I'll admit: my Spanish is poor.
I finished the book yesterday, and thought I’d respond to something that really caught my attention while reading the interview Emily linked to.
This was probably the most impressive comment (in my mind) Diaz made in the interview:
I’ve almost never read an adult book where I didn’t have to pick up a dictionary. I guess I participate more in my readings and expect the same out of my readership. I want people to research, to ask each other, to question. But also I want there to be an element of incomprehension. What’s language without incomprehension? What’s art? And at a keeping-it-real level: Isn’t it about time that folks started getting used to the fact that the United States comprises large Spanish-speaking segments?
I’ll admit: when I first started the book, I was kicking myself for not having a Spanish/English dictionary lying around. Also; for not paying more attention during those two short years in high school I took Spanish language classes. To put it bluntly: I was convicted. I live in California’s central valley, which is comprised of an extremely large Spanish/Hispanic demographic, and my comprehension skills as far as strict vocabulary is concerned are pretty low. Sure, I was able to figure the basic bent of the Spanish dialogue via the surrounding context, but I sincerely felt like an outsider at times while reading the novel. It left me wondering if I really could connect to everything the characters were presenting and experiencing.
In saying all that, I think it was a brilliantly executed device. Life doesn’t run with subtitles, and we must operate on our own preogative to learn how to communicate with other people—it’s unbelieveably selfish to expect it the other way around. The novel has stirred in me greater questions in regards to the culture, lifestyles, and history that is presented within its pages, and, in that way, it does function like a good piece of art.
The best books, like the best artwork, impress upon you to where you’re still thinking about them and stirring them through your head days, weeks, months later. So, yeah—it’s been a day so far. But I get the feeling I’ll be thinking about (and referring back to) Oscar Wao for some time to come.