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

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.