Dominicans that got me interested in reading Diaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. I was curious to know what a Dominican writer had to say about the immigrant experience; something I'd read and heard extensively about from my Dominican friends, but never from a Dominican writer of Mr. Diaz's fame and caliber. Junot Diaz is perhaps the first ever Dominican writer to have hit the literary scene in such a big way with his debut novel, and is recognized as a contemporary writer with a very distinct writing style.

Diaz came to the US as a seven year old carrying memories of his homeland that he vividly brings alive in his writings. In this novel I was hoping to find a voice that was Diaz'z own. However, neither the womanizer narrator's nor the male protagonist's voice could be pinned down as the voice of Diaz. That may have been Diaz's strategy to have the reader guessing which of these two Dominican males was the typical one. It could also be that Diaz was trying to prove a point here that not all Dominican males are Yuniors, the narrator, who though madly in love with Lola, Oscar's sister, keeps his libido in full gear with other women. But then neither is Oscar the typical either as the overweight nerdy and serious romantic who is constantly involved in serious matters of the heart, unfortunately with women he can never have. Diaz has woven a web so wily where the reader hears the chronicles of a serious lovelorn Oscar from Yunior, a glib 'n easy college roommate of Oscar who is shocked by Oscar's depth of emotion and says he'd "never in... life met a Dominican like him...”

Diaz has produced a very humorous and gripping novel by providing a story that is both endearing and shocking. Oscar, the hero, and his encounters with love and relationships in general make for some humorous and touching reads. Meanwhile, the tapestry against which Oscar is presented is not only vast but also grim and sordid, and it has the capacity to shock. Oscar's story goes back two generations and across two countries to introduce us to his grandparents, the eminent Carbajals, and to his not so honorable parents, Belicia an unwed mother and his father a criminal in cahouts with Trujillo, one of the cruelest dictators in History. With an illustrious family tree such as this it is no surprise that the life of Oscar is both brief and wondrous, and it is to Mr. Diaz's credit that he spun into this 'wondrous' story a historic depth and meaning without alarming his reader. He kept the reader in easy suspended disbelief with his fluid sometimes raunchy language rife with colloquial spattering and identifiable contemporary references; even when he was taking the reader some eighty years back into the history of a small island once called Hispaniola.

Pure coincidence that this may be, but just before reading this novel, I read Amitav Ghosh's The Glass Palace which also spans across three generations and which includes a coming of age story of an individual within an immigrant family. What a contrast the two reading experiences proved to be! Where I finished Junot Diaz's novel over a weekend and in two sittings, Ghosh's novel took me all of three weeks and uncountable sittings to come to that last page. Storytelling is not an easy art, and writing is perhaps even more difficult, as the writer gets no immediate feedback like the story teller does, through eye contact and body language. Mr Diaz apparently sensed the pulse of his audience because The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao proved a riveting and delightful read.

There is one question though that I would pose to Mr. Diaz if I ever got a chance: how does a novel like this bring him closer to his goal of 'community activism'? What will make this delectable piece of literature irresistible to the majority of fellow Dominican Americans who
"never thought writing was interesting or viable"?

Primates Afterall - An Ode to all that's 'Human'

You may not hear it
or see it
but when shrapnel tears your guts
you sure do feel it
You may not call it hatred but...
it can still be it!

You don't condone it
rarely display it
but when a Simpson gets acquitted after double murder
you could resent it
Judge Ito did not call this crime of passion but...
it can still be it!


You may not fear it
or regret it
but at the bulleted Buddhas in Bamiyan
you wondered at it
Politically incorrect to call it ignorance but...
it can still be it!

You don't talk about it
or sometimes ignore it
but when a Katrina happens
you do behold it
Bushes of the world wouldn't term it racism but...
it can still be it!

You may try to hide it
desperately deny it
but when Charles spurned a Diana in favor of a Bowles
you did witness it
decried by all as love forbidden but...
it can still be it!

The natural instincts of man,
every now and again,
do surface to pain.
Much to the chagrin of our moral police
where instinct is taboo
and acquired behavior reigns!

Too evolved to call ourselves human but...
we are still it!

Amitav Ghosh's "The Glass Palace" - Too vast a Canvas?

It took me some three weeks to finish reading "The Glass Palace" by Amitav Ghosh, and that is telling. It is rare that a piece of fiction can keep me at bay for this long; the lure of a yarn is immense, and I simply can't resist a tale being spun. However, when a tale has a tail too long, even the most ardent of readers can't stifle those yawns and eventually lets go! That is what happens with "The Glass Palace".

Amitav Ghosh's novel is painted on too large a canvas that spans across multiple countries located in more than one continent! The plot unravels over two and three generations of people seemingly related; either by birth or by social interaction. Ghosh, while relating a family saga, was hoping it would make epic grandeur. Alas! the connectivity between various side plots wore thin at most places, and often left the reader confused. For instance what started as the story of a young and poor Rajkumar amid the ostentatious but strife torn royal family of Burma, gradually becomes a coming-of-age saga of Dolly the pretty and loyal maid of the royal family. It doesn't end there, eventually the story presents Arjun, a soldier, and Dinu, a photographer, on center stage, and against the backdrop of World War II! If you are wondering whether I'm giving it all away; let me assure you that I couldn't give out the story even if I wanted to because of its length and its complex plot. Furthermore, you truly may need some outside help if you did decide to read this novel because of its erudite settings which are crucial to the understanding of the plot. One would have to be a historian or an anthropologist to fully understand the political goings on in the novel that serve as settings at various points in the story. As for the title, I would just let it go, for I shudder to think what new vistas of erudition that would open up and further overwhelm the reader.

It appears Ghosh had a grandiose plan to cover a multitude of disparate happenings within the scope of this novel; unfortunately, he couldn't find a weave to bring it all together as one harmonious whole.

Barack Obama's - "Not This time"

Now here's a speech that could turn the tide!

Barack Obama's "A More Perfect Union" Speech


March 18, 2008 , Philadelphia

Terry Pratchett - Spokesperson for Alzheimers

Terry Pratchett, the British grandmaster of 'Britain's most shoplifted novels' and widely known for his Discworld novels, donated a million dollars toward Alzheimer research yesterday. It was last year that Pratchett revealed that he was suffering the "embuggerance" of Alzheimer's, and by going public about his suffering he hoped to bring in more funding toward Alzheimer research.

Novelist Terry Pratchett donates $1 million to Alzheimer's research

LONDON — British novelist Terry Pratchett said Thursday he is donating $1 million to fund research into Alzheimer's, the incurable brain disease he was diagnosed with last year.

The best-selling fantasy writer announced in December that he had early-onset dementia, a rare form of the disease. Pratchett said it was "a shock and a shame" that less money was spent on Alzheimer's research than on fighting cancer.

He said the donation of about 500,000 pounds would go to the Alzheimer's Research Trust, a British charity.

"There's nearly as many of us as there are cancer sufferers, and it looks as if the number of people with the disease will double within a generation," Pratchett told the group's annual conference.

He said Alzheimer's was "a nasty disease, surrounded by shadows and small, largely unseen tragedies."

Pratchett is best known for his satirical "Discworld" fantasy saga. More than 55 million copies of his books have been sold around the world.

The writer said he had reacted to his diagnosis with "a sense of loss and abandonment (and a) violently coherent fury that made the Miltonic Lucifer's rage against Heaven seem a bit miffed by comparison."

"That fire still burns," Pratchett said, but reassured fans that he planned to continue writing.

The Canadian Press

CoRregidora by Gayl Jones - A Tribute to Black Women in History

Maya Angelou called Gayl Jones, only 26 then, "the next great African-American writer, a true artist who has plumbed the depths of the brutal realities of sex, class and race in the lives of black people." In CoRregidora, Jones has paid a tribute to all black mothers and grandmothers for keeping alive a collective past through and despite the blatant rascism that surrounded them. It is a past that lead into a collective conscience, of which Jones is a part, that is both proud and angered by its heritage. CoRregidora is a raw outpouring of and by an African American female who is haunted by a violent and oppressive past; seeking to define herself based on the information she's gathered from an oral rendition about how her identity evolved.

Gayl Jones is notorious for making headlines; presently she is in voluntary quarantine trying to come to grips with the violent death of her husband, Higgins, her only friend if he can be termed that. Apparently in an abusive relationship with her husband Higgins, Jones had become delusional and had ceased to recognize the fine line between art and life, and "It was not just life imitating art; it was that Jones and Higgins were united in the conviction that a racist society had doomed them to repeat the violent history of their forebears." Jones's 911 message after her husband had fatally stabbed himself in the neck only confirmed her mental ineptitude to dissociate life from art. In her message she said, "I hope the spirit of my mother and the spirit of my African ancestors destroy you, and I hope the spirit of my mother's ancestors and people of color all around the world decide that America is the contemptible and obscene place and destroy every American." There is no way the quiet and thoughtful Gayle, a graduate from Brown and then Michigan could have spat out those rantings; however, Ursa, the protagonist of CoRregidora could well be attributed that rhetoric without hesitation proving that Jones was indeed living out her characters.

I was recommended CoRregidora by a colleague who warned me of the blatant, at times vile sexuality of this novel. She also suggested I read this novel of Jones first before I read any of the others since this was perhaps the most palatable for a first-time reader of Jones. I must admit I'm glad I heeded her advice since Corregidora proved quite a trying experience that had my bile levels sky rocketing every twenty pages.

CoRregidora is the last name of the main protagonist Ursa, and it is a last name that yanks out Ursa's most tortuous memories. Yet it's a name that gives her the identity of a 'CoRregidora woman'. She has a love hate relationship with this name; a name she inherited from a white portugese plantation owner who physically abused both her mother and her grandmother. There are some graphic stories that Ursa's mother and the grandmother tell of their relationship with the testostrone driven CoRregidora. His depravity is highlighted by the fact that he has an incestuous relationship with Ursa's mother who he had fathered and yet, down the years, he took her on as another of 'his women' knowing that she was his daughter! However, Ursa's 'gramp' (grandmother) is not one to give up, and she goes about collecting evidence against her violator in the only way she knows how: by mothering a child of CoRregidora and feeding that child on stories of CoRregidora's vile deeds. Ursa's mother carries on the tradition by bringing Ursa into the world and keeping her updated on all the atrocities of CoRregidora against her family. Ursa thus becomes the carrier of generational evidence against CoRregidora, also her biological grandfather and her namesake! Gramp and Mamma made sure their progeny, Ursa, bore the burden of the CoRregidora name to constantly remind her of her duty, "to leave evidence" since history had "burned all the papers, so there wouldn't be no evidence to hold up against them. " Not surprising then, that Gayl Jones dedicated this novel to her parents "as a bold affirmation of the need for black women to bear witness, to pass their stories on to the next generation, if not through their children, then through art."

Whether Ursa 'delivers' and whether CoRregidora is brought to justice is for a gutsy reader to find out; a reader who has the gall to confront a shameful history. Definitely not a comfort or feel-good read. Would I read another Gayl Jones novel? Not for quite a while; I need to recuperate!

'Heart'- of Thee I Sing

A powerhouse of emotion;
that beats as it weeps,
pumps as it dumps,
sighs as it cries...
...sometimes, all at once!

Gives itself too often
when hormones do peak.

Takes little to soften
when a mate it seeks.

Succumbs, to scanty skirts
can’t resist, an open shirt.

Persists, to steal a glance

romance, will make it dance

Often, it fakes a break,

simply to steal'n embrace
courting pure passion,

sans any other emotion

Alas!

Age catches up.

It's pressure does soar;
suddenly it’s strong no more.

Yet, flutter it does
when beauty it sights.

And jumps just a tad
spotting,

a brawny young lad.

How little it takes

to make it aglow.

A touch, a wink, a glance,
and its juices will flow;

Although it senses

it's about time to go.

Fiesty red muscle,

the size of a fist.

The hotspot of emotion,

to sum up in jist.

A bundle of contradictions
defying all predictions:
-enlarges when it’s weakest,
-is strongest when beating slow.

Within a body bound
never ceases to astound…

Somehow you get to lose it

if love is to be found!

Happy Valentines Day!

Wide Sargasso Sea - "Jane Eyre" 's nemesis?

Novels often inspire as do characters in those novels. However, it was an inspired artist in this case that lead to the writing of Wide Sargasso Sea. Jean Rhys took up the challenge to lend a voice to the 'lunatic' woman in Charlotte Bronte's 1847 novel "Jane Eyre", and in the process brought alive the 'crazy' first wife of Mr. Rochester. A vivid and passionate portrayal no doubt, but one that made me wonder about Ms. Rhys's motive for targeting this character. My findings lead me to the Creole identity issue, especially as it related to women, specifically to Ms. Rhys who was born to a Creole mother and a Welsh doctor in Dominicana. In an interview, Rhys admitted being angry about the way in which Bertha, the first wife of Rochester, is portrayed in Bronte's novel, and the Creole in Rhys rose to the challenge of writing a 'rich novel about a poor woman' to present Bertha's case. Rhys in her novel Wide Sargasso Sea lent charisma and motive to the mysterious, hated, and feared Bertha of Jane Eyre. However, how the free spirited Antoinette Bertha Cosway with 'the sun in her hair' ends up becoming the violent and crazy Bertha Mason of Bronte's novel is for the reader to fathom.

Jean Rhys's Wide Sargasso Sea, published over a hundred years after Bronte's Jane Eyre, explores the complex identity of the female Creole through the travails of Antoniette, Rhys' main protagonist. Antoniette, like Rhys, is the offspring of a West Indian mother and a white father, and is sensual, passionate, and beautiful, but she is also extremely secretive and insecure; quite the enigma to the young Edward Rochester who is completely taken by her when he first meets her on her island. Antoinette has grown up in a community where she is often referred to as the 'white nigger', and after being abandoned by her 'crazy' mother, is a lonely child who has a desperate need to belong. Her plight is quite like the sargassum weed that latches onto any support it can find in the lifeless and shore less Sargasso Sea. Like the weed, Antoinette too is basically a floater, a live but homeless organism in search of anchor. Antoinette's quest for an anchor / home is the adventure that Rhys takes the reader on, and the ride is quite the emotional roller coaster because the reader, who, though sorry for Antoinette, is perplexed by her querulous behaviour in her relationship with Edward, who after their marriage, carefully avoids any kind of contact with her and yet claims that Antoinette, " had left me thirsty and all my life would be thirst and longing for what I had lost before I had found it."

Wide Sargasso Sea proved an intriguing read, one that not only forced me to revisit and rethink Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, but also got me thinking about the Creole identity and has compelled me to look for writings that would help me better understand the Creole psyche. Any suggestions?