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Summary: An intimate portrayal of the "perfect" family
Review: In this novel, Oates writes with insight and sympathy about the destruction of an American family and their life as they knew it. The Mulvaneys - parents Mike and Corinne, children Mikey Jr., Patrick, Marianne, and Judd - to all outward appearances led an almost-charmed life on their farm near a small town in upstate New York. Mike owned a successful and well-established roofing company and Corinne managed the sometimes-raucous household with love,humor, and determination.It took a while to get into this book, since the revelation of the background of this complex family went on for so long before any real action occurred. Although hinting of impending disaster, Oates, in a departure from her usual style, also wrote many descriptions of the normalcy and happiness of the Mulveneys, giving us a glowing view, seen through rose-colored glasses. Marianne was the *perfect* child, Mike Jr. was the hero, Patrick the brilliant one, and Judd was the baby. After more than 100 pages, the real story begins when a terrible event in 1976 shatters their 'happy' lives. This event is the catalyst that tears apart Corinne's fantasy family and negatively impacts each member in a different way. Her husband, overwhelmed by anger and pain, lets his business slide, drowns his sorrows in alcohol, and alienates his friends while the children follow varying paths to cope (or not cope) with their grief and rage. Spanning many years and following the roundabout route that brings the characters to their present plight, the book examines many ideas of the 50s through the 90s and looks closely at the changing American dream through these years. Oates writes with deep feeling on many themes, especially forgiveness. As a reader, I became intensely involved with the characters, their tragedy, and Oates' excellent writing. While exposing the fragility and temporary nature of life as we know it, this challenging novel makes you care about the Mulveney family and get involved in the complexities of their lives.
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Summary: Good Reading
Review: So many of us, at one time in our life, belonged to such a family. Seemingly stable, happy, and safe. Memories of a life worth storing away in a family photo album... until suddenly a dramatic event takes place and all that you once knew slowly falls apart. What road do you choose on your desperate search to find your way home again? "We Were the Mulvaneys" will touch your heart as you enter lives of this incredible family.
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Summary: Terrific novel with "biographical" slant
Review: "We Were the Mulvaneys" is one of Oates's novels that deal in part with her childhood in upstate New York. It's interesting to read the book alongside the biography of Oates, "Invisible Writer" (by Greg Johnson), because then you can see the many parallels about the setting, the characters, the theme of sexual molestation, etcetera. A great example of how art comes out of life! I look forward to seeing the Oprah show on this novel.
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Summary: Falling down
Review: This novel speaks volumes about how families fall apart and are mended again. The book is engrossing; the story spins out then out of control to a point of terrible sorrow; then it is spun into something more resilent than it was before. It takes one twist in a young woman's life to push the family to its knees. Her misstep resonated within her family to the point of destruction. The twist was a sexual assault; the girl was drinking for the first time, got in the wrong car, and was raped by a popular kid from school. The impact on the Mulvaneys- who all seemed perfect- was shattering. They try to stand together, but the town turns against them once the accusation is made public. Since the story takes place in the '60's, the rape made the girl into both the agressor and the victim. The father, who took such pride in his family, especially his only daughter, takes to drink. He also decides he can't stand to sight of Marianne and all the ruin she has thus far brought to the family. He forces his wife to choose between him and their daughter; in a moment of cowardice, the mother sides with her husband. Thus, the daughter is banished from the family to her aunt's home in another town. The family falls further into disrepair as the father loses his business, the oldest son goes to Vietnam, the second son goes to school but gets trapped in a sea of indifference. The story is told from the point of view of the youngest son. He is bewildered by the power of accusation and to some extent, sex. He is horrified by his father, misses his sister and ignored by his brothers. Only his mother stays by his side; but their relationship is complicated. He's the heart of the family so he has to watch his family falls apart. In a sense, he suffers the most, if only because his age forces him to live with parents who are no longer in love; and the rest of the family stays away as much as possible. He goes from the youngest to the only child of the Mulvaneys. As the sadness nearly overwelms the reader, the story turns again when the mother- a stronger character than portrayed earlier- pulls the family back together. But she is only able to do so after her husband dies. Any move before his death would force her to acknowledge her husband as the linchpin of most of the misery that befalls the family. He drove his beloved daughter away because the rape changed her in his eyes. Then, he loses his business, farm and the rest of the family by drinking too much. Once he is gone, she is able to mend the Mulvaneys to a point beyond their childhoods. Oates outlines a regular American family at a specific point in time and the sorrows brought upon it with grace and style. Using the youngest son as an innocent bystander to tell the Mulvaney's story works nicely; his shock, bewilderment and sorrow is ours.
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Summary: Talk about veering off the subject!!
Review: I have read most of Oprahs recent books and loved them. This one is the exception. I couldn't read beyond page 40 because she writes about an event and then gets sidetracked and goes off for pages and pages about another detail. The trick is to keep you in suspense but I felt it extremely frustrating. I never was able to find out what happens to the daughter because it probably isn't until page 200! I felt like I was talking to one of those people that will tell a story, build it up, go off on different sub-stories and then finally gets to the end and you are so happy that the story is over that you want to make a point to not carry on a conversation with that person again. This book reminds me of the John Irving style of writing and if you like his stuff you may like this.
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Summary: Full of Heart....Really Great.
Review: A powerful book with so many layers and deep storylines. It's a great work by a WONDERFUL author. I love Joyce Carol Oates and I really enjoyed this book. It's a departure from some of the other books of hers that I've read, and I really thought she tackled this story and subject matter with dignity and emotion. Her characters are deep and with many layers and faces. This book holds your attention and is a really great piece of fiction.
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Summary: so so tragic
Review: What a beautiful redeeming book! I started reading it, and was immediately taken by the Mulvaney clan. It was my first Oates book, after having read the dark disturbing First Love, which is actually a noveletta. What a change for Ms. Oates! Yes, a girl from a well-respected family gets raped, and that seems to be incredibly tragic. It indeed does bring tragedy to this seemingly happy family, tragedy that is felt for years. But from that rape, there's growth and the family is reborn only after the sad but suitable death of the family member who made the rape more of a tragedy than it was meant to be. The book does leave a nugget of hope within the soul and heart of the reader. This is a classic American family tale, told by an elegant prose stylist, who should have gotten an award for this book. (I agree with the previous reviewer about the Pulitzer). All characters are complex, even the rapist, who you yearn to hate but reveals himself to be an incompetent and cowardly young man in one surprising but stirring scene. My favorite character is Marianne Mulvaney. In many ways, her fall was an inevitable happening. Nothing, not even family tranquility, could remain in tact forever, Marianne grows so much, and at the end, is deserving of her fate. What a rewarding hopeful read! (It made my cry of happiness. I love books that make me tear up.)
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Summary: Long Winded and Boring
Review: This is not my type of book. She is long winded and her thought process is such that one thought is started at the top of the page and at the bottom of the page she is on to something else and the first thought was never answered. I have tried several times in the past to read her books. And her writing style and my reading style just don't match up. I thought the story line would be good. But its so fragmented that I lost interest.
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Summary: COMPLEX AND RIVETING
Review: I won't go into details of the plot, that is for you to discover. I can tell you that Joyce Carol Oates has created her own masterpiece. The chracters pop to life from the pages..the emotions run deep and true. At times, the landscape seems stark and still, like a rural Edward Hopper painting. Quite somber passage punctuated with the brassy blair of a perfectly placed French horn, or adorned with the unexpected humor of a carefree flute. Realism with a backround montage of Impressionistic watercolor. And yet, it has arms that strain like the outreached arms on a Greco oil. If you are fmailiar with Ms Oates engaging writing style, you will be flabbergasted! It is rare for an artist in the middle of their carreer to climb up so many rungs in a one billlowing creshendo! Ms. Oates has climbed high enough to reach that clear and rarified air enjoyed by few...Ms Oates is an American treasure and an example to all authors "who would...." Dont miss this book.
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Summary: Best Oates since Wonderland
Review: This is one of the best Oates has put out since Wonderland, although it does break from her usual grotesque group of characters. The ones here are pretty much real people in real situations, all with that wonderful Oates flavor. I have been recommending this book to friends and hope now that the Oprah logo on the front cover will not scare them off.
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