Rating: 
Summary: Underestimated
Review: Ok, I'll admit that I got rather bored with the first 150-200 pages, but the family's history was an important and necessary part of the book. I had to force myself to read for awhile because the story seemed so uneventful, but that was needed to learn the characters and feel close to them...feeling so close to the characters enabled you to really feel their heartache and happiness. This is an amazing book that brings you through a family's life which began almost sickeningly perfect then dragged through horrific pain, separation, resentment (and pretty much every horrible thing you can think of) and ends making you feel relieved and overjoyed. Honestly I can't even do justice to the book....just read it!!
Rating: 
Summary: Noble concept poorly executed.
Review: Shortly after I finished reading this book, I heard an interview of the author that improved my opinion of the book. Wait, how's that? Am I reviewing the book or the author? Good question. What I should say is that the interview with the author made me respect what the author was attempting to do in the book. It's a noble venture. And don't tell me that outside information, including other's opinions, doesn't affect your own opinion about a book. That's what book clubs are about, after all, and incidentally, this is one of Oprah's pick. All hail Oprah, patron saintess of new authors. JC Oates isn't a new author, though. What was I saying. Oh yes. The author's intentions were noble. To hear her talk about the book surely makes one want to read it. It's the story of a father who loves his daughter so much he disowns her, and then lets his love for her destroy his marriage, career, and life. It's a story of a tragedy that affects the victim less than it affects those around her. (am I spelling "affect" right? should it be "effect?") It's a story of how, for one character, botched revenge brings more relief than perfect revenge. Doesn't that sound compelling? The problem is, it's not all that compelling. I got tired of the characters: all of them, starting with the sunny sweet mother, then the overly analytical Patrick, than the overly aggressive, angry head in the sand father, and finally the oh-so-innocent. Basically in the order the focus shifts, I grow tired. And more than the characters, I grew frustrated with the author's techniques. It drove me crazy that sometimes Judd told the story and sometimes Judd was a character in the story (Judd did this, said that, instead of I did this, did that.) And it drove me doubly crazy that every time the characters neared a turning point, the author pulled away from them. Patrick gets his revenge, and something changes inside him. What? How? I don't know. The author doesn't say. All we know is he quits school and only sends random postcards to his family. And Maryanne, after running away for so long, finally allows herself to be loved. How? I don't know. We cut from "the cat's not the only one that loves you" to married with children. I begin to feel that Oates is afraid of these, the most challenging moments in the stories of her characters, afraid of being trite and pedantic and heavy-handed, so she shies away from them. It's true, those are all dangers, but those are the great challenges of writing a good book. By not living up to those challenges, the heart of this story is left out. What we get, basically, is a sketch of a family that can't solve its problems, until somehow, vaguely, it does, and then there's a picnic happy ending. This could have been a great book. It almost is a great book. It's a great concept. But the execution falls short.
Rating:
Summary: Gripping & distressing but ultimately a pearl of great price
Review: The Oprah book club selections are certainly getting more complex! This book will strike an immediate chord to a family 'putting on airs' yet within the house having its problems. It hithome for me and will most likely hit home for many others because we know of families that seem perfect.... and often we find out much later what was truly happening. I do not believe that the choice of Mt. Ephraim as the hometown of the Mulvaneys was by accident. Ephraim and Manasseh were sons of Joseph - and while the latter committed heinous crimes against all moral authority, Ephraim was a redeemer. A striking metaphor against which much hurt is set - and one missed by the editorial reviewers. This family functions quite well - all that we'd say is 'too good to be true' *is* actually true until Marianne, the girl so beautifully described that we actually *feel* she's the 'girl next door' to *us* is sexually assaulted. Actually, we are never told whether it was rape or consensual. And the beauty of this is that for the purposes of this story it doesn't matter. It is the *effect* of the assault on the family that begins their descent. I will not spoil the book by telling you the details as to how each of the brothers and the parents fall off their respective wagons. But the cumulative effect is devasting, as told by the narrator, a now adult youngest brother Judd. How can such a complete destruction of a classic nuclear family be a book I'd want to read? Because as someone once said, it is when a man stares into the abyss that he finds his character. Suffice it to say that when you are done with this book you will feel as though you knew the Mulvaneys, suffered with them, and wonder how you would have reacted. I believe everyone can relate to one or more of the characters in this book. I also believe that this book is a *must* read. If you want a book that will make you think realistically about life's challenges - and not give you answers, but rather present situations that make you think about how you would respond, this is the book for you. The cliche that we learn more from our mistakes than our successes never applied more. And all of us can probably stand to look at this side of life. As with 'The Dark Side of the Light Chasers', it is by looking at our human frailties and faults, shining the light on ourselves, warts and all, that we can come to true self-awareness.
Rating:
Summary: You Won't Ever Forget this Family Saga!
Review: This is the first of Joyce Carol Oates which I have read, and though it was a bit long, enjoyed this family story very well.
The story begins with the family history. The Mulvaney's were a wealthy farming family who prospered well and whom everyone knew.
They were picture perfect with their four children; three boys and one girl. But as we all know, perfect doesn't last forever, and when Marianne keeps her rape a secret, and it's finally discovered by her mother Corinne, the family simply falls apart from there. And Marianne, for reasons I never understood, was exiled from her family.
The dad, Michael Mulvaney, resorts to drinking, and becomes a terrible alcoholic, and Patrick, the second of the boys, attempts to murder Marianne's rapist.
Marianne wants her parents love so badly, especially that of her father. But by the time wounds are healing, it is almost too late.
The book is very sad, and gets a little better toward the end. It is worth the read for sure if you like a family story.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting character development
Review: We Were the Mulvaneys starts by introducing the reader to a wonderful family. In other words, if you ever imagined the perfect family, this would be it. Happily married parents with four children (one daughter and three sons) - they are well respected in the community, fairly wealthy, and don't seem to have a care in the world. But soon enough certain disaster strikes and slowly the family starts to fall apart. In one way or another three of the children end up leaving home soon after and rarely have an urge to go back. It is hard not to feel sorry for the youngest son left at home to watch Dad's life and business slip away. Much less, to see Mom's spirit disappear. Actually, it is difficult not to have pity on any one of the Mulvaneys. This being my first Joyce Carol Oates novel, it took a while to get used to the style of writing. I noticed many forms of fragmented sentences that I sometimes had to go back over and read again. But in the end, this method seemed very effective. What really took away from the book was the wait to find out what happened to cause the downfall. After I found out I almost felt like there was no need to read the rest of the book. But I did... and was worth it. Just witnessing J.C. Oates' ability to define such well rounded characters makes this book worthwhile.
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