Pulitzer Prize Winning Least-Seller? Junot Diaz’s The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao dribbles at bookstores
Junot Diaz’s first novel (following sensation short fiction collection Drown) The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a tale of immigrant struggles, a bone fide curse, a sci-fi fantasy dork (Oscar) and his tumultuous family. It was one of the most highly reviewed books of 2007, getting praise like “this fierce, funny, tragic book is just what a reader would have hoped for in a novel” from Publisher’s Weekly and “Propelled by compassion, Díaz’s novel is intrepid and radiant.” from Booklist, yet, its sales thusfar have been a mere 27,000. And it is highly likely to be nominated for a Pulitzer. Isn’t that scary? That your book can be wonderfully reviewed, there’s buzz of a Pulitzer (Junot has yet to cross over into his 40’s) and yet, your book, your baby, is left to be dusted on store shelves. Jeez.
Here’s a yahoonews article outlining other publishing failures, and successes of 2007.