Rating: 
Summary: Unrealistic and depressing
Review: This is one of the most unrealistic and depressing books I have read this year. The author gives no background or reason why the characters would act in such ridiculously stupid ways. Why would parents who loved their daughter treat her the way they did? Why did the incident with Marianne change her family so dramatically, and alter their personality? Is this book saying that all of us can become thoroughly despicable characters if a tragedy occurs in our lives? Or is it saying that these people were thoroughly dispicable from the beginning and we just didn't know it until the tragedy occurred? I kept reading the book hoping there would be some reason given for the actions of the family, but in the end there was none. There was just a sweet little family reunion where everyone was so, so happy again, like at the beginning of the book. I hope nothing bad happens after the reunion, because who knows what this barracuda in disguise family will do.
Rating: 
Summary: We were the Mulvaneys
Review: Being an avid reader of all types of books, I eagerly anticipated reading another of Oprah's picks. I am only half way through and have been laboring for more than a week. Oates feels the need to drone on and on, somewhat off track, while I am wanting more from each character, something redeeming to connect me to them, but it hasn't happened. So far, I haven't felt the compulsion to pick it up to see what happens like I do with others great reads. After reading some of the other reviews I realize I am not alone. Definitely lacks the "page-turner" status other picks have been.
Rating:
Summary: IF ONLY I HAD KNOWN.....
Review: ...Creative writing cliches,psuedo-Hollywoodian routines, and an irritating penchant for showing off make this so-called novel hard to bear. Had I known ... I would have fled from it a thousand miles. Alas, I didn't know. A READER IN LONDON
Rating:
Summary: Just can not make myself finish it.
Review: I have read SEVERAL of Oprha's books and until this one I have not been disappointed. I have been trying to read this book for over a week, and here I sit on page 150. I thought I would come read some reviews to see if it was just me. I am glad I read the one review that told the whole story in a paragraph, now I can put this one in the book case and get on with life. I am glad some people enjoyed this book I just could not even finish it. I would not suggest this book to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: LONG AND DREARY! SPARE YOURSELF!
Review: If you think this book will improve as you turn the pages, do yourself a favor and PUT IT DOWN NOW! I've read many, many books in my life and I have NEVER read such a dreary story; not dramatic, or tragic, or compelling, simply dreary. None of the characters seem to have any inner strength, you will wish you could go straight to High Point Farm and shake them all up! The prose is LENGTHY, to put it kindly, and trails off into unknown territory just when you think you might be getting somewhere! UGH. Unfortunately, it took me almost 300 pages to realize that the plot would not EVER take a turn for the better, and I felt compelled to stick it out. A complete waste of time.
Rating: 
Summary: The A.D.D. of the American reviewers...
Review: Let me keep this short and sweet. The book was remarkable. Oates' mastery of prose is the star of the show and the book should be lauded because of it. This must be said in the shadow of a number of the reviews that have been written prior to mine. I found myself a little frustrated after reading about a dozen of them, and I also found my jaw hanging in my lap in disbelief. Most of you folks should hold your tongues (or index fingers) when you feel the need to voice opinions like "it was sooooo unrealistic" or "I would have punched him" or "man, I can't believe all of those exclamation marks!!!!!" or "you know, and, uh, I had to wait, like, a long time, like, over one hundred pages to get to, like, what its about, like, come on...". Get a grip, people...if you want candy, buy candy...and keep it to yourself. Thank you for a wonderful read, Ms. Oates.
Rating: 
Summary: OH GIVE ME A BREAK
Review: This book was torture to read and one of the worst I've endured in a while. This is because the book was well written but the story was just plain improbable. What happened to the daughter, Marianne, and how the family handled it was ridiculous. I mean, maybe if the story had been set in the Victorian Age--or even the 1950s. But by the late 1970s people understood rape. This was not a Puritanical time--far from it as I recall from my high school days. In fact, in the pre-AIDs late 1970s, early 1980s, sex was hardly taboo. Marianne's fate after the rape was discovered was completely unbelievable. No family who loved a child as much as they did her would have done that. The family was kooky but they seemed, in the beginning, to have a strong bond. Patrick's reaction was also annoying. Instead of throwing the rapist boyfriend into the bog, he should have gone home and thrown in his parents for being such idiots. I am sorry I wasted my time and money on this book that had so much potential but didn't even begin to deliver.
Rating:
Summary: Please spare yourself - don't buy this book
Review: This is definitely the worst Oprah book I've ever read. Not one of the characters has a single redeeming characteristic. I wanted to slap some sense into all of them. Had there been one single person in the book that you felt some sense of bonding with it would have made a difference. I read the whole book because I hate not to finish something I've started, but it was dreadful and I hated every minute of it. Usually when a book is good you hate to get to the end because you'd like to see the characters you've grown to appreciate continue. Not so this book, I was so glad to be finished with it.Spare yourself - don't buy it or get started on it.
Rating:
Summary: My Review is Short and Sweet
Review: Joyce Carol Oates is a gifted writer! I love her prose. Read this quick exerpt: "There was an attic no larger than our corncrib at High Point Farm and this too was crammed solid. All the rooms of the new house were full to bursting with familiar things made strange and disturbing by their crowdedness and juxtaposition in this new setting, like an unwieldy nightmare into which an entire life has been shuffled out of impersonal malicious glee...". Good story, Oates keeps you guessing and doesn't bore you with trifles--the plot moves quickly. Note to self: go pop some Saint John's Wort and call mom ASAP.
Rating:
Summary: A well-written but tedious book
Review: I debated for the longest time in deciding whether or not togive this book a 2 or 4 stars ~~ the writing is excellent, but thecharacters ~~ while well-developed ~~ ... so I compromised on 3stars. It's a book about a well-off family living the AmericanDream. There are Mike Sr., Corrine, Mike Jr., Patrick, Marianne andJudd, who happen to live the dream that everyone dreams of. They livein this gorgeous old farmhouse with lots of farmland and animals ~~horses, cats, dogs and cows and other strays. Mike Jr. is the perfectolder child ~~ the football star, Patrick is the brainy child,Marianne the gorgeous cheerleader and Judd is the child that tagsalong after his more glamourous siblings. Mike Sr. is a successfulbusinessman and Corinne, the mom everyone wishes they had. Narratedfor the most part by Judd, this book goes into the relationships thefamily had with each other and others ~~ till a dark tragedy tears thefamily apart. That's when Oates show the dark underbelly of a"perfect" family. That was when the family failed each otherin the time of greatest need ~~ especially for Marianne, who sufferedrape. Oates did a good job getting into each of her characters' mindsand she showed the ultimate selfishness on the parents' parts whocouldn't handle their daughter's pain because they couldn't handletheir own pain and disappointment. I have never read of more selfishpeople till I read this book. They failed their daughter and in turn,failed their other children and failed themselves. If you arelooking for a "pretty" book, this is not it. If you'relooking for a book with character development, this is it. I must warnyou, it is long and gloomy ~~ and I have several times wanted to giveit up ~~ but Oates keep you ensared in the characters' thoughts andemotions and you just have to know how it ended. Though not directlytalked about, rape is an issue that divides families and parents apartfrom one another. Oates did do a good job in showing that division ~~.... It is a thought-provoking book ~~ but it's not one that you'llread again.
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