Ms. Smartarse's Reviews > Oscar și Tanti Roz

Published in English as Oscar and the Lady in Pink.

10-year-old Oscar is a terminal cancer patient angry at the overly cautious adults, who insist on being depressed on his behalf. The only exception is his favourite nurse whom he dubbed the Lady in Pink, always ready to entertain him with stories of her past life as a famous wrestler. When she suggests Oscar write letters to God as a way to cope with his anger, the boy is rather sceptical, but soon learns to see it all as an exciting adventure that makes him see life in a new light.



This was surprisingly cute and often funny, but very much full of fabricated heart-warming scenes just like Monsieur Ibrahim and Flowers of the Qur'an. Don't get me wrong, I was bawling my eyes out at the end of it, but no 10-year-old spouts that many deep quotes. Not that they weren't good ones, but a little bit of subtext now and again wouldn't have gone amiss.

Interestingly enough, I didn't find it all that heavy on the religious aspect despite the constant mention of God. Which is not to say that I wasn't a bit peeved at the nurse's initial reaction to Oscar's atheism. Then again, even I'm not heartless enough to criticise a dying child's coping mechanism.



The final message from the Lady in Pink was just... not needed. Or at least, not the way it was plonked there without letting the reader get a sneak peak into the life on the Lady in Pink before she decided to don the ex-wrestler persona for Oscar.

Score: 3.7/5 stars

Loved the writing style, along with the funny, quotable sequences, but I don't understand why everything had to be spoon-fed to the reader? Admittedly, I do tend to draw different conclusions than the author may have intended, but... isn't that part of the reading experience?

You only realize at the end, that [life] is not a gift, but just a loan. One you have to try to earn.