Bellefleur

Rating:
Summary: Haunting and Extraordinary
Review: Bellefleur by Joyce Carol Oates is ranked as one of my most favorite novels of all time; I savored this gothic tale cover to cover and didn't want it to end. It possesses a life of it's own, the characters became ghosts that would haunt me after setting it aside after a short reading and I would look forward to picking it up again. After I finished it, I felt homesick in a peculiar way that no book has ever done to me before; it is very likely that I will revisit the pages of Bellefleur again. Each chapter is an opulent sliver of time that peers into the lives and thoughts of the residents of Bellefleur Manor, an American family of notorious distinction. Their history is rife with joys and sorrows deftly exposed by the astounding craft that is signature in JCO's prolific literary career. The mesmerizing shifts of time, like historical memories, travel from the heights of the imposing Mount Blanc, wind through the decadent rooms of Bellefleur Manor, and plunge into the depths of mysterious Lake Noir where disconcerting spirits dwell. The fanciful characters endear themselves because of their human vitality and cause despair because of their human flaws; they are very tangible and seductive in spite of the brief glimpses into their lives. This is not a book for the faint of heart for it isn't a serene walk in the walled garden of Bellefleur Manor. JCO reveals the grotesque that exists within the soul of the American dream, and with abrupt grace she divulges the unforeseen twists of fate that arise with incredible violence that will leave you reeling with astonishment. It is a unique and contemplative tale, not to be consumed in a few sittings; however, the temptation of the eloquent prose begs to be gorged until the reader is sated. Open this book and open your mind, and give your imagination a workout. If you read this book with a rigid, black and white mind-set you will come away frustrated by it. I highly recommend this novel to anyone who is looking for something out of the ordinary to read.

Rating:
Summary: Bellefleur
Review: For me this is simply the finest novel ever penned, by anyone. Oates manages to capture a sweeping family saga and combine it with a living, breathing landscape in the shape the Chautaugua Valley. Bellefleur is a massive mansion in which generations of an American family have lived, died and prospered. Oates manages to hold onto the many narrative threads, interweave them and then bring the whole pattern to a dramatic and devastating conclusion. Simply awesome.

Rating:
Summary: What Am I Missing?
Review: It's taken me 21 years to finally get around to reading "Bellefleur" and it's classic Joyce Carol Oates... I must say that it wasn't one of the fastest reads chiefly because I was flummoxed from page one by the chronology. Because the characters in the family tree didn't have birthdates or death dates should've been my first clue. I find it unsettling when I don't have a frame of reference for the TIME involved in a story. At first I thought Leah and Gideon were living in the early 'teens of the last century. Then it would appear that no wait --- it must be the 30's, whoops, now it's the 50's, now back to the 20's and so on. That was extremely frustrating for me, and when I finally finished the book I almost had to conclude that the entire story took place in Bromwell Bellefleur's parallel universe.

All this left me with a real uneasy sense of a colossal "HUH???" Although the prose was beautiful and the imagery was striking, I felt a bit of a sense of let-down when I couldn't figure out the basic theory of time in this novel.

So -- what did I miss?

Rating:
Summary: What Am I Missing?
Review: It's taken me 21 years to finally get around to reading "Bellefleur" and it's classic Joyce Carol Oates... I must say that it wasn't one of the fastest reads chiefly because I was flummoxed from page one by the chronology. Because the characters in the family tree didn't have birthdates or death dates should've been my first clue. I find it unsettling when I don't have a frame of reference for the TIME involved in a story. At first I thought Leah and Gideon were living in the early 'teens of the last century. Then it would appear that no wait --- it must be the 30's, whoops, now it's the 50's, now back to the 20's and so on. That was extremely frustrating for me, and when I finally finished the book I almost had to conclude that the entire story took place in Bromwell Bellefleur's parallel universe.

All this left me with a real uneasy sense of a colossal "HUH???" Although the prose was beautiful and the imagery was striking, I felt a bit of a sense of let-down when I couldn't figure out the basic theory of time in this novel.

So -- what did I miss?

Rating:
Summary: Another great story from a master storyteller
Review: Joyce Carol Oates weaves unforgettable characters and fantastic storylines into this 500+ page masterpiece. Of the thousands of pages of fiction I read each year her characters remain the longest and most prominent in my memory.If you love a great story I highly recommend Bellefleur

Rating:
Summary: This book bumps Marquez down a notch
Review: Next to Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude, Bellefleur has been the most entertaining and absording book I have ever read. Forget the meandering chronology, forget the "plot": this book is like a prosaic photo album of an extraordinary and haunted family that will leave you entirely drawn in. I picked this book up on a whim and am so glad I did, I find myself thinking about the characters still many months after reading it. For everyone who loves 100 Years of Solitude (and everyone else!), this book is an absolute must read.

Rating:
Summary: This book bumps Marquez down a notch
Review: Next to Marquez's 100 Years of Solitude, Bellefleur has been the most entertaining and absording book I have ever read. Forget the meandering chronology, forget the "plot": this book is like a prosaic photo album of an extraordinary and haunted family that will leave you entirely drawn in. I picked this book up on a whim and am so glad I did, I find myself thinking about the characters still many months after reading it. For everyone who loves 100 Years of Solitude (and everyone else!), this book is an absolute must read.