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A review by ronanmcd
Little Bird of Heaven by Joyce Carol Oates
5.0
Such a slow start. I really found it difficult to get into this book, the first quarter was a slog but for a very good reason.
The book is about the past, about the subjective nature of it and how we each write our own. The first section of the book follows a female protagonist as she constantly reexamines one or two moments in her past, moments that have formed her. Each time she goes over them they lead down different avenues, reflect on other instances or she remembers different details. And so, as readers we read the same over and over with differing embellishment. It's a powerful device, and thought provoking, but requires endurance on the readers part.
But this is the crux. We can change our pasts simply by how we interpret what happened. We can change emphasis and proportion, but ultimately the book shows we don't change who we are, what we are capable of.
The book is about the past, about the subjective nature of it and how we each write our own. The first section of the book follows a female protagonist as she constantly reexamines one or two moments in her past, moments that have formed her. Each time she goes over them they lead down different avenues, reflect on other instances or she remembers different details. And so, as readers we read the same over and over with differing embellishment. It's a powerful device, and thought provoking, but requires endurance on the readers part.
But this is the crux. We can change our pasts simply by how we interpret what happened. We can change emphasis and proportion, but ultimately the book shows we don't change who we are, what we are capable of.