I offer some quick hits on recent reads

The Brief and Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao***1/2
by Junot Diaz
Oscar is a portly boy, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic. He is hopelessly romantic, incredibly intelligent, with a love of heroic literature--everything from "Lord of the Rings" to Marvel comics. His main goal in life is to get laid. The book's chronology is nonlinear, and the POV changes frequently from Oscar's to those of his various family members. Holding the whole thing together like a nerve rubbed raw is the legacy of the Trujillo dictatorship. Quite good.

The King's Man**1/2
by Sharon Kay Penman
The bastard son of a bishop helps Eleanor of Aquitaine figure out where her son, King Richard the Lionheart, is. I wish authors in the medieval mystery genre would all be required to read T.H. White's "The Once and Future King" before being allowed to write anything. White gave his characters voice in the modern idiom, switching to the Mallorian language of high chivalry at strategic and infrequent points where it seemed to be called for by the solemnity of the occasion. As a result, White's Arthurian people feel "real," while the people in novels like Penman's belong in a kind of highbrow graphic novel. Aside from that, the book is mildly entertaining and blessedly short.

Mariette in Ecstasy***1/2
by Ron Hansen
This ground has been covered before: Young nun exhibits what may be the stigmata and everybody freaks out. Some are quick to believe, others are skeptical, some are jealous, others are pruriently attracted to the ensuing circus. In other words, everyone views the stigmata depending on how they view Mariette herself. What's fresh about this book is Hansen's style, in which information is revealed in glimpses that can be interpreted in many ways. It's deceptively simple, and the story revolves around in your head for weeks afterward if you find this type of thing interesting. Drawback: There are more than 30 characters to keep track of in a novel of less than 200 pages. The author helpfully provides a list of characters and a schedule of the nuns' day, which begins with Matins and Lauds.