<< 1 >>
Rating: 
Summary: One burning question remains -- "WHY?"
Review: Don't let the fact I only gave this book three stars deter anyone from buying this book. "Solstice" is a good read in the traditional Joyce Carol Oates tradition -- lots of reflection, oblique references to past events leading to current madness, a slightly ironic tone. I enjoyed reading the interaction between Monica and Sheila, how they both seemed to need each other, yet could bring out the worst in each other. However, I never understood why Monica became so obsessed with Sheila and her work. Opposites may attract, but these two women don't even have opposites in common, other than in Sheila's dark looks and Monica's blonde radiance. They are simply two completely different women. I suspect this book is best suited to reading in a college classroom setting, with ample opportunities for discussion and feedback on what this book "means." Or perhaps as a book club selection. I admit defeat -- I alone could not decipher it.
Rating: 
Summary: Heartless and "Sol"ful
Review: I first read this book in 1986 and have read it twice more since then. Joyce Carol Oates is the first contemporary American author I remember impressing me enough to linger with me long after I'd read her work. "Solstice," like other works by Joyce Carol Oates, does not paint a pretty picture. Great fiction is often about complex, sad, scary, bitter relationships. Happy relationships are better left to the Harlequins of this world. Sometimes when you're in a weird, complex mood you want weird, complex reading...catharsis and all that..."Solstice" lingers like someone's presence after she's left the room. If you look at some reviews written about this book, there is mention of everything from stormy psyches to lesbian subtext. Whatever the motivation behind Monica and Sheila's relationship, fascination and even some kind of subtle hatred works into it. Monica is transfixed by Sheila and Sheila seems to need Monica as some kind of dumping ground. They'd probably just as soon want to walk away from each other with a clean break, but they can't. As Shelia says, "we'll be for friends for a long, long time...unless one of us dies." Probably a normal thing to say, but still sort of creepy. They behave more like people in love than friends; what they have is not exactly chemistry, but it has drawing power. I always thought this novel was more about hatred than love, but sometimes hatred is love in confusion.
Rating:
Summary: A sense of emptiness prevails
Review: I was eager to read this book because I have at times been astonished by JCO's ability to plumb the depths of relationships through her masterful writing. The quality writing is here, but the exploration of her characters seemed empty at times. I agree with the reviewer before me in that the relationship between Sheila Trask and Monica Jensen seemed to beg the question, "Why?" In a formal sense, there are things which the author uses in order to create Monica's sense of need for her connection with Sheila, such as the occasional mention of her failed marriage and a resulting facial scar. Sheila, the reslusive and eccentric painter, seems much less caring, and although the book describes their "close" friendship, none of the intimacy I expected was there. There were numerous passages describing how the two women related, and they seemed only to illustrate how uncompatable these two characters are. I had the sense that these characters could have met their needs anywhere and with anyone, not necessarily with eachother. This book is a success in the way it describes the desperation that is sometmes created by lonliness. Otherwise, I found it to be somewhat hollow. I know that JCO is capable of depth, though, and the exhilerating book _Foxfire_ is proof of that.
Rating:
Summary: Abusive
Review: This book was about an abusive relatiosnhip. This abusive friendship did not have enough boundaries and nothing was clear. They never had sex however they become angry if the other one does with someone else. The jealousies, possessiveness and obsessions continue into a downward spiral with an incomplete ending. I think many people have met people like both of the characters and can relate. Sheila is someone I would stay far away from an emotional leach. Monica is begging to be abused and manipulated.
Rating:
Summary: tale of a dark and fascinating friendship
Review: This is an intriguing look at an almost obsessive friendship between two women. It's also an interesting commentary on academia, the art world. Contemporary issues such as class and rape are also explored. However, it was the story of the chilling relationship between the two women that hooked me and wouldn't let me put the book down. I think that this book can be read on many levels. I enjoyed reading it for pleasure, but it is dense enough for all kinds of literary analysis.
Rating:
Summary: tale of a dark and fascinating friendship
Review: This is an intriguing look at an almost obsessive friendship between two women. It's also an interesting commentary on academia, the art world. Contemporary issues such as class and rape are also explored. However, it was the story of the chilling relationship between the two women that hooked me and wouldn't let me put the book down. I think that this book can be read on many levels. I enjoyed reading it for pleasure, but it is dense enough for all kinds of literary analysis.
Rating:
Summary: I like to call this one "Betty and Veronica go to Hell"
Review: This novel grabbed me in my late angsty teens and nearly twenty years later has not yet let go. The binding dysfunction between these two characters cuts deep and festers, beautifully, mysteriously. Passive aggression pervades a subtle sort of risk-taking rivalry as Sheila lures Monica into testing the limits of identity, goading her into strange role-playing adventures such as might be embarked upon by a pair of rebellious adolescents. Each woman's undeniable dependence on the other seems vindicated through their prior separate survival of marriage, widowhood and divorce, and at points it seems as though neither fully exists without the other to witness her endurance and/or dissipation. A labyrinthine descent into all the scary places an intense female friendship can lead.
Rating:
Summary: I like to call this one "Betty and Veronica go to Hell"
Review: This novel grabbed me in my late angsty teens and nearly twenty years later has not yet let go. The binding dysfunction between these two characters cuts deep and festers, beautifully, mysteriously. Passive aggression pervades a subtle sort of risk-taking rivalry as Sheila lures Monica into testing the limits of identity, goading her into strange role-playing adventures such as might be embarked upon by a pair of rebellious adolescents. Each woman's undeniable dependence on the other seems vindicated through their prior separate survival of marriage, widowhood and divorce, and at points it seems as though neither fully exists without the other to witness her endurance and/or dissipation. A labyrinthine descent into all the scary places an intense female friendship can lead.
Rating:
Summary: Really good..I cried
Review: This was a really good book...It's about a shy woman teacher, fairly young, who moves to a new town. She meets a strange older woman who's an artist, and they form a very interesting realationship--it deals a lot w/loneliness, I think. yeah.
<< 1 >>
|
