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The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao - Butcher - 10-21-2009
If I had to assign one theme to the book it would be something like... how "identity" is shaped either by outside influences (colonialism, traditional culture) and can be reshaped by an individual and/or by migration. The "fúku" is brought by Europeans and it seems to linger with this family for generations, but it is also sort of self-inflicted in many ways. And in some ways, the fúku is shed by going to New Jersey, but there is also a strong pull from the Homeland.
It's complicated, I know, and I'm still digesting it myself.
Boiled down, I'd say it's about identity -- and that shows up strongest in Oscar. He doesn't fit the mold of the typical Dominican male -- he crafts an entirely different identity for himself.
I loved the narrative and the unique voice -- which ended up being Oscar's roomate's voice. The mixture of Spanish, English, slang, and "nerdspeak" was really interesting, I thought. Kind of shows how the American cultural landscape is a mish-mash of elements and is constantly changing from within and from outside influences.
I'm rambling. I'm interested to hear your take on it after you let it digest for a while...