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Childwold |
List Price: $17.95
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Reviews |
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Rating: Summary: Exciting, Coarse and Gritty -True to life Review: I read this in the early 80's and remember laughing aloud about something I read in it. This summer I had to re-read it. One of the marks of a good book is recognition and identification with the characters. Perhaps I laughed at the thoughts in Kasch's head - probably similar to my own. I recognize so many of the characters here, what they think and how they act. If there was one disappointment I found it was with Lyle - did music and his interest in it cure him of his problems? Did it cure him of his drug abuse and the ghosts of his Vietnam experience? The synopsis: a 42 year old man becomes obsessed with a 14 year old, influences her intellectually and falls in love with her trailer trash mother until disaster strikes ( a recurring Joyce Carol Oates theme). The characters are great. I knew someone like Laney named Ginger. I identify with Kasch, have family like Lyle etc. The language is shockingly crude for Oates, but the thoughts are what people think, the words are what people say. It's a great book and deserves to be in print, deserves to be read. Oates is really one of the best around. I love her works. Read this
Rating: Summary: I love JCO, but this was too difficult Review: This is not the kind of book you should read when you're tired. It was difficult to follow. There were many characters, and sometimes they were the narrators, sometimes a narrator dealt with them, with little transition or indication. The whole novel is divided into a myriad of vignettes, at times way apart from one another. Also, maybe because i was so frustrated with it, the end is confusing and other than the veiled allusions of catastrophe, i couldn't make too much sense of it.
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