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eizelman's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
colorfulleo92's review
4.0
3.7 stars rounded up. This was a weird read for me in that sense that I didn't particular enjoyed the storyline but the writing was somehow compelling to keep reading and I didn't completely hate it. By someone else's writing skills might not have enjoyed my reading experience but Joyce Carol Oates pulled it off
angela_ms's review
1.0
This was my first...and probably last...Joyce Carol Oates book. I had heard mixed reviews about her and wasn't too interested, but this book sounded good. Overall, I was quite disappointed, and I found some of her word choices and comma usage distracting. Did this book not have an editor?
dcmr's review against another edition
1.0
As a fan of Joyce Carol Oates, I was surprised how much work it was to finish this book. The prose lumbered along and the plot meandered. What happened?!?
laka0731's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
reasie's review
4.0
My first Joyce Carol Oates! I thought it would be funny (there is a misleading blurb on the back) but it’s really quite thoughtful and sad. I love how Oates weaves together the different stories of so many individuals whose lives touch. You get to feel like you know everyone in Salt Hill on Hudson, New York.
Everyone is rich and middle-aged. (I was briefly horrified to realize these “middle-aged” characters were frequently my age or younger. So like the characters themselves!) There is a lot of dealing with mortality. There are timeless themes, and the characters are all well-realized and interesting.
But what sold me on this and bumped it up to a four star rating was the ending. What seems like a lack of structure comes firmly together, sharp and tight as a lock clicking closed on the last page. Loved it.
Everyone is rich and middle-aged. (I was briefly horrified to realize these “middle-aged” characters were frequently my age or younger. So like the characters themselves!) There is a lot of dealing with mortality. There are timeless themes, and the characters are all well-realized and interesting.
But what sold me on this and bumped it up to a four star rating was the ending. What seems like a lack of structure comes firmly together, sharp and tight as a lock clicking closed on the last page. Loved it.
danbydame's review
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
jessreads82's review
DNF
After trying several of her books in my life I’m deciding that JCO is just not for me. This book could be good and interesting if it was edited back to 1/3 of what it is. She can craft a beautiful sentence, but I don’t care about the story or have any connection to her characters. They’re always a step removed from the reader which is a frustrating experience, and it’s not the type of experience I seek in literature
After trying several of her books in my life I’m deciding that JCO is just not for me. This book could be good and interesting if it was edited back to 1/3 of what it is. She can craft a beautiful sentence, but I don’t care about the story or have any connection to her characters. They’re always a step removed from the reader which is a frustrating experience, and it’s not the type of experience I seek in literature
acton's review
5.0
Joyce Carol Oates's Middle Age is an intriguing tale which takes place in an affluent town called Salthill-on-the-Hudson, and in the opening pages, we meet Adam Berendt, a very popular character in his town, who tragically dies a few pages later while rescuing a little girl from drowning during a boating accident.
Adam Berendt was known to everyone in Salthill as a talented sculptor and a warm person who was a confidante to many. His sudden death has a profound effect on everyone who knew him in Salthill. However, it becomes obvious, very quickly, that no one really knew Adam Berendt. They thought he was a poor man, but he wasn't. He had used several names and made millions of dollars. No one could locate his family, or even knew if there was a family. What is Adam's story, and how has he managed to touch people's lives so profoundly?
I enjoyed this novel tremendously, because the characters are all so well drawn and different from each other, and their various reactions to losing Adam reveal much about their individual self-esteems and what they think about love in general. This novel also carries the message that anyone can find a way to make life more meaningful for themselves if they do a little soul searching, and one need not stick to the most conventional path.
While reading about the enigmatic Adam Berendt, I couldn't help being reminded--just a wee bit--of Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride. Both novels are centered around an intriguing mystery-person who has a profound effect on many people. Of course, the books are opposites in that the enigmatic person in Atwood's book has traumatized others, not helped them. Both novels are written in compelling ways.
Both Atwood and Oates are too prolific to keep up with in one lifetime, I'm afraid.
Adam Berendt was known to everyone in Salthill as a talented sculptor and a warm person who was a confidante to many. His sudden death has a profound effect on everyone who knew him in Salthill. However, it becomes obvious, very quickly, that no one really knew Adam Berendt. They thought he was a poor man, but he wasn't. He had used several names and made millions of dollars. No one could locate his family, or even knew if there was a family. What is Adam's story, and how has he managed to touch people's lives so profoundly?
I enjoyed this novel tremendously, because the characters are all so well drawn and different from each other, and their various reactions to losing Adam reveal much about their individual self-esteems and what they think about love in general. This novel also carries the message that anyone can find a way to make life more meaningful for themselves if they do a little soul searching, and one need not stick to the most conventional path.
While reading about the enigmatic Adam Berendt, I couldn't help being reminded--just a wee bit--of Margaret Atwood's The Robber Bride. Both novels are centered around an intriguing mystery-person who has a profound effect on many people. Of course, the books are opposites in that the enigmatic person in Atwood's book has traumatized others, not helped them. Both novels are written in compelling ways.
Both Atwood and Oates are too prolific to keep up with in one lifetime, I'm afraid.