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trisha_thomas's review against another edition
1.0
I've tried this book as an e-book and I've now tried it (and finished it) as an audiobook.
And this one was just not my cup of tea.
I found the MC frustrating. It's stream of consciousness writing (my least favorite) and she just rambles on and on about an affair she having and how she's going to be punished for it through her children and that she'a bad mother and bad wife and everyone hates her and no one is nice. . .etc. She even flashes back to daddy issues about how he didn't love her and smoked cigars and her mother was just submisitive to him (like she needs to be both to this person she's having an affair with and her husband).
There were flashes (and a male author) about the serial killer and these kids disappearing but it all seemed like a side plot. The MC could barely see past herself to the mysteries around her and once she finally starting putting the pieces together, I just didn't care anymore.
I wish I'd liked it more but this one was just a miss for me.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
And this one was just not my cup of tea.
I found the MC frustrating. It's stream of consciousness writing (my least favorite) and she just rambles on and on about an affair she having and how she's going to be punished for it through her children and that she'a bad mother and bad wife and everyone hates her and no one is nice. . .etc. She even flashes back to daddy issues about how he didn't love her and smoked cigars and her mother was just submisitive to him (like she needs to be both to this person she's having an affair with and her husband).
There were flashes (and a male author) about the serial killer and these kids disappearing but it all seemed like a side plot. The MC could barely see past herself to the mysteries around her and once she finally starting putting the pieces together, I just didn't care anymore.
I wish I'd liked it more but this one was just a miss for me.
A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.
hatseflats's review against another edition
4.0
This impossible to categorize novel is just one more example of the brilliance of Joyce Carol Oates. Feminist treatise on American womanhood in the transitory 1970s? Psychological suspense? Commentary on the misogyny of privileged white men? An anonymous murderous pedophile associated with a club of similar minded monsters enabled and hosted by a local priest? You name it, you got it in Babysitter. Another Goodreader described this novel as a literary migraine. At the time, I didn't understand, but now I do. Nonetheless, I'm still glad I got to experience it.
billieqvam's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
viicttoriia's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
2.0
ladydrini's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This was a challenging read. It dove into topics of rape, race, abuse, patriarchy, adultery, and murderers of children. It broke the rules of grammar and sentence structure. And these stories seemed completely separate from one another until the last fourth of the book. The Babysitter is about a (rich, privileged, white) woman who gets entangled with a mysterious man who is equally dangerous and alluring to her. This happens against the backdrop of the 1970s during race wars in Detroit and the time of a serial killer named The Babysitter who strikes closer and closer to home. The way that the author shared the thoughts of the protagonist was extremely realistic, so even if you didn't want to relate to her, you had to - making it all very unnerving. A stunning book.
amymo73's review against another edition
4.0
SPOILERS! I usually don't preface with this but this is one of those times when I wish I knew someone else who read this book. I mean, was Hannah dead? Did she die? What was that scene near the end when she went home but her husband and kids had moved months ago?
I'm like, whoa.
I really liked it. It was a disturbing read in parts as Hannah, bored in her 1977 suburban life, takes a lover, who is actually a criminal of some kind and definitely sexually assaulted her. Yet because she felt something, felt anything, to her, it was love.
It take some time to get used to Joyce Carol Oates writing style, which isn't for everyone. Nor is the graphic descriptions of sexual violence. It was basically a novel version of a well-done Netflix true crime docuseries (and I mean that as a compliment!)
I'm like, whoa.
I really liked it. It was a disturbing read in parts as Hannah, bored in her 1977 suburban life, takes a lover, who is actually a criminal of some kind and definitely sexually assaulted her. Yet because she felt something, felt anything, to her, it was love.
It take some time to get used to Joyce Carol Oates writing style, which isn't for everyone. Nor is the graphic descriptions of sexual violence. It was basically a novel version of a well-done Netflix true crime docuseries (and I mean that as a compliment!)
rsolo's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racism, and Child abuse
Moderate: Homophobia
ndschmidt's review against another edition
I don't enjoy stories in which the primary character commits adultery.