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

3.0

Many, many, many times I've been wowed by the brilliance of Joyce Carol Oates. I've been bored by her brilliance somewhat less often, but enough not to be shocked that she can produce a technically stellar novel that somehow leaves you flat. Such was the case with American Martyrs. The story wends through the lives of two families sharing a single tragedy—the murder of a doctor who provides abortions by a radical christian. The act and its cascading impact on their families is a potent lens to view the sharp divides in our current social fabric; which Oates deftly does. But the inability to see the humanity in any of these distant, unlikable characters—which is surely by design—makes for an itchy and uncomfortable reading experience.