A review by shirleytupperfreeman
A Book of American Martyrs by Joyce Carol Oates

I gave the Advanced Reader Copy of Oates' new novel the ol' college try - read half of this 700 page book. Three families' lives are forever ruined and intertwined when the husband and father of one family feels compelled to shoot and kill the husband/father of another. The victims are a doctor who works for a health clinic which performs abortions, and his chaperone/protector. It could have been a more interesting story and it feels like a timely topic but I just didn't want to invest the time to finish it. Certainly both fathers were passionate about their calling and both caused their families to make unbelievable sacrifices because of it.