Rick Simonson

A Wondrous Voice Returns
September 24, 2007

Anticipation is in the air here, both for this evening and, we gather, elsewhere in the season, with the appearance of Junot Diaz's long-awaited first novel, The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Junot is to read and sign tonight at Elliott Bay, part of his West Coast swing for a book that has had many near and far enthused.

A few of the many things that could be said of Junot Diaz, this book, its reception.

One is that even though it comes a full decade after his bestselling, attention-garnering book of stories, Drown, it is a testament of that book's staying power that Diaz is not having to be re-introduced or -invented (as the marketing case may be), for the proverbial new generation of readers. People of various ages, backgrounds, and persuasions have kept their eyes on his work. More than many 'much-anticipate' books, this really has had people anticipating it.

A second clear factor evident is that Junot Diaz really can write superbly in the longer form of the novel. It's almost a pat arrangement - author's first book is stories, the second (or so) is a novel: see Nell Freduenberger, see Nathan Englander, see Sandra Cisneros,  see many others. Those named made the move or transition well - many others do not. Between New Jersey and the Dominican Republic, between the hilarious, edgy, high-follied tone of some of the writing - great street and pop culture voice, there are also beautifully-arrived at deep and ferocious insights and impartings of information (real history), if not true knowledge. The narrated story does make the larger stories that make a novel, sometimes shimmering in the process.

A last thing for pointing out here is to acknowledge that for whaever else went into the long gestation period for this book (life, teaching, whatever), along the way, Junot Diaz has persistently been present - sometimes visibly, sometimes behind the scenes - supporting and helping get word out on deservering other writers. He is one of those who knows and acknowledges the larger landscape he is part of.

I suspect editor Sean McDonald and others involved in The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao's publication don't want it to be another decade before Diaz's next book (we readers and booksellers don't want it to be). Junot Diaz himself would probably concur. On the other hand, if a book like this is the fruit of such a wait, for we lucky readers it is worth it.

In the words of the very last lines of this luminous book: 'So this is what everybody's always talking about! Diabo! If only I'd known. The beauty! The beauty!' 

Posted by Rick Simonson on September 24, 2007 | Comments (0)