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3.48 AVERAGE
3.48 AVERAGE
Yes, it's a bit overwrought. I suspect Joyce Carol Oates of writing overwrought grocery lists. Nonetheless, it's one of her better more recent efforts and I did enjoy it quite a bit.
I could not get into this book. I read the first 100 pages or so, and had to put it down. I didn't like ANY of the characters, and, after talking with friends who had finished it and told me the characters don't get any better, I decided not to torture myself any more. Life is too short.
The beginning of “The Falls” is excellent, with great gothic and melodramatic overtones. Abandoned by her first husband on their honeymoon at Niagara Falls in 1950, plain, middle class piano teacher Ariah meets and eventually falls passionately in love with wealthy local Niagara scion Dirk Burnaby. Despite her initial happiness, however, Ariah believes she is cursed and will be abandoned again, which she is, but not how you might think. While Dirk becomes embroiled in a local environmental and political scandal, Ariah turns increasingly inward, refusing to face up to reality and isolating herself by devouring/ devoting herself to her children and her music. Those children are in turn haunted by the hypnotic specter of death and destruction represented by the massive waterfall falls and their own damaged childhoods. This was my first foray into Oates’ body of work. As I said, it starts off great but the rest of this family saga occasionally hints at but never fully measures up to that great beginning. My slight disappointment will not dissuade me trying further books by Oates
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
What rambling psychotic drivel! It started out promising but I had to force myself to finish it.
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Quite good; a doomed family - what she does best, I think. A young woman is widowed on the first night of her honeymoon by her husband throwing himself into Niagara Falls. The rest of the book follows Ariah, the wife, into the aftermath of such a darkly-clouded beginning.
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I guess I agree with other reviews I’ve read that Oates over-writes here a little and her use of metaphors is occasionally a little jolting - there were a couple of ‘blood sausage’ references I won’t forget in a hurry! But she does tell a good story and I was gripped and will likely remember this one which given the amount I read is always a sign of my enjoyment!
I enjoyed parts of this one, but overall I didn't like it. There were very few characters that I actually liked or cared about and the story was very slow. Every time I thought "so this is what the book is about" it changed direction... it was interesting at first but then it just started to bore me... During the last third, I just wanted it to end.
It is 1950 and Ariah Erskine is taking her honeymoon at Niagara Falls. But when she wakes the first morning, she will have become a widow. As the search for the body drags on, Ariah is drawn to (and draws in) Dirk Burnaby, a volunteer rescue worker. What follows is a whirlwind romance and marriage, a family, the typical things - until tragedy strikes.
I swear it didn't take me as long to read this as it looks like. I got distracted by school books and book club books somewhere in the middle. This was actually a really compelling read. I thought it was fantastic. I think it's common knowledge that Oates is one of the greatest writers of her generation (I still have to say "Blonde" is the exception, though). I loved everything about this, though. I wanted to savor it, but I also wanted to get it over with. The whole thing made me feel uneasy. Why four stars instead of five? It didn't blow me away and leave me speechless, but it was a terrific read.
I swear it didn't take me as long to read this as it looks like. I got distracted by school books and book club books somewhere in the middle. This was actually a really compelling read. I thought it was fantastic. I think it's common knowledge that Oates is one of the greatest writers of her generation (I still have to say "Blonde" is the exception, though). I loved everything about this, though. I wanted to savor it, but I also wanted to get it over with. The whole thing made me feel uneasy. Why four stars instead of five? It didn't blow me away and leave me speechless, but it was a terrific read.