This was my first book by the author Joyce Carol Oates, and while the story was good and the writing was good, the book is entirely too long with way to much detail. If this had been 150 pages less, the book would have been 5 stars.
The story is about the disintegration of A family- the Mulvaney’s- mostly as a result of a date rape of the daughter on the daughter.
The Mulvaney’s unfortunately are not the most likable family even though they thing they are. The only character you have any sympathy for is the daughter but because the parents are such a mess, she is a disaster until the end of the book.
The mother is flighty and puts everything “in gods hands”
Dad turns into a distant mean raving alcoholic,
And the two oldest sons completely disappear from from the family.
Not a cheery story. ( )

A delightful immersion. ( )

A delightful immersion. ( )

The rise of a smalltown American family, its downfall, and its long struggle to recover from the insidious crime that forever altered the course of their lives. ( )

LOL one reviewer asked who would want to hear, in great detail, about the guy that drove Marianne to a funeral? Me!!!!!

Many other reviewers complained that it takes over 100 pages to get to the big event that broke the Mulvaneys apart. Not me. I wouldn't care if it took 200 pages. I wanted more, more, more. JCO can't give me enough detail.

Having come from a small family, I love reading about large families who have a lot of fun times together. It's so awful how one horrible event can break a family like the Mulvaneys. I was hanging on every word, waiting to see how each one would get through it, or not. Sigh. ( )