Junot Díaz Wins Pulitzer

Have y'all ever seen My Big Fat Greek Wedding?  I love that movie.  Replace "Greek" with "Dominican," and that movie can be about my own family.  You know how the dad in the movie is always bragging about the accomplishments of the Greeks and how the Greeks invented everything?  My own dad has a little bit of that, in that any Dominican who does well for himself or herself needs to be made known to everyone who will listen.  So I get a call from my dad today because he's all kinds of happy that a Dominican one the Pulitzer.  I mean, he's downright giddy about it.  For real.  Of course, me being a librarian, and a book nerd, and his daughter, I just absolutely had to know.  Sad to say, as much of a bookworm as I claim to be, I'm not bookwormy enough and I live under a rock.  Until today, I hadn't heard of Junot Díaz, but I'm glad that he won the prize because it's nice for my people to represent, yo.  I also promised my father, who I love dearly and consider one of my best friends, that I'd spread the word. 

Now I have to put this book on my very large stack of books that make up my "inbox" of reading material.  Because I'm a bookworm and because I don't read as fast or as much as I did as a young'un (there are only so many hours in the day, alas), my "inbox" larger than I may ever be able to read in a lifetime.  I'll really try to get to this one, though.  The last book I read by a Dominican author was Before We Were Free, by Julia Alvarez, and I can honestly say that it really changed the way I saw my family, and specifically my parents.  I understand a little better now why they act and say certain things, and why they are so paranoid about government power after living under Trujillo.  Hell, going through all that, I'd probably still be a little paranoid too.  Anyway, if any of you get the chance to read Junot Díaz's The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao before I do, let me know how it is.  In the meantime, here are some articles about the man and the book.

Junot Díaz wins Pulitzer Prize  - Daily News Latino

Junot Díaz wins Pulitzer for 'Oscar Wao' - MIT News

2008 Pulitzer Prizes for Letters, Drama and Music  - New York Times