Monday, December 29, 2008

Book Review, (so far)

For Christmas Andy's dad drew my name, which, I feel lucky that he did b/c he is a thoughtful gift buyer.
Last year he drew my name and he got me a Frida Kahlo book with pretty pictures.
This year he got me a book in Spanish.
I have never heard of the book or the Author, but I have been reading it obsessively for two days now, and I am completely absorbed into the world of this Domincan Family who has been cursed by el Fuku y los problemas le sigue por tres generaciones.
There is a big, fat nerdy boy with afro hair who loves Dungeons and Dragons and that TOlkien man, and all role-playing games (which I do not get b/c i know nothing about them).
There is the girl (la hermana) who was raped when she was 8, and became a fan of The Cure and being punk or goth or something when she was a teenager, and now I am on the part about the mother who is brutal, tall and ends up having breast cancer

The book is called La breve y maravillosa vida de Oscar Wao y it's by Junot Diaz.
Now, i have never heard of the name Junot.
I cannot see, (or hear?) that name being easy to say in Spanish??
Nor is Wao usually a hispanic name...??

Anyway, the book is good so far.
It is sooooo much easier to read than what I usually try to read in Spanish.
I was trying to explain to Andy's dad that reading in Spanish is difficult for me.
Movies, there is context, and i can turn it up loud.
Conversation, you can explain y explain until everyone is on the same page.
Books, one must create the context purely from the words on the page--unless it is a picture book, so it is necessary to understand every single word, which means looking them up.
I think he got it after I explained it that way.

Interesting thing I learned so far: The US occupied, militarily, the Dominican Rebublic TWICE.
Never learned that in US history.
The Dominican Republic had a mean a** dicatator called, Trujillo (that was his last name) for many years, until someone killed him.
There was another famous Domincan named Portifirio Rubirosa who had a very large...hmm hmm. well, just guess, and in France they still call pepper grinders Rubirosas in some places.

I am off to settle a squabble b/t Elena and Andy about a movie.
She is being...three? and neither of us can understand what in the world she is wanting right now???
Something about a movie, actually, the problem is that she needs a nap. :)

Bethany, the present that andy had to have?
A pair of Red heart boxers! I have no idea where Elena got this idea, but it was hilarious to us all! :) She was so excited when he opened them up.
I will post of pic. of the drawers.

1 comment:

Bethany said...

Ha!! Laughing about Rubirosa, and the boxers!! That's great. Wow. To have a rubirosa known across an ocean and 2 continents! That's some serious hmmhmm.
I'll bet that was fun to see Andy open his gift... :-)
Hope Santa sewed them up right.

Spot on!

Spot is our family's chihuahua.  He is what we call, "an evil dictator/stuffed animal come to life".  Sometimes, after he has ...