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3.91 AVERAGE
3.91 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Gaslighting
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Tonight on Dateline, Oates does Lolita
Who's afraid of Joyce Carol Oates? Me, of course. I read the novel Blonde over the course of a few months after several attempts at diving into it. It was beautifully written, but also forcefully, and necessarily, depressing. When I saw her latest novel, Fox , on NetGalley I instantly requested it and was pleased when I was approved to read it. Who is Francis Fox? A charming new teacher who beguiles his students, their parents, and his colleagues. Mr. Fox is less taken with his new community, but then he's always had his favorites: those prepubescent girls brought up in fatherless homes. When two brothers discover parts of his body strewn about the woods the community must begin to ask exactly who Francis Fox was and what might have happened to him
Like with much of her other work, Oates’ writing in Fox is alluring, exacting, and quite repetitive. I found that I didn’t necessarily mind the repetition in some sections, because it felt like it served a thematic purpose and in some instances presented an alternative perspective of some events in the novel. Francis Fox (our Humbert Humbert) is both seductive and utterly repellant. I was entranced as the spotlight shifted between characters and how they relate to one another on the page. Oates masterfully crafts several character sketches and I was often excited to explore a particular point of view. Middle-aged detectives, spinsterish administrators and twelve-year-old girls are all convincingly written and imbued the story with some humanity, something that is desperately needed after sharing space with a character like Fox.
At over 600 pages, this novel was one I circled several times before finally committing to reading it. The length is certainly navigable, but sometimes Oates’ prose can be daunting, jarring to adjust to as she makes revelations that land like gut punches in her distinct style. The content of the novel, as you can imagine from the synopsis, is quite dark but Fox is difficult to put down. I think because of the apprehensive way that I have approached some of Oates’ other works I wasn’t entirely expecting this book to be the page turner that it ended up being. Yes, there is a central mystery to the novel that held me captive, but Fox shines equally bright when it is exploring complicated family dynamics, trauma, and the morally ambiguous decision making driving its characters.
Who's afraid of Joyce Carol Oates? Me, of course. I read the novel Blonde over the course of a few months after several attempts at diving into it. It was beautifully written, but also forcefully, and necessarily, depressing. When I saw her latest novel, Fox , on NetGalley I instantly requested it and was pleased when I was approved to read it. Who is Francis Fox? A charming new teacher who beguiles his students, their parents, and his colleagues. Mr. Fox is less taken with his new community, but then he's always had his favorites: those prepubescent girls brought up in fatherless homes. When two brothers discover parts of his body strewn about the woods the community must begin to ask exactly who Francis Fox was and what might have happened to him
Like with much of her other work, Oates’ writing in Fox is alluring, exacting, and quite repetitive. I found that I didn’t necessarily mind the repetition in some sections, because it felt like it served a thematic purpose and in some instances presented an alternative perspective of some events in the novel. Francis Fox (our Humbert Humbert) is both seductive and utterly repellant. I was entranced as the spotlight shifted between characters and how they relate to one another on the page. Oates masterfully crafts several character sketches and I was often excited to explore a particular point of view. Middle-aged detectives, spinsterish administrators and twelve-year-old girls are all convincingly written and imbued the story with some humanity, something that is desperately needed after sharing space with a character like Fox.
At over 600 pages, this novel was one I circled several times before finally committing to reading it. The length is certainly navigable, but sometimes Oates’ prose can be daunting, jarring to adjust to as she makes revelations that land like gut punches in her distinct style. The content of the novel, as you can imagine from the synopsis, is quite dark but Fox is difficult to put down. I think because of the apprehensive way that I have approached some of Oates’ other works I wasn’t entirely expecting this book to be the page turner that it ended up being. Yes, there is a central mystery to the novel that held me captive, but Fox shines equally bright when it is exploring complicated family dynamics, trauma, and the morally ambiguous decision making driving its characters.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
This was horrible. I was so excited because such a famous author but oh it's so bad. 😭 12% in and I literally care about no one and the mystery has barely begun. This is all exposition, so maybe it's good if you're into that kind of writing?? But man I hate it. 😞
The SA and p3doph3lia was just way too much to handle. Totally unnecessary in keeping the book going. We already hated him, you don't need to describe every instance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a really difficult book to rate. I've never read any of Oates works before, but I know she has a reputation for heavy emotional prose, and boy does she deliver that here. The content is undeniably disturbing, so a reader needs to be in the right headspace to digest it all. The shifting perspectives added a lot of interesting layers to the narrative, though there were some characters I wish we spent more time with (Demetrius, Genevieve) while some other characters I could have used a bit less of (Francis, Zwender). The writing itself is captivating and the mystery was compelling enough to keep the page turning, though some of the descriptions of pedophilia and child sexual abuse was a bit too vivid for me. There were other aspects of the plot that I wish were fleshed out a bit more, like the class imbalance between members of the community. Overall, this book was a decent introduction to Oates writing, and whether I like it or not, the story of Mr. Fox will stick with me for awhile.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing for providing me with an advanced digital copy via NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review.
Many thanks to Random House Publishing for providing me with an advanced digital copy via NetGalley in an exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was so gripping from start to finish! I do love Oates’ writing, but I hadn’t read a longer work of hers in several years, and I was pleased that I could still become immersed in her dark world. The characters were very interesting and the story was compelling. I did think it got very repetitive - sometimes this was clearly for effect, but other times it just felt exhaustingly redundant, which did get annoying. There were a couple of characters whom I expected more from based on their prominence at the beginning, so that was also a bit frustrating. However, overall this was a satisfying and captivating read.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is only the second Joyce Carol Oates book I've read but like her short story collection (Zero Sum), this one has managed to leave me so anxious and tense and like someone punched me in the stomach. And I loved it! This story is hard to read at moments, but you get a really fascinating character study of the title character and the people around him - these characters felt SO real to me and as difficult as the subject matter was I'm so glad that I spent the time with this book. It'll stay with me for a while.
Thanks for the advanced copy NetGalley!
Thanks for the advanced copy NetGalley!
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced