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Rating: Summary: spot on Review: "interstices" is another oft-repeated word. I found this book's main characters so annoying about midway through the book; people do things that make no sense, or an aspect of their chacter that would cause them to behave this way is missing. The ending is weird both in its brevity and occurance, and the book also feel dated, from the 1980's - who wants to relive the 80's in upper-class suburbia?
Rating: Summary: Mostly aimless and depressing. Review: I'm not very enthusiastic about this book although I finished it. The story had some strange and disturbing twists, but never really gripped this reader. It reminded me in some ways of Bonfire of the Vanities--big shot gets in lots of trouble with the law--but with a very different kind of ending. Basically though the characters seemed humorless and drab. They didn't seem to be drawn from life (unless perhaps your life is Princeton where I believe Oates is a faculty member). In the dialogue the characters kept saying things like "Why on earth did you...?" and "What earthly reason was there for...?" The earth was invoked in this way at least forty times. I guess I never figured out what on earth the author was trying to get across except that even apparently happy and successful lives can be pretty aimless and depressing--like this book. If that turns you on, by all means read it.
Rating: Summary: More than it seems...think about it! Review: This saga of successful lives torn apart by murder, Oates's 19th novel, appeals to the more sophisticated, mature reader. Ian and Cynthia McCullough, apparently happily married for 26 years, living interesting but average lives (Ian is a demographic expert working in social science research and Glynnis is a food writer working on a cookbook tentatively titled "American Appetites") are suddenly involved in a drunken brawl. Glynnis falls through a window and dies. Ian is charged with murder, goes to trial.This story, in the hands of one of America's most skillful writers, turns out to be an expose of evidence against American appetites for food, wine, drink, power and sex. This is superb fiction that works on several levels, leaving the thoughtful reader with a great deal to think about.
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