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A review by spyralnode
Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is the first novel I've ever read by Joyce Carol Oates (JCO). She is a force - at 85, she still releases roughly a book every year, it's insane how much love she has for the writing craft.
Even though the title of this novel is 'Babysitter', the 1970s Detroit serial killer is only a framing device. In reality, this is a domestic thriller, taking place during that era, in the shadow of Babysitter not only in the news but also in the thoughts of the community. Hannah is a wealthy, blonde, white woman, living in a gated house in the suburbs, married with a businessman of vague occupation, with two children of 7, respectively 4. She is bored of her life of volunteering and charity work, no longer feels desired by her husband Wes, and as such she embarks into an affair with a man she meets at one of these events, with limited knowledge as to who he is.
I'd advise for triggers such as rape, death, murder, child abuse, misogyny and racism, and perhaps several more that I am not sufficiently attuned to. It's a book where the environment, encouraged by the writing, models the 1970s US fairly convincingly. There are people keeping guns in their homes for their so-called protection, traditional gender roles with men going to work to do 'business' (a mystery to their wives as to what this actually means), while women take care of the home and the children. Segregation remains in the form of wealthy suburbs, with immigrants in the downtown, known to be dangerous and uncomfortable for the white people who venture there. JCO truly succeeds in building an unsettling world, that makes you wonder how this degree of intolerance was ever accepted, even revered (though maybe not as surprising considering recent abortion laws in the US).
But alas, I have to wonder if this is representative of her writing. Between biographies, poetry, short stories, thrillers, family sagas, it appears that she has written it all. And here there is certainly a style that peeks through, which comes across as mystery-inducing, creepy, hence why I'm not sure if she employs the same methods in all her work. Especially at the beginning, the narrative is extremely slow paced. Even though the story is told in 3rd person, it is reminiscent of a stream of consciousness, as a reader you are close to Hannah, yet also not quite there. I found this somewhat difficult to go through, not because it's bad, but because her thoughts are so drilled into the text, repeated to no end, that at some point I just want to move on. It's not just that we get imagery and feelings, but we get the same sensations over and over again.
And Hannah herself is not exactly exciting. While I understand that she is a character built to be unlikeable, I wish she was interesting, but then again, she stands in for the suburban wife. So I understand why she's like this, but it meant that I couldn't relate to her, empathise with her, like her, and most notably find her interesting. But due to the decisions she makes, it's a matter of I can't look away from the train crash that's unfolding before my eyes.
I'm not sure who I'd recommend this book too, maybe someone who wants especially slow reads? I just haven't found that it excelled in any particular ways, and for me the interest grew, the beginning was tough because of how little I connected with this story.
Even though the title of this novel is 'Babysitter', the 1970s Detroit serial killer is only a framing device. In reality, this is a domestic thriller, taking place during that era, in the shadow of Babysitter not only in the news but also in the thoughts of the community. Hannah is a wealthy, blonde, white woman, living in a gated house in the suburbs, married with a businessman of vague occupation, with two children of 7, respectively 4. She is bored of her life of volunteering and charity work, no longer feels desired by her husband Wes, and as such she embarks into an affair with a man she meets at one of these events, with limited knowledge as to who he is.
I'd advise for triggers such as rape, death, murder, child abuse, misogyny and racism, and perhaps several more that I am not sufficiently attuned to. It's a book where the environment, encouraged by the writing, models the 1970s US fairly convincingly. There are people keeping guns in their homes for their so-called protection, traditional gender roles with men going to work to do 'business' (a mystery to their wives as to what this actually means), while women take care of the home and the children. Segregation remains in the form of wealthy suburbs, with immigrants in the downtown, known to be dangerous and uncomfortable for the white people who venture there. JCO truly succeeds in building an unsettling world, that makes you wonder how this degree of intolerance was ever accepted, even revered (though maybe not as surprising considering recent abortion laws in the US).
But alas, I have to wonder if this is representative of her writing. Between biographies, poetry, short stories, thrillers, family sagas, it appears that she has written it all. And here there is certainly a style that peeks through, which comes across as mystery-inducing, creepy, hence why I'm not sure if she employs the same methods in all her work. Especially at the beginning, the narrative is extremely slow paced. Even though the story is told in 3rd person, it is reminiscent of a stream of consciousness, as a reader you are close to Hannah, yet also not quite there. I found this somewhat difficult to go through, not because it's bad, but because her thoughts are so drilled into the text, repeated to no end, that at some point I just want to move on. It's not just that we get imagery and feelings, but we get the same sensations over and over again.
And Hannah herself is not exactly exciting. While I understand that she is a character built to be unlikeable, I wish she was interesting, but then again, she stands in for the suburban wife. So I understand why she's like this, but it meant that I couldn't relate to her, empathise with her, like her, and most notably find her interesting. But due to the decisions she makes, it's a matter of I can't look away from the train crash that's unfolding before my eyes.
I'm not sure who I'd recommend this book too, maybe someone who wants especially slow reads? I just haven't found that it excelled in any particular ways, and for me the interest grew, the beginning was tough because of how little I connected with this story.