Publisher description: Things have never been easy for Oscar, a sweet but disastrously overweight, lovesick Dominican ghetto nerd. From his home in New Jersey, where he lives with his old-world mother and rebellious sister, Oscar dreams of becoming the Dominican J. R. R. Tolkien and, most of all, of finding love. But he may never get what he wants, thanks to the Fukœ-the curse that has haunted the Oscar's family for generations, dooming them to prison, torture, tragic accidents, and, above all, ill-starred love. Oscar, still waiting for his first kiss, is just its most recent victim.

Electronic reproduction. New York : Penguin Group USA, Inc., 2008. Requires Adobe Digital Editions (file size: 1664 KB) or Mobipocket Reader (file size: 254 KB).

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, 2008