Oscar Wao is not Asian

I just finished this and I want to read it a few more times, but I have to say I'm very impressed, especially considering the leap he made from Drown (we only had to wait some 10 years).

Drown was great, but still just a bunch of short stories, vignettes. What Diaz has done with "Brief..." is create an epic story spanning three generations, numerous cultures, races and much more. The shit he's managed to weave together is so much more ambitious than Drown and I think it works, especially the omnipresent shadow of Trujillo looming over all Dominicans like a Darth Vadar, Big Brother, Eye of Sauron etc. I was worried that like Nas with Illmatic, Diaz may not have had much left in his tank after (I think) spilling the guts of his entire life in one incredibly tight, successful and memorable piece that rocketed him to fame at a young age (like Nas with Illmatic), but I'm glad to see his evolution.

There was an interesting article in the last issue of Poets and Writers about how his early success made it hard for him to write again, but I think he's done it. Hopefully his next book won't take another decade.