Oscar de Leon

Oscar de Leon is the hero of the novel. He is not a hero in the traditional sense, but instead a romantic hero. Oscar qualifies as a romantic hero because he goes against the social norm. Instead of being a manly, handsome Dominican, Oscar is fat and nerdy. He spends much time by himself, reading and writing. He dreams of a romantic relationship but his personality and body type repel the women to which he is attracted.

The high point in Oscar’s life occurs when Oscar dates two girls at once when he is only seven years old. After his seventh year, Oscar begins to gain weight, then gets a bad case of acne. He has few friends in high school. He entertains himself reading science fiction novels and participating in role-playing games. In college, things don’t get better for him. In fact, he...