My Sister, My Love

by Joyce Carol Oates

So begins the unexpurgated first-person narrative of nineteen-year-old Skyler Rampike, the only surviving child of an "infamous" American family. A decade ago the Rampikes were destroyed by the murder of Skyler's six-year-old ice-skating champion sister, Bliss, and the media scrutiny that followed. Part investigation into the unsolved murder; part elegy for the lost Bliss and for Skyler's own lost childhood; and part corrosively funny expose of the pretensions of upper-middle-class American suburbia, this captivating novel explores with unexpected sympathy and subtlety the intimate lives of those who dwell in Tabloid Hell.

Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Contemporary, Crime, The United States Of America, Family, Adult Fiction

576 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Joyce Carol Oates is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels Black Water (1992), What I Lived For (1994), and Blonde (2000), and her short story collections The Wheel of Love (1970) and Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories (2014) were each finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. She has won many awards for her writing, including the National Book Award, for her novel Them (1969), two O. Henry Awards, the National Humanities Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize (2019).
Oates taught at Princeton University from 1978 to 2014, and is the Roger S. Berlind '52 Professor Emerita in the Humanities with the Program in Creative Writing. From 2016 to 2020, she was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught short fiction in the spring semesters. She now teaches at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Oates was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2016.
Pseudonyms: Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly.

Reviews

[Bess · Rating 5 out of 5]

6/24: Finished last night. This has definitely moved into my #1 JCO book slot. (Blonde is really at the tippity top, but I don't really consider that a "book" so much as a fundamental component of life that everyone has to experience to become wholly human.) Somebody needs to dispatch a copy of this to Burke Ramsey, STAT, as it's the only thing that's happened publicly since the murder of his sister JonBenet a decade+ ago that legitimizes his existence as a standalone living, breathing entity with its own purpose separate from the filthy lens of family drama the media makes us view him through -- while reminding us that 9 year-old children are, guess what? Usually just good ol' 9 year-old children.

6/20: I'm only about halfway through, but I just need to say quickly that I wish I'd had Joyce Carol Oates sitting with me and my roommate in the corner at frat parties to make fun of everyone. I think her input would have made it that much more richly/wittily amusing. Her treatment of blueblooded jocks-turned-businessmen with nicknames like "Spit" and "Fox" has reduced me to fits of rather unladylike choke/snort laughter on the subway all week.

[Xenja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Una Oates letteralmente scatenata, trascinante come un torrente in piena, cattura il lettore in una storia lunga e spaventosa come un incubo dal quale vorremmo svegliarci e non ci riusciamo, perché il romanzo continua, continua e affonda sempre più nel dolore e nell’angoscia e perfino nell’orrore anche se –intendiamoci- si tratta di un orrore rarefatto e indefinito, non solo non si vede mai una goccia di sangue ma anche la violenza psicologica resta tutta da dimostrare e da intuire; certo, cosa sia successo in quella notte fatidica lo scopriremo nelle ultime pagine, ma a quel punto avremo ormai compreso che l’orrore valica i confini della famiglia Rampike e pervade come una radiazione atomica invisibile buona parte della società americana (e non solo) avvelenando forse un po’ anche tutti noi.
Molto bello, molto ben scritto, molto coinvolgente.

[Roula · Rating 4 out of 5]

Το έτος είναι 1996 και στο Κολοράντο των ΗΠΑ, ένα τρομερό φονικό λαμβάνει χώρα. Η πανέμορφη 5χρονη Jonbenet Ramsey - που σίγουρα θα τη θυμάται κανείς από κάτι τρομερά creepy φωτο με τιαρες ,γουνες,κορμακια, στρώσεις lipgloss και απείρου makeup-βρίσκεται νεκρή στο σπίτι της όπου διέμενε με την μητέρα της - που ως παλιότερη αποτυχημένη beauty pageant υποψήφια, την έτρεχε από διαγωνισμό σε διαγωνισμό, γιατί αμαρτίες γονέων.. - τον ζαμπλουτο μπαμπά και τον αρκετά.. περίεργο αδερφό. Τι έγινε εκεί? Πώς βρέθηκε νεκρή στο λεβητοστάσιο χωρίς κανείς να ακούσει τίποτα? Τη σκότωσε κάποιος παιδεραστής /θαυμαστής της? Ο ανταγωνιστικος αδερφός? Η μητέρα με τον πληγωμένο εγωισμό? Ο πατέρας? Η αληθεια είναι πως αυτo το φονικο παραμένει ως σήμερα μια από τις διασημότερες, αλλά και τραγικοτερες ανεξιχνιαστες υποθέσεις. Fast forward στο έτος 2008 όταν η Οουτς ανέλαβε να γράψει μια ιστορία "βασισμένη", με ελάχιστες διάφορες, η αληθεια είναι, σε αυτό το απίστευτο ιστορικό γεγονότων που στέρησαν τη ζωή σε ένα κοριτσάκι. Η America's sweetheart πρωταθλητρια/Παιδί θαύμα του καλλιτεχνικό πατινάζ Μπλις Ραμπαικ βρίσκεται χτυπημένο στο κεφαλι υπό τις ίδιες συνθήκες, χωρίς όμως κανείς να μάθει τι πραγματικά συνέβη. Εδώ όμως, η φαντασία της Οουτς, δίνει το τελικό φινάλε της κάθαρσης, όπου η συγχώρεση, η ανωτερότητα, αλλά και ένα μεγάλο ΓΙΑΤΊ?, οδηγούν τον αναγνώστη στο τέλος.
Φυσικά και υπάρχουν τα στοιχεία μυστηρίου, αγωνίας και έντασης για το τι συνέβη, πώς θα λυθεί το έγκλημα σύμφωνα με τη συγγραφέα κλπ, όμως το "αδελφή μου, αγάπη μου" είναι πολύ περισσότερα από αυτό. Η συγγραφέας θεωρώ ότι κατακεραυνωνει με τις περιγραφές της όλες αυτές τις ευπορες οικογένειες των προαστίων που εκτός από άπειρα χρήματα, κληροδοτουν άπειρα ψυχολογικά και απωθημένα στα παιδιά τους, τα οποία ζουν σαν ρομπότ με κάψουλες και χάπια, αυτοπροσδιοριζονται από ακρωνύμια που αντιστοιχούν σε γνωστές και άγνωστες κοινωνικές και όχι μόνο διαταραχές, έχουν από 5-6 χρόνων τον προσωπικό τους γιατρό κάθε ειδικότητας, αλλά οφείλουν να χαμογελούν για τη μανούλα και το μπαμπάκα.
Νταρκιλα, πολυλογία, 800+ σελίδες που δε. Μπορείς. Να. Τις. Αφήσεις. Και φεύγουν νεράκι.
Ένα απολαυστικό μυθιστόρημα που όμως θεωρώ ότι σίγουρα θα μπορούσε να είναι μικρότερο κατά πολλές σελίδες, ωστόσο θα το ξαναδιάβαζα ξανά και ξανά μόνο και μόνο για αυτή την πλάστη έστω αίσθηση του τι μαθαίνεις στο καλό συνέβη στην Jonbenett, ε συγγνώμη, στη Μπλις... έστω...
🌟🌟🌟🌟/5 αστεράκια

[Chiara White · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates è un’autrice che mi ha sempre incuriosito, ma che non avevo ancora avuto occasione di incontrare. Mi aspettavo, non so perchè, una prosa asciutta e tagliente, una scrittura pulita. Invece sono stata catapultata in un libro che sembra scritto da quel buon pazzo di Chuck Palahniuk, inserti di diari, lettere, capitoli pieni di note...tutto “verosimile”, tutto per attestare la verità di questo anomalo diario o forse “real memoir”, tutto in attesa del colpo di scena che... ci sarà? O invece è tutto teso verso la falsa creazione del dubbio? La storia è ispirata ad un reale fatto di cronaca, quello che vide il brutale omicidio di una reginetta di bellezza americana, scomparsa, e poi ritrovata uccisa, a soli sei anni, nella cantina di casa propria. E’ un caso a tutt’oggi irrisolto, ma non c’è spoiler in quanto sto dicendo, tutto è noto dalle prime pagine. Quello di cui vuole parlare l’autrice è altro. Con le opportune modifiche, la Oates qui inscena la perfetta famiglia americana sul punto di frantumarsi davanti alla tragedia, perfetta nella facciata, ma che al suo interno cova risentimenti, paure, drammi e solitudini. La coscienza e le incertezze di Skyler, fratello maggiore di tre anni della giovane vittima, montano e smontano pagina dopo pagina il castello familiare e ne esce un quadro letteralmente pauroso della “felice e perfetta” società americana. Morboso e volutamente disturbante, a volte prolisso e lento, non è stata una lettura facile, ma ha dalla sua che non si abbandona facilmente e che non ti lascia a sonni sereni.
http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/JonBen%C...

[Georgia Zarkadaki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ψάχνοντας να βρω πιο από τα δεκάδες βιβλία της Joyce Carol Oates να διαβάσω έπεσα επάνω στο «Αδελφή μου, Αγάπη μου» και με κέρδισε η υπόθεση που είναι εμπνευσμένη από την δολοφονία της μικρής JonBenet Ramsey . Ένα 6χρόνο κορίτσι – αστέρι του παιδικού καλλιτεχνικού πατινάζ – βρίσκεται δολοφονημένο στο υπόγειο του σπιτιού της οικογένειας Ράμπαΐκ προκαλώντας φρενίτιδα στα μέσα μαζικής ενημέρωσης αλλά και στην μικρή πόλη του Νιου Τζέρσει. Δέκα χρόνια αργότερα ο παραγκωνισμένος και ξεχασμένος αδερφός της Σκάιλερ αποφασίζει να γράψει την αληθινή βιογραφία της αδερφής του αλλά και ολόκληρης της οικογένειας Ράμπαΐκ για να μπορέσει να ξεδιαλύνει το έγκλημα που παραμένει όλα αυτά τα χρόνια ανεξιχνίαστο. Μέσα από τις αναμνήσεις της παιδική του ηλικίας και τις μετέπειτα σκέψεις επάνω σε αυτές ο 19χρόνος Σκάιλερ θα μας οδηγήσει στα παρασκήνια μιας φαινομενικά ευτυχισμένης οικογένειας.

Όσοι έχουν διαβάσει κάποιο μυθιστόρημα της Oates γνωρίζουν πως τα βιβλία της είναι αρκετά σκοτεινά και συναισθηματικά φορτισμένα. Στο «Αδερφή μου, Αγάπη μου» η συγγραφέας μας βουτάει στα βαθειά νερά μιας άκρως δυσλειτουργικής οικογένειας. Η μητέρα μανιωδώς προσπαθεί να φτάσει την αυτοπραγμάτωση μέσω των παιδιών της , συχνά κρέμεται από πάνω τους και ειδικά από στην μικρή Μπλίς για να βγει από την μιζέρια της μη ικανοποιητικής της ζωής. Ο πατέρας από την άλλη είναι ένας γυναικάς που περιμένει από τον γιό του να είναι μια μικρογραφία του και τον κρίνει ανελέητα όταν ανακαλύπτει πως δεν είναι. Η Oates ξεμπροστιάζει μια κοινωνία όπου οι γονείς χαπακώνουν τα παιδιά τους όταν παρουσιάζουν προβλήματα που ίδιοι προκάλεσαν και μας τρίβει στην μούρη την ματαιότητα του κυνηγιού της δόξας. Επίσης κάνει ανελέητη κριτική στα μέσα μαζικής επικοινωνίας για τον κανιβαλιστικό τρόπο με τον οποίο μπορούν να φερθούν και τις επιπτώσεις που αυτός έχει στους ανθρώπους.

Πολυσέλιδο και «βαρύ» το «Αδελφή μου, αγάπη μου» είναι ένα ιδιαίτερο βιβλίο που θέλει πολύ υπομονή και επιμονή. Η χειμαρρώδης γραφή σε παρασύρει από σελίδα σε σελίδα, ζαλίζει και κουράζει αλλά μετά από λίγο σε ξανακερδίζει. Σίγουρα θα μπορούσε να είναι 300 σελίδες μικρότερο και χωρίς αυτό να μείωνε την ιστορία.

Η ανάγνωση του με γέμισε με πολλά συναισθήματα κυρίως οργή για το πως μερικοί άνθρωποι φέρονται στα παιδιά τους , δυστυχώς αυτά τα συναισθήματα ήταν κυρίως αρνητικά. Όποτε αν ψάχνεται ένα βιβλίο με το οποίο να περάσετε καλά δεν ξέρω αν το «Αδελφή μου, αγάπη μου» θα σας ταιριάξει μιας και είναι αρκετά θλιβερό. Αυτή την περίοδο διαβάζω ένα ακόμα της βιβλίο και θα καταλήξω μετά το τέλος της ανάγνωσης εκείνου για το αν μου αρέσει τόσο σαν συγγραφέας ώστε να συνεχίσω μαζί της.

[Randi Reisfeld · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm one of those people who hear the words Joyce Carol Oates and JonBenet Ramsey and feel like I've hit the lottery. Okay, I'm one of the FEW people who feel that way. And the book, in most ways, doesn't disappoint, tho I can't see how she got away with naming the main characters Rampike (how close to Ramsey can you get!) and the mother, Betsey. Patsy was taken? The conceit of having the story told by the brother at age 19 (he was 9 when it happened) was a great idea BUT... here come the buts.

The style-over-substance thing/conceit over content/astericks over action ... let's put it this way: I wouldn't recommend it if you're not a voyeuristic sensationalist-Oates-addict. Like me.

[Eddylee · Rating 4 out of 5]

awkward beginning but it gets great from page 32 on. this is Joyce carol oates' story inspired by the ramsey murder except told from the perspective of the older brother who is 22 now and a recovering drug addict and pretty crazy in a forlorn something-happened-to-him-that-made-his-hair-turn-grey-way that isn't used much anymore. really enjoyable. hard to put down.

i loved this book and i love joyce carol oates for continuing the gothic tradition. there were even some pure horror moments (for instance a character briefly but terrifyingly meets their doppleganger! Aah!). there was even a short romance that i must admit i found to be boring but it was still dark and tortured and short. one of the best parts were her precise descriptions of the insanity of childhood. i do mean insanity in the schizophrenic way, too. i still remember blurred hallucinations from my childhood and she did such a great job handling them that i identified most strongly with the character during his childhood and carried the bondthroughout the novel.

another awesome part was they way she handled suburban life. i didn't grow up in the suburbs but i do have a job so i'm familiar with the horrors of group psychology. it was actually funny in a black way. it worked so well that it extended to the "horrors of tabloid hell". this brings me to my conclusion.

i think this is a great book vivisecting the american celebrity fetish, especially the dark side. it reminds me a lot of Blonde actually, which i thought was great. i found this book perfectly timed to be so near the elections, which i have never seen so celebrity focused ( though i don't remember many from the few of my lifetime). keep your eyes peeled for scattered poetry and poingnat prose.

[Stratos · Rating 1 out of 5]

Το παράτησα! Τόσες σελίδες για ένα τέτοιο αποτέλεσμα;

[Violet Baudelaire · Rating 2 out of 5]

Per quanto rimanga fenomenale la voce che J.C.Oates da ai suoi personaggi sospesi tra la Realtà e l’Immaginazione e l’infausto caso di cronaca a cui si ispira, il romanzo arranca.
È prolisso, ripetitivo, decisamente sfinente.
Mi sento esausta.
Punto di forza rimane comunque il dettagliato affresco della disfunzionalità familiare - doloroso e da manuale.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars. I pretty much like all of her sad books however this one was a challenge. Overall I liked it but it seemed like there was a lot of rambling on going on.

[Nixi92 · Rating 1 out of 5]

Una delusione assurda... Per leggerlo ci ho messo 2 mesi. I continui "flussi di coscienza" di Skyler e della stessa autrice mi sfinivano. Credo che passerò a letture più leggere... O almeno più dotate di senso.

[Luana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dopo una settimana di intensa e divoratrice lettura, ho terminato 'Sorella, mio unico amore' di Joyce Carol Oates del quale, vi ho già detto, non fidatevi della copertina. In quest'ultima appare infatti l'immagine di una bambola inquietante dagli occhi blu e i capelli ossigenati, messa a ridosso di un imbarazzante colore rosa shocking. Ma non fatevi ingannare: il romanzo tratta di un omicidio. Nel 1997, venne uccisa in casa JonBenet Ramsey, bambina di sei anni famosa in America per essere la vincitrice di numero concorsi di bellezza. Nel libro la piccola vittima diventa Bliss Rampike, e ne narra la triste storia Skyler Rampike - anche questo nome di fantasia - ossia il fratello maggiore. Tre i punti nevralgici della storia:
1. la critica allo sfruttamento dei bambini prodigio da parte di genitori un tantino esaltati;
2. la critica alla spettacolarizzazione dei reati e misfatti messa in atto dalla stampa americana con in coinvolgimento persino degli addolorati sopravvissuti (in poche parole, la critica alla capitalizzazione del reato);
3. la critica all'educazione di bambini facoltosi che vengono curati da neuropsichiatri infantili, psicofarmacologi e quant'altro, mentre l'unico rimedio sarebbero dei buoni ed attenti genitori.

Joyce Carol Oates riabilita e condanna un po' tutte le figure che vennero coinvolte in uno dei casi penali più chiacchierati - e mai risolti - di tutta la storia contemporanea americana. Mette in discussione il sistema penale, giornalistico dei suoi giorni attraverso il punto di vista di un ragazzo cui sono stati diagnosticati numerosi e variegati disturbi sopratutto a seguito della morte della sorella (nella quale è, sia nel libro, che nella realtà, implicato come possibile assassino). Tra realtà e finzione, uno struggente romanzo che mette a nudo i difetti di un sistema ipocrita, basato sulla fama e completamente dimentico dei valori autentici, asservito alle sempre nuove frontiere della farmacologia e della psicologia spicciola. Una penna arguta quella della Oates, che non teme di mettere in campo critiche e assoluzioni.

Due punti a sfavore del romanzo:
- il fatto che sia prolisso e colmo di lungaggini e ridondanze a volta noiose;
- il fatto che si alternino picchi di intrattenimento con picchi di calma piatta, come un elettroencefalogramma impazzito che gioca alle montagne russe.

Un ottimo finale, in linea con ciò che la Oates voleva accadesse al protagonista/narratore in prima persona. In generale, un romanzo caldamente consigliato. Una piccola perla insolita dei giorni nostri.

[☕Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

In January of 1997, days before her 7th birthday, skating prodigy Bliss Rampike is found murdered in the basement of her home. Ten years later, her brother Skyler, now 19, writes this account of his life as it relates to this horrific event, in an attempt to somehow make sense of it all. The crime remains officially unsolved, but suspicions have been raised regarding a local sex offender, the parents and even Skyler himself. Skyler, with a litany of psychiatric diagnoses and an extensive medication history, can't be sure that any of these suspicions are unfounded and is plagued with guilt that he did not protect his sister.

I found myself immediately drawn into Skyler's narrative, which is written in a stream-of-consciousness style and is admittedly unreliable at times, as any adult's memory of childhood events must be. I felt great sympathy for both Skyler and Bliss, innocent children saddled with dysfunctional parents, and I found myself anxious to learn what actually happened. Clearly, this story is loosely based on the murder of Jon Benet Ramsey, to date unsolved, and I feared that this story might end with no real resolution, but thankfully we do ultimately learn the truth about what happened to Bliss.

I enjoyed the satirical aspects of this book, flouting the upper middle class suburban lifestyle and the proliferation of diagnostic acronyms, many of which I'm fairly sure don't actually exist. This added a bit of ironic levity to what was otherwise a pretty heavy read. My only criticism of this book would be that I'm not sure it needed to be quite as long as it was, as there was once section that dragged for me a bit, but overall I really enjoyed it.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

having just finished this book, i'm a bit resentful it took me all 500+ pages to decide i really don't like it. oates' narrator is a very troubled (tragic to almost the point of comedy) 19-yr old boy who continually stresses how he doesn't really know how to write. his constant asides and self-evalutaion get really annoying, besides from making the reader squint to read the small, self-conscious italics. who is joyce kidding? she's written more than shakespeare, so the whole 'forgive my inexperience, dear reader' gets old quick. still, there must be something that kept me from putting it down. maybe the hope that i would eventually warm to it? didn't happen.

[Ylenia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adoro adoro adoro.
Amore infinito.

[Estibaliz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Otra gran novela de Joyce Carol Oates. ¿Quién, si no ella, podía escribir un libro de ficción basado en un suceso real tan controvertido y escalofriante como el asesinato de la reina de la belleza infantil JonBenét Ramsey? Y salir airosa del reto...

Es esta una historia que ofrece diversos niveles de lectura y una gran riqueza de temas y personajes. Narrada desde el punto de vista del hermano mayor de la pequeña protagonista del drama, "Mi Hermana, mi Amor" habla de la culpa, la fama, el matrimonio, la muerte, la enfermedad (de varios tipos) y hasta, en cierta forma, de la explotación infantil y la manipulación. Y, lo más importante, la pura especulación de Oates consigue que, más allá de la duda, el lector tenga su final satisfactorio... duro, por supuesto, pero es que en este caso concreto no puede haber uno que no lo sea, pues todas las posibles teorías son terribles.

La verdad es que no conozco en profundidad el caso real en el que se basa esta historia, y está muy claro que esta novela es pura ficción y especulación; pero siendo evidente la inspiración y los paralelismos, uno no puede menos de preguntarse... ¿cuánto hay de real en esta historia? Lo dicho: escalofriante.

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Joyce Carol Oates. Not all of her books are spot-on for me, though. I found "The Tattooed Girl" slow as hell, and "Wonderland" held my attention but I hated all of the characters which made reading it a strange experience.

That said, "My Sister My Love" was brilliant. The main character (Skyler) was unexpectedly likable. I could not put this book down. It's at least 500 pages and I read it in 2 days. In a nutshell, "My Sister My Love" is Oates at her best, darkest writer-self.

A final disclaimer: If you don't want to read about highly dysfunctional families, this book is not for you. Or most Oates books, for that matter. (I watched "Greenburg" with my grandparents the other night and they were horrified by all the screwed-up people, so I feel compelled to say something.)

[Mai Laakso · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates on kuuluisa Yhdysvalloista kotoisin oleva kirjailija, jonka laajaa tuotantoa on suomennettu kuusi kirjaa. Sisareni, rakkaani (My sister, my love 2008, suom. 2012) kertoo erään amerikkalaisen perheen pojan, Skyler Rampiken kirjoittamana koskettavan tarinan heidän perhetragediasta, jonka seurauksena poika joutui kiertämään psykiatrisia laitoksia ja käyttämään paljon lääkkeitä, joista seurasi huumeriippuvuus.

Kirjan syvin sanoma on se, miten väärin vanhemmat voivat kohdella omia lapsia. Tämä ikävä aihe lapsiin kohdistuvasta henkisestä ja fyysisestä väkivallasta vaikuttaa olevan todella pinnalla maailmalla ja Suomessa tällä hetkellä, kun lapsia huostaanotetaan ennätysmäärin ja vanhemmat jopa surmaavat omat lapsensa. Lapsia pitäisi kasvattaa ja tukea kasvussaan lapsuudesta aikuisuuteen, eikä kaltoinkohdella ja tappaa.

[Kate Walker · Rating 2 out of 5]

This one sucked me in like all the rest, but 100 pages from the end I'm done. It is very similar in tone and style to, Blonde, which reimagined the life and death of Marilyn Monroe. This one gives the same treatment to the life and death of Jonbenet Ramsey. I was intrigued by the portrayal of the dysfunctional family and the dreadful stage mother phenomenon. However, the murder of the little girl was so horrible it gave me an anxiety attack and I finally realized I should just stop reading the damn thing, so I did.

[Πάνος Τουρλής · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ένα μυθιστόρημα-κόλαφος για την καταναλωτική κοινωνία, τις φιλοδοξίες των γονέων που δε διστάζουν να εκμεταλλευτούν τις αθώες ψυχές των παιδιών τους ώστε να ζήσουν μ��α πιο «διάσημη» ζωή, για τα παιδιά που τα παραμερίζουν οι γονείς όταν εντοπίζουν ένα καλύτερης ποιότητας αδελφάκι, για τις μοναχικές ψυχές που μεγαλώνουν χωρίς πρότυπα και στήριξη και αγωνίζονται να τα καταφέρουν παρ’ όλ’ αυτά. 812 σελίδες, ένα μικρό βαράκι στα χέρια μου (μη διανοηθείτε να το διαβάσετε πριν κοιμηθείτε, θα πιαστείτε) κι επιτέλους το τελείωσα. Σίγουρα θα μπορούσε να είχε παραλειφθεί τουλάχιστον το μισό βιβλίο και το αποτέλεσμα να παρέμενε αξιοπρεπές, όμως παραδόξως δεν μπορούσα να πηδήξω σελίδες. Ήταν τόση η διορατικότητα της συγγραφέως, η παρατηρητικότητά της, η οξυδέρκειά της, ο χειρισμός της πλοκής, τα χιλιάδες σχόλια που πέρναγαν υποδόρια πίσω από τις γραμμές που δεν μπορούσα να σταματήσω να διαβάζω. Ομολογώ ότι τις τελευταίες σελίδες, επειδή πέρασε μια ολόκληρη εβδομάδα από τότε που το ξεκίνησα και τα προς ανάγνωσην βιβλία άνετα συγκροτούν πορεία διαμαρτυρίας στο Σύνταγμα, τις προσπέρασα, μετανιώνοντας για αυτήν τη βδελυγμία αλλά έπρεπε να το τελειώσω!

Το 1997, η εξάχρονη Μπλις Ράμπαϊκ βρίσκεται νεκρή στο υπόγειο του σπιτιού της στο Φερ Χιλς του Νιου Τζέρσεϊ. Αστέρι στο παιδικό πατινάζ, διάσημο πρόσωπο στα περιοδικά, τις εφημερίδες και την τηλεόραση, ικανότατα και παθιασμένα μανατζαρισμένη από τη μητέρα της, Μπέτσι Ράμπαϊκ. Ο θάνατός της παίρνει μεγάλες διαστάσεις και συγκλονίζει την αμερικανική κοινωνία. Δέκα χρόνια μετά, ο αδερφός της, Σκάιλερ, αποφασίζει να γράψει το χρονικό της οικογένειάς του και της δολοφονίας της αδερφής του. Δεν είναι αστυνομικό μυθιστόρημα με ανακρίσεις, ανατροπές και τα τοιαύτα αλλά ένα ρεαλιστικό κοινωνικό μυθιστόρημα που χώνει το μαχαίρι βαθιά στο κόκαλο της τακτοποιημένης, μεσοαστικής οικογενειακής ζωής της σύγχρονης Αμερικής.

Η Μπέτσι Ράμπαϊκ, πρώην αστέρι του παιδικού πατινάζ, στο οποίο όμως δεν άφησε και πολλά ίχνη γιατί σύντομα το εγκατέλειψε, ανακαλύπτει με χαρά ότι η κόρη της, Μπλις, έχει πάρει το ταλέντο της. Ρίχνεται με τα μούτρα λοιπόν να την κάνει παγκοσμίως γνωστή, αγνοώντας τα παιδικά θέλω, τις πραγματικές ανάγκες και ό,τι ουσιαστικά λαχταρά η κόρη της να ζήσει. Γεμίζει το πρόγραμμά της με προπονήσεις, προπονήσεις και κόντρα προπονήσεις, ταξίδια, πρωταθλητισμό, βιταμίνες, στεροειδή, τα πάντα. Γίνεται το πάθος της, αναπνέει μέσα από τις επιτυχίες της κόρης της, αδιαφορώντας για τον γιο της και αγνοώντας τον σύζυγό της.

Ο Μπιξ Ράμπαϊκ, επιτυχημένο διευθύνον στέλεχος σε πολυεθνική εταιρεία ερευνών και επιστημονικών τεχνολογιών, αγωνίζεται να βρει και στον γιο του να κάνει κάτι χρήσιμο, στρεσάροντάς τον επικίνδυνα και μειώνοντας την αυτοεκτίμησή του στο κατακόρυφο. Ως αποτέλεσμα, ο γιος του τραυματίζεται σοβαρά σε ασκήσεις ενόργανης γυμναστικής και μια χωλότητα συνοδεύει τα βήματά του, ύστερα από σειρά εγχειρήσεων. Απογοητευμένος και αποθαρρυμένος από τη συμπεριφορά της γυναίκας του απέναντι στα παιδιά τους αλλά και τρομερά φιλόδοξος, ο Μπιξ αφοσιώνεται ολοκληρωτικά στη δουλειά του, ταξιδεύει όλο τον κόσμο για επαγγελματικούς λόγους και στρέφει την πλάτη του στα παιδιά του.

Μέσα σε όλον αυτόν τον κυκεώνα μεγαλώνει ο Σκάιλερ, ένα παιδί που δεν του δίνουν σημασία, ένας δορυφόρος της Μπλις, ένα πλάσμα που απλώς καλύπτει μια καρέκλα στο τραπέζι, που παραπαίει ανάμεσα στο μίσος για την αδερφή του που τραβά πάντα την προσοχή και στο μίσος για τους γονείς του που τους κατάντησαν έτσι. Η προσωπικότητά του είναι από τις πιο ολοκληρωμένες που έχω συναντήσει και από τις πιο τραγικές. Το κείμενό του είναι γεμάτο σολοικισμούς και λανθασμένες εκφράσεις, απότοκα του λεξιλογίου των ίδιων των γονιών του, δυο ανθρώπων που συναναστρέφονται χάρη στη διάσημη κόρη τους την αφρόκρεμα του προαστίου όπου ζουν και γίνονται μελη ιδιωτικών και πανάκριβων λεσχών!

Όλα αυτά καταστρέφονται την ημέρα που η Μπλις βρίσκεται νεκρή. Τι έχει αλλάξει μέσα σε αυτά τα δέκα χρόνια από τον θάνατό της; Τι απέγιναν ο πατέρας, η μάνα και ο αδερφός της στη ζωή τους; Ορθοπόδησαν; Συνέχισαν σα να μη συνέβη τίποτα; Σε ποιον έλειψε πργματικά η Μπέτσι; Ο παιδεραστής που συνελήφθη και ομολόγησε ότι σκότωσε το κορίτσι ήταν ο πραγματικός δολοφόνος ή ένας αποδιοπομπαίος τράγος;

Ένα πλούσιο, σκληρό, αληθοφανέστατο κείμενο που παρέχει πολλές (υπερβολικά πολλές) λεπτομέρειες για τη ζωή στα προάστια του Φερ Χιλς, για τον πρωταθλητισμό, για τον τρόπο ζωής στα ιδιωτικά σχολεία των πλουσίων, για τα ψυχολογικά προβλήματα που συναντούν τα εγκατελειμμένα παιδιά από τους αγρόν αγοράζοντας γονείς τους, για τα χάπια που αλλάζουν χέρια σα να είναι καραμέλες, για τον τρόπο με τον οποίο τα ΜΜΕ απομυζούν την καθημερινότητα όσων θέλουν να τραβήξουν την προσοχή, για τη δημόσια εικόνα που δε συνάδει πάντα με την ιδιωτική κι ένα σωρό άλλες πληροφορίες, παρατηρήσεις, σχολιασμοί, υποδείξεις, στηλιτεύσεις. Η μετάφραση του Αύγουστου Κορτώ πολύ προσεκτική και στέκεται επαρκώς στο ύψος και τις απαιτήσεις του πρωτότυπου κειμένου, με φανταχτερές αλλά και καθημερινές λέξεις, με άψογη χρήση του ύφους και του πνεύματος που διακατέχει τη συγγραφέα, βοηθάει αρκετά τον αναγνώστη να κατανοήσει τη νοοτροπία και το περιεχόμενο του κειμένου.

Το βιβλίο βασίζεται στην πραγματική ιστορία του ανήλικου μοντέλου καλλιστείων και φωτογραφίσεων Τζων Μπένετ Ράμσεϋ, που βρέθηκε δολοφονημένη στο Κολοράντο το 1996 και η υπόθεσή της παραμένει ως σήμερα ανεξιχνίαστη (περισσότερα εδώ: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_o...).

Χαρακτηριστικά αποσπάσματα:

«Τι χρονιά κι εκείνη! Τι ευτυχισμένα, τρελά χρόνια! Και δεν ήταν και πολλά χρόνια, διότι ο κύκλος που άνοιξε με τις Νηπιακές Παγοδρομίες 1994 έμελλε να κλείσει τέλη Γενάρη 1997, ως εκ τούτου μιλάμε για θραύσμα ζωής, κι αυτό μετά βίας, κι ωστόσο με τον τρόπο του πρόκειται για ζωή ολόκληρη, τυπικά αμερικάνικη: ασημαντότητα, διασημότητα, θάνατος. Τα χρόνια εκείνα, καθώς το άστρο της Μπλις Ράμπαϊκ ανέβαινε ολοένα, στην άνοδό της έμελλε να παρασυρθούν και οι γονείς της, που ακολούθησαν την κόρη τους με την ίδαι βιασύνη που το σκουπιδιάρικο κααπίνει δυο φύλλα χαρτί...Μέχρι κι ο Σκάιλερ είχε γίνει περιζήτητος καλεσμένος των συμμαθητών του, ή, έστω, των μανάδων τους..Δημοφιλής! Έχει και τίποτε άλλο σημασία στην Αμερική;» (σελ. 234).

«Που, όσο μελαγχολική κι αν είναι η Γιορτή των Ευχαριστιών, τα Χριστούγεννα κι η Πρωτοχρονιά είναι χίλιες φορές χειρότερα και κρατάνε και πολύ περισσότερο, προσφέροντας αφθονία αφορμών για χαπάκωμα, ψυχική κατάρρευση, αυτοκτονία και επεισόδια δημόσιου πανικού μετά οπλοχρησίας» (σελ. 397).

[sinepudore · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Non mi lascerai in questo posto spaventoso vero Skyler?"

🖤
#quote

[Talia Carner · Rating 5 out of 5]

How does a family turn dysfunctional? In this wonderful novel, no doubt inspired by the JonBenet Ramsey case, Oates explores the intimate family dynamics that cause the tragic death of the family's star--the six-years old ice-skating prodigy.

The same intensity that compels parents to push their children to the highest achievement is the same intensity that also becomes too heavy for the family's complex, yet fragile, fabric to bear.

Each parents' view of own self, disappointment from what they could have been or would have liked to become, traps the children. In this novel, the father's athletic prowess turn detrimental for the young boy, Skyler, who would be forever maimed. But then, the little girl, Marie-Louise-renamed-Bliss, begins to blossom as the athlete her brother could not become and the kind of star ice-skater her mother had once wished to be....

The awkward nineteen-year old Skyler is the narrator of the story, the formerly graceless and uncoordinated child who watched with envy as his mother bestowd all her attention on his younger sister, whom he had loved dearly and is still haunted by her life and death. Skyler's voice is as strong as it is perceptive of the nuances that made up his parents' dance of marriage. Power-struggle, intimacy, ambition, religiosity, self-worth (or lack of it,) all come to play in this excellent story that examines the catastrophic results of the parents' drive on their children--and on their own lives

Unlike some reviewers, I am not bothered by the inspiration for this novel being quite obviously the unsolved murder of the Ramsey case. As an author, I see the curiousity in crawling inside the family home to undersand the dynamics that might possibly lead to such tragedy. Joyce Carol Oates takes this story to an entire new place both geographically and artistically. The characters are delineated and stand completely on their own, their dynamics uniquely the product of their respective histories and personalities. The father's pompousness and the mother's gauche social ambitions concoct a poisonous cocktail that seeps into their children's veins.

My heart went to the six-year-old Bliss when she was at the height of her career. Driven to long hours of practice, outwardly pampered yet manipulated, cut off from other children, dragged to those doctors and therapists the mother finds who conspire to ignore the child's injuries, frailty, learning disability, and painful isolation as she is "home-schooled." This lonely child's only contact with normalcy is her brother Skyler, merely a few years older and ill-prepared to take the emotional burden of his little sister's fears and needs.

I only found the ending to be dragging. Skyler's life as a misfit teenager, while yet another exploration of the family's disastrous affect on the children, is less interesting. Not so the mother's reinventing herself time and again, living off the legacy of her dead daughter, cashing on it yet again to make herself the star she had always wanted to become.

[Caitlin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Of course this is what Joyce Carol Oates expected: once again I would allow my prurient fascination with an American pop murder (and an uncannily prolific favorite author) to lead me all the way to the bookstore--a Barnes and Noble no less!--on my bicycle in the rain to purchase a $30 hardcover edition of her brand new novel. And I hate hardcovers! What I was hoping for, I would assure Ms. Oates, was not just another slick and sleazy rendition of the JonBenet Ramsey story (one I surely could have purchased in perfectly-good-condition paperback in the true crime section of a used book store), but another shockingly weird/real narration like the one she created in her novel "Zombie" (the much shorter work based on Jeffrey Dahmer). Unfortunately, I don't think Oates was as fascinated (or disgusted) with meek, scrunched-embryonic Skyler Rampike (the story's narrator based on her JonBenet's brother Burke). Perhaps there is something just too unlikeable about JonBenet, her family, and the drawn-out mystery itself to inspire good literature just yet. After all, Oates wasn't the only author to be able to create some remarkable literature out of the sludgy Dahmer story; Thom Gunn's book of poems "Boss Cupid" is downright beautiful, tender. But for all its pages, and its extra inset novella, "My Sister, My Love" offers little in the way of literary innovation, character development, or really even sordid description. It's true, I couldn't put the book down; but that was really because of what I kept _hoping_ the book would become when, really, in the end, it was just a so-so book. That said, I'd rather read a mediocre Joyce Carol Oates novel than almost any other book, any day. But coincidentally (or perhaps not at all), I only got a satisfying end to Oates's novel when, two days after I finished the book, I heard on CNN radio that the real-life Ramseys (Burke included) have once and for all been officially exonerated from all suspicion in the murder of little JonBenet, after "new technology" revealed that DNA samples found on the body do not match Ramsey family genes. As corporate big-wig daddy Bix Rampike would say, genetic technology _is_ the path to the future--at least to the Ramsey family's future--after all.

[Sarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

The reason why I recommend J.C.O to every single person who reads books is that she has the incredible and uncanny ability to write about the God awful and profane (usually the place in our souls where violent destruction and lust intersect) while at the same time treating her subjects with compassion. This book disappoints, in that while its subject is truly a God-awful and profane mess (the world of child celebrity as experienced by a little boy whose 6 year old sister is an ice skating celebrity and who is tragically and violently murdered), there is no attempt at creating any kind of humane or compassionate characters, beyond the (unreliable?) narrator (the young boy as a 19 year old adult, ten years after the murder).

Heavily modelend on the Jon Benet Ramsey murder, this book trades in a lot of stereotypes about upper-middle class social climbers, bourgeosie pride, prejudice and ambition, and the underlying greed and vanity which act as a corrosive rot beneath such carefully shined surfaces. As a reader, there is a morbid pleasure, perhaps, in the well-written, snide observations about the vanity and moral vacuity and sheer ridiculousness of these people- but the book never moves beyond that place, and even a reader as class conscious and bitter as this one cannot believe in characters so utterly lacking any redemptive traits.

It is as if, in the lives of adults who push their children into stardom for the sake of their own private vanities and ambitions, J.C.O has met her waterloo- the one group of people who are so depraved that even she can not find any catch hold for her sympathies. You can't fault her for this- it's an easy enough group to loath. But at the same time, her writing is so dense and beautiful and challenging and good, it's a serious disappointment to come out of the back end of 600 pages for cheap moral superiority, particularly when you have come to value J.C.O for her ability to show the common threads that bind our contemporary monsters- our racists and rapists and skinheads and incest victims turned sociopaths- with our everyday, ordinary selves.

[Tina Cipolla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I borrowed this book from the library, having no idea what it was going to be about; it wasn't until I opened it at home that I groaned and thought twice about whether to read it or not. I figured I'd give Oates 50 pages to hook me and she did it in 5. I finished this is about a week.


This story is JCO's reimagining of the JonBenet Ramsey story told from the perspective of the 9 year old brother, who at the time this story is told is 19. Details were changed and the author's imagination filled in the details. I hated the parents. (Yet another set of parents to dispise in a JCO book--I hated the Mulvaney too.) But the amazing writing talent that is JCO is on full display here, and it was that that kept me reading.


I did not follow the Ramsey situation closely so I have no idea if JCO re-watched interviews and whatnot, so I really have no idea how close Betsy resembles Patsey, and how much Bix resembles John, but I will tell you that all of these characters stand on their own whether or not they bear any resemblance to their real-life alter egos.

This is a sad book, and if you are even a little bit normal you will loathe these people, but if you are like me and you admire literary talent, then this is worth a read. It made the JBR story tolerable for 550+ pages, and that's sayin' somethin'.

[Estela Cebrián · Rating 4 out of 5]

Es SUPER BESTIA lo que hace JCO en este libro. Casi 700 páginas con un narrador incomodísimo, extraño, anárquico y super poco de fiar. La historia del asesinato le sirve para asaltar un montón de temas: las ambiciones de la clase media americana, las familias que caen en picado, los medios de comunicación, la obsesión a niveles de absurdez supina por el éxito, los padres que vuelcan las frustraciones en sus hijos... pero es que encima no pierde de vista en ningún momento que todo parte de un misterio, que es lo que precisamente asfixia al protagonista. Nunca deja de sorprenderme la facilidad que tiene esta mujer para asaltar mil personajes con sus voces diferentes.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

vorticosa "discesa verso l'inferno" (per usare le parole del nostro narratore) delle famigliole americane perfette, della fama quando sei giovanissimo, dell'ipersessualizzazione delle bambine. Vorticosa è anche la narrazione, ripetitiva e ossessiva, a volte inaffidabile. Le ipocrisie sono svelate, il dolore e il nervoso affiorano leggendo, mentre le pagine di questo finto memoir/confessione/biglietto d'addio si fanno divorare.

[Ginger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an over-the-top fictionalization of the Jon Benet Ramsey murder. JCO uses a some obnoxious devices, like footnotes and shifting POV, but she's just so damn good I couldn't put it down. This book is darkly humorous. It's kind of stomach-turning...but in a fun way.

[Giulia Annecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

credo che nessuno sia in grado di raccontare la privazione, il doppio e la disfunzionalità della provincia wasp americana come oates

also, questo romanzo va dritto dritto nello scaffale "esempio perfetto di storytelling"

[Francesca · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5⭐️ Secondo libro che leggo di Joyce Carol Oates, che purtroppo non ha aggiunto le vette di Blonde, a mio parere.

A quanto sembra, l’autrice ama basare i propri romanzi su fatti realmente accaduti. O, per meglio dire, *tragici* fatti realmente accaduti. Infatti, se in Blonde avevo letto della vita di una Marilyn Monroe pesantemente romanzata, qui JCO prende ispirazione da uno degli eventi di cronaca nera più tristemente famosi: il caso di JonBenet Ramsey, uccisa nel 1996 a soli 6 anni, un mistero ancora irrisolto. Il romanzo è narrato dal punto di vista di Skyler, il fratello maggiore di Bliss (nel romanzo, Bliss è l’equivalente di JonBenet e Skyler di Burke, fratello della vittima), che dieci anni dopo i tragici eventi decide di raccontare della sua vita, dell’ascesa di Bliss nel mondo del pattinaggio, del rapporto con i suoi genitori e di tanto altro.

Secondo me, è importantissimo entrare in questa storia con la consapevolezza che questo non è un romanzo giallo, non è un mystery, non è un thriller. Invece, come nella maggior parte dei libri di JCO, qui troviamo una pesante e accurata critica della società americana, soprattutto della borghesia, di chi cerca popolarità, notorietà, dell’ipocrisia, della falsità. Sia il padre che la madre sono emblemi di questo fenomeno. La scelta di fare narrare la vicenda da Skyler è stata molto azzeccata. È sempre stato il bambino messo da parte, cresciuto all’ombra di una sorellina eccezionale. E la sua voce è azzeccatissima. Ho esperienza con soggetti parecchio inquietanti, e lo stile con cui l’autrice narra le vicende me li ha ricordati tantissimo. Questo raccontare vicende di una gravità inimmaginabile con un tono leggero, in un tentativo imbarazzante di sembrare simpatico e/o colto. I brividabadibidi, vi giuro.

L’inizio mi aveva colpito molto: il mistero ci viene introdotto subito, è immediatamente chiaro che il nostro narratore non è sempre affidabile, che non vede chiaramente la realtà, e non riusciamo a capire cosa sia vero, cosa sia un delirio di Skyler, un ricordo indotto o confuso. Da qui in poi, però, per me il romanzo è andato a calare. Una continua indagine e critica alla società, alla famiglia Rampike, che secondo me poteva essere condensata. Troppe, troppe scene con quelle due amebe dei genitori e troppe poche con Bliss, a mio parere. Forse Skyler non ne parlava apposta, voleva reprimere i ricordi? Però, secondo me, abbiamo appena raschiato la superficie di quella che poteva essere una miniera d’oro, ovvero l’indagine del rapporto tra fratello e sorella. Ma anche un approfondimento in più su Bliss, che mi aspettavo sarebbe stata la vera e propria protagonista del romanzo. I momenti più carichi di emozioni, ovvero l’assassinio, il ritrovamento e le indagini, mi sembra siano stati sorvolati troppo velocemente, per poi passare alla sezione che più ho odiato del romanzo: la “storia d’amore” di Skyler. Se ne avete capito il senso, e soprattutto il perché dovesse occupare tutte quelle pagine, vi prego di spiegarmelo. Anche il finale, sebbene sorprendente (fino a un certo punto), non mi ha lasciato molto, né in termini di emozioni, né di riflessioni.

Quindi, non è un libro pessimo, per niente, però mi aspettavo molto di più dall’autrice che ha scritto uno dei miei libri preferiti in assoluto.