Casino Connection Atlantic City

Book Review

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao Junot Díaz, Riverhead Books Brother, I’m Dying Edwidge Danticat, Alfred A. Knopf

by Robert Rossiello

The immigrant story has always been a part of American literature. The great European migration at the beginning of the last century created a cultural melting pot that defines us to this day. Recently, two prominent authors have released books that explore the tradition of ethnic identity and the struggles of making it in the New World.

Junot Díaz, who emigrated from the Dominican Republic when he was six and grew up in New Jersey, has released his first novel,

The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao. Like his award-winning short story collection

Drown (1996), Wao deals with the immigrant experience, both personal and political. Oscar is a chubby nerd trying to get through adolescence in a family whose history is haunted by a troubled homeland. This is a vibrant stew of a book, told in a slangy prose that blends street smarts and high culture to capture both the internal struggle of an awkward geek and the larger theme of the Dominican diaspora. With this sprawling, comic tour de force Díaz has given voice to a people who have escaped a corrupt dictatorship only to raise their children in an America that does not always live up to its promise.

Another writer who tells a personal story on a grand scale is Edwidge Danticat. A native of Haiti who lived with her uncle until joining her parents in New York at the age of 12, Danticat has become the celebrated voice of her island nation.

Brother, I’m Dying is a memoir that delves into the lives of her father, Mira—who fled Haiti to become a cab driver in Brooklyn—and his brother, Joseph, who stayed on in his homeland to build a Baptist ministry. This is a heartbreaking book, full of joy and sorrow, that recounts the sacrifices of two men whose lives took different courses but are united in their effort to retain their dignity and their identity under difficult circumstances.

Both of these outstanding books tell a universal story and elevate their authors to the top ranks of contemporary writers. They also show that America, though it has changed much over the years, is still a promised land of hope and opportunity.