This novel about a Dominican boy, Oscar, who grows up in New Jersey is packed full of stories, all kinds of stories. Theres growing-up stories, family stories, history-of-the-Dominican-Republic stories, gangster stories, and love stories. The narrator, Yunior, one time college roommate of Oscar and on-again off-again boyfriend of Oscars sister Lola, tells Oscars story in conjunction with that of his family, going back and forth in time to narrate the history of Oscars family, and back and forth between New Jersey and the Dominican Republic, a culture whose history and traditions come to have as much influence on Oscar as the comic books and science fiction novels he spends all his time reading and writing during his short life. This book is crackling with an astounding storytelling energy, a vast number of colourful minor characters, and a spirit and tone thats both cynical and open to the romantic yearnings of life. The numerous pop culture references which pepper its pages lend it a unique, contemporary style while also embodying the modern American male adolescent type to which Oscar belongs. This is a spontaneous, joyful, funny novel full of love and tragedy written in a hip style expressing modern, relevant themes.