The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

My husband and I started a tradition a couple of years ago of used books as stocking stuffers, and this was one of his gifts to me this year. And it was quite a gift. A beautiful and tragic story packed with enough Lord of the Rings references to stump any hardcore nerd. I love the blend of narration, the effortless switch between DR history and the second age of Middle Earth, the magical mongooses (mongeese?). It's called the life of Oscar, but it shows how Oscar's life is also echoing and ricocheting off of his sister, mother, grandmother, great grandfather, and deep down his cultural roots. It does it with gorgeous prose and a depth of emotion. Definitely worth the read even this late to the party.