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haileycee's review against another edition
5.0
I first started this book right out of high school and could not get through the first 100 pages (as so many people on here have already noted about the first 100 pages). I was also wonderfully naive and did not really understand how the rape of one girl could possibly disrupt her entire family.
I returned to this book as a 30 year old, unfortunately much more educated and ready to give it a shot. I knew the book would be sad; what book about rape, a family falling apart, wouldn’t be? I did not expect how truly heart-wrenching parts of this book would be, to the point that, at times, I found I needed to set it down and take a break.
The Mulvaneys, I felt, were well-written and fleshed-out characters that developed over time, and not always for the better. I cheered for them, I cried for them, I cursed them, but when the book was done I was left tearful and happily relieved for them.
The writing itself I found engaging, and despite the slow start, the plot moved fairly quickly. I personally enjoyed hearing how each family member was coping (or not) and how one event continued to ripple through their lives. As a survivor, I was left grateful that my family was not torn apart in this way, and are much more supportive of me than the senior Mulvaneys were at times of Marianne.
Though it’s hard to explain, this is a five-star book that you don’t really appreciate is five stars until it is wrapped up in the end. From the first doe sighting to the last, this is truly a masterpiece.
I returned to this book as a 30 year old, unfortunately much more educated and ready to give it a shot. I knew the book would be sad; what book about rape, a family falling apart, wouldn’t be? I did not expect how truly heart-wrenching parts of this book would be, to the point that, at times, I found I needed to set it down and take a break.
The Mulvaneys, I felt, were well-written and fleshed-out characters that developed over time, and not always for the better. I cheered for them, I cried for them, I cursed them, but when the book was done I was left tearful and happily relieved for them.
The writing itself I found engaging, and despite the slow start, the plot moved fairly quickly. I personally enjoyed hearing how each family member was coping (or not) and how one event continued to ripple through their lives. As a survivor, I was left grateful that my family was not torn apart in this way, and are much more supportive of me than the senior Mulvaneys were at times of Marianne.
Though it’s hard to explain, this is a five-star book that you don’t really appreciate is five stars until it is wrapped up in the end. From the first doe sighting to the last, this is truly a masterpiece.
rah's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
4.0
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 against another edition
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.
aellis0116's review against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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 against another edition
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