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natcoba's review against another edition
4.0
So incredibly powerful and emotionally complex. I'm amazed at how JCO was able to develop several interesting characters and weave them together. At 700 pages, it's a long book, but something you'll won't want to put down.
sandra_goodson's review against another edition
3.0
*2 1/2 stars*
This was an okay read, if somewhat bland. The characters were all uninteresting in their own ways and boring. So you mostly don't care how the story will resolve. The premise is a good one though. We, as a country, are supremely divided by any number of issues, abortion being one. JCO doesn't try to sway you one way or the other. She just kind of dispassionately lays it out for you from each perspective. And therein lies the problem. It seemed like the author kept her distance from the material and her characters. The ending was abrupt and somewhat unbelievable. Read it if you are a fan of Joyce Carol Oates. Otherwise you won't miss out if you skip it.
This was an okay read, if somewhat bland. The characters were all uninteresting in their own ways and boring. So you mostly don't care how the story will resolve. The premise is a good one though. We, as a country, are supremely divided by any number of issues, abortion being one. JCO doesn't try to sway you one way or the other. She just kind of dispassionately lays it out for you from each perspective. And therein lies the problem. It seemed like the author kept her distance from the material and her characters. The ending was abrupt and somewhat unbelievable. Read it if you are a fan of Joyce Carol Oates. Otherwise you won't miss out if you skip it.
gscull's review against another edition
5.0
I mean....dang. To read this months before the fall of Roe makes it truly unforgettable. I so appreciate the empathy Oates has toward different people, and how it's displayed through complex characters that drive the narrative forward. One that will stick with you.
mjpatton's review against another edition
3.0
My three star rating leans towards a two, but that seems harsh for anything coming from JCO; in fact, if A Book of American Martyrs had been written by anyone other than JCO, I probably would have set it aside early on, but I stuck with it, hoping that she would redeem herself over the 750 pages with which she was working. Within a dozen pages or so, I found myself flipping ahead to assure myself that the seemingly endless monologue of a fanatic, evangelical Christian murderer of an abortion doctor was not going to be the entire book. As it turns out, it is just a much too long 100 page slog through the stereotyped mind of such an individual going on and on and on about Jesus. Lordy, I wanted this to end way before 20 pages, much less 100, were up. Luther Dunphy's monologue is followed by a somewhat more interesting block, interesting if for no other reason than it includes multiple viewpoints, but even this leans heavily on stereotypes of the other side of the abortion question. Anyone looking for insights into the thought processes of either side will find nothing here.
However, somewhere midway through the novel, Oates shifts to the next generation, the children of the abortion doctor and of his murderer. From here the novel is much stronger although not strong enough to excuse the first half. Problematically, at least for me, the second half seems like a second book altogether. The abortion issues and questions are dropped almost entirely as we focus on the children of the damaged families. If this is the real issue of the book, then the first half could have been done away with almost entirely, relying on a chapter or so in which any sort of conflict that set off one man murdering another would have sufficed to get us to the challenges facing the next generation.
The ending (no spoiler coming) is particularly unsatisfying as well since the action in the final paragraph could have gone in multiple directions any of which could be seen to follow logically from the preceding 750 pages. It was time to stop, and so she stopped -- seemingly choosing a final sentence based on whether she wanted the story to suggest a particularly positive or negative future at that precise moment. If she had gotten out of the other side of the bed that day, the opposite sentence may very well have been written.
However, somewhere midway through the novel, Oates shifts to the next generation, the children of the abortion doctor and of his murderer. From here the novel is much stronger although not strong enough to excuse the first half. Problematically, at least for me, the second half seems like a second book altogether. The abortion issues and questions are dropped almost entirely as we focus on the children of the damaged families. If this is the real issue of the book, then the first half could have been done away with almost entirely, relying on a chapter or so in which any sort of conflict that set off one man murdering another would have sufficed to get us to the challenges facing the next generation.
The ending (no spoiler coming) is particularly unsatisfying as well since the action in the final paragraph could have gone in multiple directions any of which could be seen to follow logically from the preceding 750 pages. It was time to stop, and so she stopped -- seemingly choosing a final sentence based on whether she wanted the story to suggest a particularly positive or negative future at that precise moment. If she had gotten out of the other side of the bed that day, the opposite sentence may very well have been written.
megav's review against another edition
4.0
This door stopper of a book is gripping from first page to last. It delicately unfolds across generations, and is sharply relevant to contemporary times and social divisions. The ending made me cry in the best way.
jessicacarlson7's review against another edition
4.0
This book settles into finally featuring the two best characters (Naomi and DD) at the end. I couldn’t get enough of them, but struggled through the earlier chapters (hence why it took me so long to finish!) It was worth it, a memorable read, but a little tough going at times.
chersp's review against another edition
2.0
I really enjoyed this book. The characters were all so lonely, trying to fill up their empty hearts. Joyce Carol Oates really knows how to evoke empathy with her characters. It wasn't easy to read, but I recommend it.
coraliebru's review against another edition
5.0
J'ai profité de l'été pour aller chercher ce gros volume à la bibliothèque. J'ai commencé à lire Oates avec un autre pavé il y a très longtemps —Blonde ; j'ai continué avec Les chutes, puis j'ai été moins convaincue par d'autres, trop étranges pour moi peut-être, en tout cas moins directs. J'espérais beaucoup de celui-ci et je n'ai pas été déçue. Tout m'a intéressée.
J'ai une théorie sur Joyce Carol Oates, mais je dois la préciser pour être certaine que ce ne soit pas mal pris. Je pense qu'il y a beaucoup de ses premiers jets dans ses romans. Je ne dis pas qu'elle ne retravaille pas avec minutie. Mais j'ai l'impression qu'elle garde beaucoup. J'adore ce ressenti à la lecture. Il y a parfois des répétitions d'idées, comme si elle assumait de tourner autour pour nous les faire contempler de différentes perspectives — les mêmes que celles qu'elle a envisagées en les écrivant. Elle avance en tout cas avec une grande confiance dans le texte, et comme beaucoup d'auteurs américains que j'affectionne, elle va au bout de ses scènes, sans crainte de les étirer. Au contraire, elle en sort tout ce qu'elle peut, ce qui est source de grande satisfaction pour la lectrice que je suis.
Un livre de martyrs américains raconte la trajectoire de deux familles : celle d'un médecin pratiquant des avortements, qui est assassiné dans les toutes premières pages avec son garde du corps, et celle de l'homme qui a tiré. Le roman est extrêmement bien construit, mais toujours avec une vraie spontanéité à la lecture. Oates a recours à des changements de points de vue au rythme qui lui convient, sans équité, sans régularité, sans règle de narration précise. Ainsi on navigue entre témoignages judiciaires, souvenirs d'enfance, récits de reconstruction, narration du tueur...petit à petit un paysage riche, il me semble déjà inoubliable, fait jour, avec son lot de questionnements passionnants. J'ai rarement lu 800 pages avec une telle facilité. Vous l'avez compris, c'est une totale réussite ! Une superbe entrée dans l'oeuvre de Joyce Carol Oates si vous ne l'avez pas déjà lue. Traduction de Claude Seban
J'ai une théorie sur Joyce Carol Oates, mais je dois la préciser pour être certaine que ce ne soit pas mal pris. Je pense qu'il y a beaucoup de ses premiers jets dans ses romans. Je ne dis pas qu'elle ne retravaille pas avec minutie. Mais j'ai l'impression qu'elle garde beaucoup. J'adore ce ressenti à la lecture. Il y a parfois des répétitions d'idées, comme si elle assumait de tourner autour pour nous les faire contempler de différentes perspectives — les mêmes que celles qu'elle a envisagées en les écrivant. Elle avance en tout cas avec une grande confiance dans le texte, et comme beaucoup d'auteurs américains que j'affectionne, elle va au bout de ses scènes, sans crainte de les étirer. Au contraire, elle en sort tout ce qu'elle peut, ce qui est source de grande satisfaction pour la lectrice que je suis.
Un livre de martyrs américains raconte la trajectoire de deux familles : celle d'un médecin pratiquant des avortements, qui est assassiné dans les toutes premières pages avec son garde du corps, et celle de l'homme qui a tiré. Le roman est extrêmement bien construit, mais toujours avec une vraie spontanéité à la lecture. Oates a recours à des changements de points de vue au rythme qui lui convient, sans équité, sans régularité, sans règle de narration précise. Ainsi on navigue entre témoignages judiciaires, souvenirs d'enfance, récits de reconstruction, narration du tueur...petit à petit un paysage riche, il me semble déjà inoubliable, fait jour, avec son lot de questionnements passionnants. J'ai rarement lu 800 pages avec une telle facilité. Vous l'avez compris, c'est une totale réussite ! Une superbe entrée dans l'oeuvre de Joyce Carol Oates si vous ne l'avez pas déjà lue. Traduction de Claude Seban