HuffPost Book Club: Themes In "Oscar Wao"

Last week we started our HuffPost Book Club updates with a short overview of the historical facts and timelines surrounding "The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao" and you responded with a full list of discussion topics and some very helpful and well-researched links.

On the many worlds of Oscar, Gabrielle Karl says "Oscar [for me] is a geek not a nerd... he took the SATs twice, had a good knowledge of speculative fiction, and joined the University video game geek club. I never read that he excelled in all of his classes and graduated with high honors."

Does Oscar's fantasy life push him away from connecting with any specific sect of society? Is he simply a loner with a rich imagination?

On the women in Oscar's life, asemeco says "It boils down to this: They teach their sons to be tough... and their daughters to be even tougher than the boys. They don't fight male dominance, because they know they can take it. Contrary to surface appearances, they hold the real power. They are defiant, not defeated."

If we use this as the definition for women in the book, who does Oscar actually identify more closely with? He's neither macho nor tough - where does that leave him?

And finally, techie4ever leaves us with a question: "Is there some extra hidden meaning in the following statement from page 43 (Kindle version): "Miraculous things started happening. Once he blacked out while crossing an intersection and woke up with a rugby team gathered around him."

Access the main discussion page here, where you can hear some of our editors discussing your favorite sections and questions at 4pm ET on Wednesday afternoon: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/22/huffpost-book-club-the-br_n_1821874.html

On that page, leave your replies to the questions we ponder above and let us know what part of the book you're on, and what's at the top of your mind as you read along.

Happy reading and watch out for that fuku!