Black Water

Rating:
Summary: Quick reading...quickly forgettable?
Review: This is not a bad book. This is my first Joyce Carol Oates book, and I don't know what I was expecting, but this certainly wasn't it. This is a small book about a small tragedy. The main strength of the book is its narrative form--short chapters written in a type of flashback-stream-of-consciousness-slowly-unraveling-and-fleshing-out way. The author's descriptions are certainly vivid enough to evoke emotion, but the lack of character development (or the almost-trite portrayal of the characters) detracts from the book. The best way to think of Black Water is as a study of theme and variations, a story that could be 3 pages long or could last forever.

Verdict: a fun and engaging read, but for readers who are seeking depth and enjoy really committing to a book, this might be one to pass on.

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Summary: A melancholy journey through the feelings of a young woman
Review: Joyce Carol Oates' novel "Black Water" is about a young woman, Kelly Kelleher, who wants to change her "good girl" image into a "bad girl" by having an affair with the married Senator.Her naivity takes a tragic ending. The most important outstandings in the novel are the development of Kelly's resolution to change her image became suddendly true at the Forth-of-July party where she meets the Senator.
This book is truly amazing because it takes you on a melancholy journey through the feelings of the dying protagonist Kelly.

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Summary: Why All the High Ratings? I Was Just Happy it Was so Short!
Review: I had heard a lot of good things about Joyce Carol Oates' books. So, I tried one of her shortest ones first. Boy, was I disappointed. Each chapter of this book tells the same story over and over, occasionally adding a tad of insignificant detail that wasn't there before. The basic story could have been (and was) told in one chapter rather than 154 pages. Well, really, the whole story is on the back cover. Isn't that just pitiful?! A senator is driving a girl that he's just met down "a shortcut" to reach the island ferry in time. He takes a turn too fast and their car ends up in a creek filled with what appears to be black sewage water. The story is told in a series of flashbacks (the same ones over and over). The only thing that keeps you turning the pages is the thought that there has to be SOME point to the story other than finding out if the girl lives or dies. Obviously, there isn't. And, if you are the type to read the last page first and already know whether she lives or dies, don't bother starting the book from the beginning after you've read the ending.

Rating:
Summary: Voice of a silent become woman
Review: The novel "Black Water" by Joyce Carol Oates is about a young idealistic woman, who is attracted to "The Senator", an older successful politician, in whom she sees a chance to fulfil her yearning for adventures. She accepts his invitation for a night in his motel-room and joins him in his car which ends in a terrible accident where her entire personality is put to a new challenge- she questions the sense of her being, of her life she has lived so far, and doubts if her longing has been fulfilled in the way she had in mind.
Through the literary means of a brilliantly woven narrative, which is the typical feature of the novel, Oates produces a certain picture of Kelly's thoughts and feelings which is determined for the effect the book has on the reader: The whole story is written in a very captivating and sensitive way.
In our opinion the book is very worth to read.Kelly, in her special nature shows other women that no matter what happens one should never loose his/her belief in something and gives them the strength to keep their faith and their hope.
As it is based on a real incident, Joyce Carol Oates gives through her narration the forgotten and silent become mistress of Edward Moore Kennedy a voice and with it a human soul.

Rating:
Summary: taste black water
Review: Joyce Carol Oates presents the reader with a simple story in "black water" !!
In every chapter, there are thrilling sentences that left this reader in awe of Oates's strength as a writer.
„If you're looking for a book different from many others in the way it's written, I would Black Water." ...

Rating:
Summary: An American Psyche, an American Tragedy
Review: The event itself is quite simple, and all too common. A drunken ride with a tragic ending. This is what Joyce Carol Oates gives us on the first page. From there her prose backpedals through Kelly Kelleher's childhood, adolescence, and young adulthood into the hours leading up to her death, which is described in nearly every chapter. The repeated death scene lends to the intensity of the novel. One would expect the book to go forward into the investigation of the accident, yet instead its narration goes backwards. Where, then, are the surprises? The surprises come in Oates's biting prose and in her portrayal of a female growing up in modern America with the ancient pressures of beauty and normalcy, as well as the more recent pressures of ambition and intellectual pursuits. In every chapter, there are thrilling sentences that left this reader in awe of Oates's strength as a writer. For example, this sentence leaves the reader feeling as thrown around as Kelly in the out of control Toyota: "In the jolting car they did seem immune to any harm, still less to a vehicular accident, for The Senator was driving in a way one might call recklessly, you might say his judgment was impaired by drink but not his skill as a driver for he did have skill, handling the compact car as if by instinct and with an air too of kingly contempt, so Kelly was thinking, though they were lost, though they would not make the 8:20 PM ferry after all, she was privileged to be here and no harm could come to her like a young princess in a fairy tale so recently begun but perhaps it would not end for some time, perhaps." The plot focuses on the interactions between Kelly and a never named Senator. They meet at a Fourth of July party, spend an afternoon filled with sexual tension together and decide to spend that night in a motel. It is the Senator's drunken haste that causes the accident, but this is not Oates's focus. Instead, it is the life forces contending within Kelly Kelleher that have made her make the decision to accompany a drunk man her father's age to a motel, out of part sexual desire, part political ambition. The plot is not the most gripping aspect of this novel. Instead, it is the character development. One chapter begins, "She did not believe in astrology, in the breathless admonitions and Ben Franklin-pep talks of the magazine horoscopes, nor did she believe in the Anglican God to Whom-in Whom?-for Whom?-she had long ago been confirmed." The reader glimpses into this woman's psyche and comes away feeling slightly disturbed. Not in the sense that one has seen into the inner workings of an imbalanced person, but because one has seen the inner workings of a completely 'normal,' functioning person, whom we would herald in this society as a model of integrity and intelligence. These inner workings are rational and logical, yet at the same time damaging and frightening. The dichotomy between her outer self and her inner self is the most disturbing aspect of this book. What is most intriguing about this novel is its size. Not only is it short in length, but frequently its chapters are no more than a few pages, sometimes even a single paragraph. The effect is that one feels that before Kelly dies in each chapter, her life is flashed before her eyes and we are the witnesses to that event. I highly recommend this book. It is a quick, intense read.

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Summary: Review of Joyce Carol Oates' Black Water
Review: This novel was one of extensive study by my part, and the more I read, the more I appreciated the fear, the possible real life correlation to a US senator, and the momentum in which Oates carries us through the scene of this horrible accident.

The entire novel is barely a hundred and fifty pages, separated by thirty-two chapters. The speed and the brevity in which she writes makes it all the more believable, and is in my opinion the best dramatic choice Oates made as far as the convention of the prose. Although these thirty-two chapters were small, they were jam-packed. That question everyone wants to know is in there and seems to be answered, which I can't reveal or I would spoil the book.

The worldview Oates' is two dimensional to me. One part of the view portrays through the accident is something we all know, accidents happen. The main character being a younger female, interested in politics, and interested in starting her life while thinking in almost every chapter, "am I going to die-like this" really wakes the reader up and moves the common "accidents happen" theme to "accidents can happen to you too, at any time." The other most significant and compelling part is shown through a young woman who is violated when she trusts an older man. As she sits trapped in the sinking car, the Senator escapes and physically uses her body as a stepstool, leaving her behind. The most intriguing part of the story for me was that she was convinced he was coming back, and yet this is a smart character. A character who makes a conscious effort to discard anything as silly as a horoscope and one who is approach is intricate in design no matter what the circumstances. So what happened? The complications Oates made within the main character really move your mind in several directions. Any female reader can really relate to the dramatic choices in dialogue and characterization the Oates makes.

The element of fear is something that Oates really plays around with through the entire book. There is the stark fear of death, fear of talking out of turn, fear of consequences from men, fear of leaving a relationship, fear of putting somebody above you in the political world down on your level, and fear of life itself. And the fear that is still surfacing after finishing the novel is the fear of trusting people. The reader watches a spark between a man and a woman as Oates so simply and naturally creates the scene and this so thought harmless afternoon fling turns into a bloodcurdling accident that details the thoughts of the victim and the disbelief-it's amazing.

This novel has an element of truth, or motivation from the 1969 Chappaquiddick Island accident involving Senator Edward Kennedy and Mary Jo Kepechne, who was in a similar position as Kelly Kelleher. However, it is obvious fiction since no author can rewrite the thoughts of a deceased individual. Nevertheless, the prose by Oates was critical in creating a believable situation.

It all takes place in Kelly Kelleher's viewpoint; at the party, interludes from her past, spliced with the slowly sinking of the rented Toyota and Kelly's body into the black water. Because of this dramatic choice Oates really benefits the reader by revealing the intentions and motivations of the main character in her life and career. A common motif through the novel was that Kelly was an "American girl" which really set a degree of normality to the character, making it all the more realistic to the reader.

This book wasn't the only work of Oates that I have read and I can see a similarity in style and the same dimensional fear and gender inequality. I would recommend this to any gender however; it affects every human in the area of trust and death.

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Summary: Interested in Political Scandal?
Review: Deception and a sense of the mysterious are characteristics I've come to expect from a text written by Joyce Carol Oates. I've been familiar with Oates for several years now, and although I can't say that I've read her entire collection of novels and short stories, I can say that I've found these characteristics in those I have read. Oates has the keen ability to turn nightmare like situations into a creepy reality. But, the real scare lies in the fact that her writing is identifiable. In Black Water, Oates introduces Kelly Kelleher, the protagonist, as the "American girl." She is the type of girl we all know. She is sensitive and educated, but in the presence of her idol, the Senator, a man to whom she dedicated her thesis, she is devoid of the ability to assert herself. Thus begins the tragedy that seems inherent in Oates writing and the tragedy that is Kelly's life. When the Senator shows an interest in Kelly and gives her his undivided attention at an exclusive summer party, Kelly completely looses her sense of power and ability to keep herself grounded in reality. The Senator drives the ensuing "relationship," and Kelly is along for the ride, even if the ride takes her tumbling down and submerges her at the bottom of a lake. While the structure of this book may seem a bit frustrating because of its unconventional style, it proves a valuable tool for building suspense. Each chapter focuses on a detail essential to piecing together the disjointed plot, so that Kelly's fate becomes a bit clearer. If you are not careful, you may miss something within the hypnosis of repetition. What I find most fascinating about this book is that despite Kelly's innocence, there lies a subtextual warning as to the types of people punished in our culture versus the type that aren't. My emphatic recommendation of this novel is for anyone interested in a politically charged exploration of immoral behavior and its affects on innocent people. I think that the question I found myself battling with is whether being innocent and naïve enough to believe in the benevolence of our politicians is a punishable crime. I definitely think that Kelly's "crime" is certainly not representative of the punishment she receives. However, when there is a choice to be made as to who is represented fairly when power and politics is involved, I ask myself, who wins, those with or without power and agency? Though I wouldn't particularly praise this as a book empowering its female characters, I do think that the reader can learn from the decisions Kelly makes or chooses not to make. These decisions, primarily remaining speechless when she should speak up, ultimately affecting her fate. If you do not exercise your voice and right to make decisions, others will do this for you. Therefore, if you are interested in political scandal, and who isn't, then I would suggest reading this novel. It may offer some thought provoking questions about politics, control, and what some politicians may want covered up.

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Summary: Media Subversion Is Tricky I Suppose
Review: This was my first time reading one of Joyce Carol Oates's longer pieces of fiction, and to be perfectly frank, I was disappointed. Oates begins the book sharply and incisively-a grounding framework for the physical occurrence, which would later become an integral piece of one of the largest real-life American soap operas. I should say that, in contrast with some of the other reviews I've read, I am unable to review this book outside the context of the infamous Ted Kennedy/Mary Jo Kopechne car crash at Chappaquiddick in 1969.

From beginning to end, and on the most superficial level, the novel is a subversion of mainstream social and media perspectives of the Chappaquiddick incident. Oates emphasizes two important issues in order to capitalize on this thematic subversion. The first is captured by the mere amount of time spent reviewing an event both so short-lived in reality, and so downplayed by Kennedy's proponents and the media. The second occurs with the in-depth look at Kelly Kelleher, (Oates's tribute to the late Kopechne), as Oates's deeply empathetic and idealistic main character.

Oates makes certain from early on, that this novel is not about suspense. At the end of Part One, Kelly Kelleher's death is implicit. Within the confines of a different novel, the reader might be called to question what eventual redemption to expect for Kelly's obviously unjust death. However, this is what makes Oates's novel unique. A pertinent set of questions regard the author's actual intentions; what she would like to evoke from the reader. There are two. First, who is rewarded at the end of the novel?, and who is punished? Second, what does this mean to the author's view of the way the world should be?

The implications here are interesting. Neither Kelly Kelleher nor Mary Jo Kopechne seems rewarded by her cameo role within the political melodrama of American history. However, Oates is certainly not advocating the expendability of either, nor the status quo of overlooking the true victim in cases like this. On the contrary, Oates's is an attempt to (as already stated) subvert media attention and time by emphasizing Kelly in full detail-in all of her wonderful, idiosyncratic humanness. This, of course, is contrasted by the relative dearth of information pertaining to "The Senator"-a character who remains unnamed throughout the novel, and is examined only through the subjective gaze of Kelly, herself.

To take this a step further, within Oates's in-depth explication of Kelly Kelleher, lays a wash of social, political, and media commentary/criticism. Notions of Kelly's role as just an "American girl;" her cute, by-the-rules assent through the political system; her dynamic and shifting role amid family and friends; and her ironic infatuation with The Senator, create a context which fulfill Oates's goals to reconcile Kopechne's death and subsequent media appearances, with a perfectly understandable, well-rounded human being: someone we can all relate with.

Oates's Black Water succeeds on these counts. The commentary is subtle but sharp. The writing is honest. The characters, conflicts, and major recurring themes are well defined. However, Oates's incessant repetition of scene, along with motif and conflict was unnecessary. Subverting extensive media coverage of The Senator and the implications for his future political career by giving as much recurring drama and background to Kelly Kelleher-the sure-to-be-forgotten victim; the ambitious young woman whose ambitions were shown to be pragmatically dismissible by mainstream culture is valid. It's understandable. It's even successful on some levels.

Some people should read this book. People who've never thought about Mary Jo Kopechne and those others who have fallen victim to the political machine should read this book. However, people who already consider themselves empathetic human beings needn't subject themselves to Oates's sweeping reminder of ubiquitous political/media corruption. Oates insulted my intelligence in appropriately the same style that the mainstream media insults the American public each day: by telling us exactly what we should value, who and what we should pay attention to, and who we should never forget.

Rating:
Summary: An American Event, An American Tragedy, An American Girl
Review: Joyce Carol Oates presents the reader with a simple story in "Black Water." A senator and a significantly younger woman leave a party intoxicated, rush to catch a ferry, and have a tragic accident. The woman remains alive in the car for an extended period of time during which the senator, who escapes the vehicle, does not go to get help. If you think you've read this story in the newspapers, well, you're partly right, but Joyce Carol Oates' fictionalized version of a tragedy that we all remember adds depth, compassion, and a new angle onto an incident that everyone else seems to want to forget.

Kelly Kelleher is an American girl. Kelly grew up an idealist, worked on Dukakis's doomed campaign, and when the Senator's affection turns towards her, Kelly jumps at the chance to be with him. Why? Well, "because if I don't do as he asks there won't be any later" (7), she thinks, unable to actually say those words. She is not a loose girl, going off with every man who looks at her, but this is different. Kelly admires the Senator; she wrote her senior paper on him. His policies indicate that he is a good man.

"You love your life, you believe you have chosen it," (149) Kelly thinks as she gets closer and closer to drowning. But has she chosen this? Did she ask to die in a wrecked car in murky waters when she accepted the Senator's invitation to leave the party? Is this the life she chose? It's not the death that anyone would choose. But she's an American girl, after all, and don't American girls have options, have choices, don't they make their own decisions?

"You love your life because it's yours," (134), it's a mantra running through the book. This American girl, with her own life to live (to waste?), her own choices to make, but in the end she's trapped inside a rented Toyota, trapped in her own American life, in her nearing American death. Suddenly it becomes apparent to the reader that this is not the simple but tragic story that appeared in newspapers throughout the nation. This is a deeper story about the American tragedy, about the inescapable life we create for ourselves, and about the decisions we do and do not have the power to make.

Kelly Kelleher knows she has her whole life before her, even as she is trapped inside the flooding car, she thinks about how she will tell this story to her friends. She never doubts, at first anyway, that she will have a future, that there is a future to rehearse for. Even in the last minutes of Kelly's life, she remains an idealist, an optimist, she still believes that the Senator will come back for her, will rescue her, that he simply ran into some delay, but that he has not forgotten her.

It is the American girl is Kelly that will not give up. The American girl captivated by the American dream. She is an idealist; she wants to make a difference, bad things happen to other people, not to her. This is the mantra that many of us live by, other people die from cancer, but I can smoke and lay out in the sun, it won't happen to me.

Joyce Carol Oates has taken a story that we have all heard and transformed it into something more. This is a quick read, but a novel well worth reading. Don't dismiss it because you've already read the news clippings, after all, this is fiction, and Oates does something wonderful with a story about a tragic incident.