The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

I just finished the book recently and I LOVED it.  I obviously was a little behind on finishing it but I'm so glad I took time to read the rest over the break.  It was truly a tear-jerker and such an eye opener for me.  We live in such a sheltered world here in the United States, so oblivious to the terrible things going on all around the rest of the world.  I cannot believe that people were treated so terribly (and still probably are today) and there's nothing that anyone could really do about it without having the same exact thing done to them.  From Beli's father to Beli herself to Oscar, the times were so far apart in years, yet nothing really changed over time.  They were each personally attacked by Dominican government officials and brutally beaten almost until death, or actually killed, and nobody even got punished for it!  The Dominican was a place where people had to fear for their lives constantly every single day.  That would be a miserable life to live.  I can't imagine having to watch my every word and movement just to avoid being kidnapped, killed, or imprisoned for the rest of my life.  This book really opened my eyes to the fact that we take our freedom here in the U.S., especially the first amendment, for granted every day.  We can say almost anything we want to and do anything we desire (within the law) and never even think twice about it but these helpless Dominicans, for example the characters in the book, live their lives stepping on egg shells.

I also wanted to say that Beli is in my opinion the strongest woman in the whole book.  She might be portrayed as this terrible mother and like she doesn't love her children, but that just obviously isn't true.  After all that woman went through, it's a wonder she can even still get up in the mornings.  Anyone else who went through something that traumatic and heart-breaking would be just a bitter as she is as well.  I think she is a great mother with her own special way of showing her love.  All she ever did was try to protect her kids and make sure they had what was best for them and earn a living to give them the things they needed.  She worked two jobs, even through a battle with cancer, and still took care of Oscar and his many problems and loved both her children through it all, even if she had a funny way of showing it sometimes.  Tough love is the best kind from time to time.