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trayceebee's review against another edition
4.0
Very interesting story, spotlighting each member over a span of about 25 years. There were times my heart was racing as I listened to the events that unfolded.
My only issue was that it felt like the story ended too abruptly, like the author couldn't figure out how to bring closure without dragging it out for another few chapters... so it all seemed to come together a little too neatly in the end.
Other than that, it was very interesting, captivating, well-told!
My only issue was that it felt like the story ended too abruptly, like the author couldn't figure out how to bring closure without dragging it out for another few chapters... so it all seemed to come together a little too neatly in the end.
Other than that, it was very interesting, captivating, well-told!
oliviaoo's review against another edition
4.0
Really powerful book! Highlights how important communication is and if that’s too difficult, distance becomes an escape.
gregpreads's review
4.0
Expansive, and detailed, focusing on the minutiae of everyday life of a complicated American family. Such good storytelling, going into rabbit-holes of detail in that John Irving style of writing that I love.
I began to run out of energy with it towards the last 100 pages and would have probably been 5 stars with a stronger edit. But will be intrigued to read more of her books.
I began to run out of energy with it towards the last 100 pages and would have probably been 5 stars with a stronger edit. But will be intrigued to read more of her books.
hedread's review against another edition
5.0
JCO has been a favorite author for many years. I am finally reading some of her earlier works and just so engrossed in this book. The characters are vividly portrayed with heart and all their flawed history. It's a story that resonates with current events.
nicinny's review against another edition
3.0
Not for me. I stuck with this book to the end, well past my 150 page rule (if I can’t get into it by then I usually bail) and I still didn’t love it. In two words- SLOW BUILD. Like painfully slow. The author has a gift for writing its true-and it shows. But there is character development, painting a scene, and then there is killing a dead horse. An entire chapter dedicated to the family’s nicknames and pet names? Eventually you discover the plot, and it continues to evolve slowly. What time are I really disliked about the book is every time I felt it got interesting, the author would digress and spend a chapter or two talking about something else before returning to the plot. What’s admirable about the book is the author tackles the family’s dysfunction and the controversy beautifully, parts of it were hard to read while empathizing with the characters. Overall I struggle to say I’m glad I stuck with it. I see why readers admire JCO’s talent but I also think this book would have benefited from some heavy editing.
leahreadsalot's review against another edition
2.0
I only picked this up because I remembered watching the Lifetime movie version of it year ago. I didn't really like the movie, and I didn't really like the book.
lgpiper's review against another edition
4.0
I found this at a church book sale. I figured I should read at least one Joyce Carol Oates book before I die, so this one got the nod. Apparently, I didn't choose as wisely as I might have, but then I didn't really have the opportunity. It's what the church book table had the day I got the idea.
This book was a bit difficult at first because of the writing style. Oates meanders here and there, not content with a single simile or metaphor for each point, rather preferring the bundle them up, a cacophony of imagery, so to speak. So it takes quite some time actually to get anywhere in the story. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the problem for me was the stark contrast from the book I'd read previously, What Happened to the Corbetts by Nevil Shute. Shute has a very straightforward and spare style. So, as I said, it took me a while to get into Oates' more expansive style, hinting at things, flitting around things, before eventually, one hopes, things become vaguely clearer, and over time perhaps, clearer still. Once I'd gone through a hundred pages or so, I got used to Oates' style and could better enjoy the story, such as it was.
Basically, this is a story of a family—father, mother, three sons and a daughter—that seemed prosperous and happy. But then the daughter, a popular cheer leader, was raped after a prom, and the whole family fell apart, slowly, agonizingly. Most of this book deals with the slow, agonizing degeneration. It sounds awful, but it does make for interesting reading, perhaps because it seems like a tale that could happen to almost any family. Then too, once one gets used to Oates' style, one realizes that the story is very beautifully written.
This book was a bit difficult at first because of the writing style. Oates meanders here and there, not content with a single simile or metaphor for each point, rather preferring the bundle them up, a cacophony of imagery, so to speak. So it takes quite some time actually to get anywhere in the story. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but the problem for me was the stark contrast from the book I'd read previously, What Happened to the Corbetts by Nevil Shute. Shute has a very straightforward and spare style. So, as I said, it took me a while to get into Oates' more expansive style, hinting at things, flitting around things, before eventually, one hopes, things become vaguely clearer, and over time perhaps, clearer still. Once I'd gone through a hundred pages or so, I got used to Oates' style and could better enjoy the story, such as it was.
Basically, this is a story of a family—father, mother, three sons and a daughter—that seemed prosperous and happy. But then the daughter, a popular cheer leader, was raped after a prom, and the whole family fell apart, slowly, agonizingly. Most of this book deals with the slow, agonizing degeneration. It sounds awful, but it does make for interesting reading, perhaps because it seems like a tale that could happen to almost any family. Then too, once one gets used to Oates' style, one realizes that the story is very beautifully written.
dhxgfnziapc's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
notoriousagk's review against another edition
2.0
My second JCO, and once again I get the sense that I probably will like her work, but I just... didn't. Found the characters kind of flat and the storytelling unimpressive, although on a sentence by sentence basis the writing was quite good. Maybe the third time will be the charm.