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A review by nancyflanagan
Middle Age: A Romance by Joyce Carol Oates
4.0
Wavering between a five-star read and four stars. Five for the ultimately redemptive close of the book, with ends tied up and possibilities opened up like windows, to admit fresh air. Five for the intricately woven plot, embedding a mystery which serves as a touchstone for multiple story threads: you can re-invent yourself, in some pretty surprising ways. Five for character growth--lots of originally annoying characters show some amazing but believable transformations. There's some dark humor (although this is not a "comic romp" as the cover suggests).
But--Joyce Carol Oates (as always) lacks a serious editor. The prose is repetitive. The similes and metaphors range from brilliant to confusing to repulsive, including a point where a central character's penis is referred to as a "thalidomide arm." Oates tries to shock us, paint pictures for us, instruct and inspire us--and succeeds only sometimes. It takes awhile for the plot to kick in, to hook us on the story. Until then, it just feels overwritten.
But--Joyce Carol Oates (as always) lacks a serious editor. The prose is repetitive. The similes and metaphors range from brilliant to confusing to repulsive, including a point where a central character's penis is referred to as a "thalidomide arm." Oates tries to shock us, paint pictures for us, instruct and inspire us--and succeeds only sometimes. It takes awhile for the plot to kick in, to hook us on the story. Until then, it just feels overwritten.