A review by rj42
Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A very curious book but very hard to put down. Babysitter has the trappings of a thriller - central character Hannah Jarrett embarks on an affair with a mysterious stranger who turns out to be far darker and more dangerous than she could ever have imagined. But the book is far more than that. Through Hannah’s eyes, we re-examine the role of a wife and mother in affluent 1970s suburban Detroit and the complicated sexual politics of the age as the plot races towards its inevitable climax. There is tension throughout, and the horror of the titular serial killer always slightly out of sight. Oates takes some getting used to: in the early part of the book in particular, she experiments with form, approaching the same situation from different angles, repeating sentence structures with minor but important modifications. She reminds us perhaps a little too often just how repressive the era was for women when this point is abundantly obvious. But she never forgets she is here to excite her readers as well as make them think, and this book is a ride worth being on.