The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao

Diaz has a talent for prose that allows him to balance the atrocities of Trujillo in one hand and the adolescent struggles of his characters in the other--without weighing the reader down with either. His prose is funny, detailed, and emotionally taxing. A damn good read.

Tree of Smoke

Quickly, I am over half-way finished with Denis Johnson's new book. It is the best, most-well-rounded view of the Vietnam War ever put into the novel form. I was overwhelmed at first by the detail. But this book quickly grew on me. I highly recommend it, if you're not afraid of a serious work of art.

Review from The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/02/books/review/Lewis3-t.html?scp=4&sq=tree+of+smoke&st=nyt