Author: Joyce Carol Oates
Format: Paperback
Pages: 154
Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) Incorporated
Publication: May 1, 1993
ISBN-13: 9780452269866
About the book
Joyce Carol Oates has taken a shocking story that has become
an American myth and, from it, has created a novel of electrifying power and
illumination. Kelly Kelleher is an idealistic, twenty-six-year-old good girl”
when she meets the Senator at a Fourth of July party. In a brilliantly woven
narrative, we enter her past and her present, her mind and her body as she is
fatally attracted to this older man, this hero, this soon-to-be-lover. Kelly
becomes the very embodiment of the vulnerable, romantic dreams of bright and
brave women, drawn to the power that certain men command—at a party that takes
on the quality of a surreal nightmare; in a tragic car ride that we hope
against hope will not end as we know it must end. One of the acknowledged
masters of American fiction, Joyce Carol Oates has written a bold tour de force
that parts the black water to reveal the profoundest depths of human truth.
My Review
I really enjoyed reading this book. While it was actually a
textbook for my class and used in discussions, I thought the style was
interesting.
Things that I liked:
I enjoyed reading about the main characters: The Senator and Kelly Kelleher. I
thought it was an interesting story about death, faith, etc. I found at times
that I felt like I could relate to Kelly at times during the novel. She is shy
and quiet it seems, just like me. I liked that Oates would go along with the
story but then use that as a flashback through Kelly’s thoughts as she was
dying.
Things that I didn’t
like: One of the things I noticed that was a problem (just a tiny one) was
that the “flashbacks” sometimes were abrupt whereas other times it was not
abrupt in switching between the story and what was actually going on in the car
in Kelly’s mind as the water was rising.
Overall: I
enjoyed reading this book. It was a quick read for me. I do want to go back and
read more into at a later date but I did like it.
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