Rating: 
Summary: Fraility, Complexity, Pain and Balance
Review: I have not read any of her books before, therefore I don't have expectations some of her readers might. I thought it interesting that she altered the perspective of the storyteller from Judd to others and back again. If it's a rule to maintain one dimension to the telling, I'm glad she chose not to obey. It was a difficult book to get through at times because I wanted to right what was wrong, set things straight, frustrated that they could not see the light. I was disappointed in the father, sympathetic to the daughter. I was drawn into their lives wanting to fix them. It was an honest reflection of real families and how delicately their relationships can be tied or unraveled. I thought her words wonderfully illustrative, poetic and profound. A warm, thoughtful story of intertwining, complex human emotion, fraility and resiliency.
Rating: 
Summary: Not what I expected.
Review: Being a long time fan of Joyce Carol Oates, I hated to admit that this was the first time she has ever disappointed me. Perhaps it didn't help that I read this book on the heels of Bellefleur, which I consider one of her best books. Compared to Bellefleur, We Were the Mulvaney's fell flat as far as character development and overall content. Both stories illustrate the demise of a family, though very differently. However, where one is a complete sucess the other is a complete failure. Though the style and voice of this book are distinctly Oates, the story itself seems born of another mind.
Rating:
Summary: Uneven storytelling
Review: I found this book to be both gripping and annoying, and ultimately I believe the ending fell flat with a quickly wrapped up conclusion.
Rating: 
Summary: A little disappointed...
Review: Being a JCO fan, I cannot help but feel disappointed after reading We Were the Mulvaneys. The story chronicles the gradual degredation of a family, followed by a quick "reunion" packed into the last few pages of the book. I found the characters to be rather stereotyped and just plain annoying. Throughout the entire story, the mother Corinne claims to love her children- yet she sure doesn't show it, and her pathetic devotion to her low-life husband further reveals just how weak her character really is. I found many of the events, especially those that happened to the daughter Marianne, highly unbelievable. Marianne suffers a rape when she is 17, and it is this once incident that destroys the entire family. For the setting (New York, 1970s) it seems unlikely that a woman would be so shunned. The eldest son, Mike, is another overly-stereotyped character that is never reallly fully developed. The similarities between Mike and his father are remarkable, leaving the reader to wonder if this son, with his equally "picture perfect" life, will follow in the same footsteps as his father. I found the youngest son, Judd, to be a weak narrator. For me the character of Patrick was the high-point of the book; the only son that showed any real depth or intensity of personality. All in all I struggled to finish the book, and only managed to do so because I thought it had to get better.
Rating:
Summary: We Were the Mulvaneys
Review: This is not just another rape story...it is a date rape story before there were such things. It is the story of a family that had respect, a father that wanted to be a considered somebody, a mother that didn't solcialize well and children in their teens all trying to fit in somehow. The characters are all very well developed. The situations and time passing changes are truthful and yet unexpected. The trouble with this book is that a college professor should know that a book written by one person can not be all knowing. It makes me wonder if Joyce Carol Oates actually wrote this piece of work. It is not her style and certainly not the quality of work one would expect from someone teaching others in a higher education capacity. This book has a message and gives a great deal of food for thought, and even has characters in it we can all point to as someone we know or are, but who really wrote it?
Rating: 
Summary: We Were the Mulvaneys
Review: I had a little trouble beginning this book because of such detail. It bores me, but something told me to push on. I am so glad I did. This book is very well written. The characters are so believable and I found myself genuinely caring for this family. I laughed, cried and hoped for the characters in their plight. Read this book!
Rating: 
Summary: ANOTHER rape story... except with a dumb plot
Review: I just didn't understand where the author was going with this book. It focuses on rape, yet twists into a downward spiral of ridiculous events that are not even conceivable to the imagination. It is very unclear what timeframe this novel is suppose to be because events and descriptions of things seem to swish back-and-forth from one decade to another. Marianne (the victim) is sad and upset, yet never angry at anyone or anything for what happened to her. There is lots of snow and cold weather, but why did it seem to be the first winter these people were experiencing? Oh, the drama!! Although it seems the author attempts to portray the family members as a more conservative upper class family, not one person seemed to have a backbone. Even people with good morals and a good standing in the community would have an opinion and speak their mind in one forum or another. Putting these issues aside, how in the world could her family lose everything due to Marianne's rape??? I just don't get it. Not believable. I read this book based on an Oprah recommendation. Although she says she is an avid reader, it is amazing how narrow-minded she is with the subject matter she selects for her book club readers. How could anyone recommend this book?
Rating:
Summary: Real-life characters, real life drama, A+ story
Review: This was my first Oates book, and I was blown away by how realistic the story was. Her characters could have been her neighbors or her own family...they laughed, cried, argued, and had all the same thoughts you and I do. When the popular "goody-goody" daughter gets raped on prom night, through no fault of her own, Dad's reality is that he can't handle it, because somehow it's a reflection on his failures. And thus begins the unraveling of this close-knit family. Yes, the family was dysfunctional. What family isn't. But the story isn't overblown in any way. They all react the way that "normal" people do. I loved it and couldn't put it down once it got started. I could see the movie playing in my mind as I gobbled her words. If you like true-to-life family dramas, this is a MUST READ.
Rating:
Summary: The Real Kind of Love
Review: As a teenage girl, I often go looking for love stories. Prince Charming rescues the damsel in distress and they live happily every after. Love stories are my weakness. This beautifully written novel by Joyce Carol Oates completly changed my mind about what a love story was. This book illustrates the love shared by a family, and most importantly how this tight-knit family's love is tested. It's a great story, but not quite right if you're looking for a perfectly happy ending. Hold in there though, the end is happy.
Rating:
Summary: I Felt Like I Was a Mulvaney!
Review: I would like to say that this is an incredable novel! It is so well written, filled with details and vivid pictures, that actually went through many of the emotions with the characters. I don't want to give anything away, but it is an emotional workout. I loved this novel, and will continue to recommend it to others.
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