Reviews

We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

lily_t_h's review

Too many words 

bookswithnichol's review against another edition

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

jess_mango's review

3.0

I waver between giving We Were the Mulvaneys 3 and 4 stars. Its the story of a picture-perfect family in the 1970's. Their whole world changes after one of the daughters is raped. The way the family reacts to this event is the very core of the story. I felt Oates went into WAAAAAY to much descriptive detail through out the book...it got tedious. A couple of hundred pages could've been edited out and it would've been so much more readable.

sunbreak's review

They were the Mulvaneys. We were bored.

aellis0116's review

challenging reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Wayyyyy too slow paced!

ktaylorhurley's review

3.0

Maybe 3.5 stars. This book made me sad every time I picked it up. But I couldn't bring myself to leave it behind, unfinished. Sometimes it was beautiful. Sometimes it was over worked. Sometimes it was so simple and real. But literally every page had some sadness in it at least for me.

pbraue13's review

3.0

Like most of Joyce Carol Oates books this novel is a sprawling, almost gothic, beautifully written book that is almost overwritten. It's a look at the changing dynamic of a family after a tragic event and my gosh a good chunk of this book I was angry. If there was a gold medal for Bad Parenting the matriarch and patriarch of the Mulvaney clan would win it - that's all I will say about that. But it was also fascinating and Oates' prose is fascinating and fun, but also sometimes meandering and pointless at others. At some point I believe she lost the plot, possibly around the point she goes into detail about a cat's kidney problems for several pages. 3/5 stars

smartens's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

katliana's review

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

lmbs's review

emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75