Reviews

A Book of American Martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates

anniebh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

emmavardy2's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

An outstanding book. Luther Dunphy, a hardline Christan, shoots abortion doctor Gus Voorhees dead outside a womans health centre. What ensues is a story of two families affected in the aftermath of the shooting. This is a long book but a worthwhile time investment. It brings up complex and conflicting views. It is a story of conviction, loss, and the different ways people react in grief. A brilliant read that will stay with me for sometime. I'll be reading more from Joyce Carol Oates.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Child death and Confinement

allentmartin's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.5

brea_by_the_beach's review against another edition

5.0

Joyce Carol Oates can tell an amazing story. Although not easy to get through, not the least of which was due to its length - the story of two men whose lives intersect because one decided to murder the other in a fanatical devotion to a set of beliefs. It could end there - the religious zealot, guns down the abortionist doctor, but that story sets the background for larger questions about the decisions that each man made to reach this point, and equally important, how the lives of their families was impacted.

I was quite surprised by how deep JCO got into fleshing out the character of Luther Amos Dunphy, the fundamentalist Christian who believed his act of murder was a testament to his faith. Oates went "in close," to use the boxing expression she cites repeatedly. I didn't expect that. Her writing expressed an empathy I found myself being vaguely sympathetic too. The thought of feeling sympathy for this character however was simultaneously repugnant too. It must be a testament to the strength of this writer to be able to inspire this confusing swirl of sympathies for a character. I'm quite happy to have discovered her writing, and to see how prolific she has been. It's like finding that perfect series to binge watch and knowing it's got multiple seasons to enjoy.

pastor_bgl's review against another edition

4.0

This book took me much longer to read than I thought it would - part of that was the emotional connections that I made with the characters. I often found it difficult to read more than a few pages at a time. I truly appreciated Oates' handling of the long-lasting effects on the innocent ones (i.e. the spouses, children, etc.).

liberty_bojangles's review against another edition

4.0

One morning, Luther Dunphy, a devout catholic, shoots Gus Voorhees, a doctor who performs abortions. On both sides, a wife and children. Beginning at the level of the two men, the story alternates through a multi-layered structure between the two perspectives and slowly gives us to hear the voices of the wives and then the two daughters. This novel feels like a house of cards. A single act at the top, and two entire families come toppling down. No one will emerge from this story unscathed. This gripping, topical novel tackles weighty moral issues and explores the human cost of ideological extremism. It is difficult to finish this book without being disturbed.

https://redheadwithabrain.ch/index.php/2024/02/27/a-book-of-american-martyrs-joyce-carol-oates-2017/

isabelmorbi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.0

sctittle's review against another edition

4.0

This is not one of my favorite of Oates' books. However, there is a lot here to make it worth the (rather long) read. Oates teases apart our country's abortion debate with empathy and compassion and raises some really important issues that are too-often dismissed by both sides. I loved having my views challenged so adroitly. And as always Oates manages to make us fall in love with characters that we might find hard to like in the hands of lesser authors. Her portrait of Dawn (D.D.) Dunphy, the daughter of the man who kills an abortion doctor, is nothing short of brilliant. Less compelling are long sections having to do with a glamorous philosopher and her ivory-tower life in Manhattan. These parts seemed to belong to another story, or another book, or could have been included with much less, often tedious (I thought) descriptions of her life and surroundings. What Oates does so successfully is invite us into the lives of people whose lives are "collateral damage" in the ideological wars that continue to plague our country. She honors their strengths and flaws and draws resonating parallels that make us realize that opposing parties have more in common than we think. 4.5 for thought-provoking themes; 3.5 for too many pages of flabby prose.

existtenttials's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

sierradewalt's review against another edition

5.0

4.5 so I'll put 5

This book is really worth reading (unless you're hyper-sensitive to dark and uncomfortable subject matter). It gives so many different perspectives to the aftermath of one event: the murder of Dr. Gus Voorhees (not a spoiler because it's part of the summary and happens right away). I loved the complex characters and (mostly) realistic dialogue. This book was a real page-turner for me and I read it much faster than I thought I would.