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Ljusets ängel
This novel explores our heritage and gives the reader a story of mounting drama with high impact. It is a story of loyalty, betrayal, revenge, and finally, forgiveness. Excellent novel, exciting, very readable.
466 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1981
10 people are currently reading
273 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Carol Oates
854 books9,630 followersJoyce 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews
August 26, 2021
I am working my way through all of JCO's 20th century novels. This was her 13th novel and is a version of a political thriller covering how corruption in that arena impacts several families. Since it was published in 1981, post Watergate, reading it now was like reading historical fiction.
The story also has a Greek influence, both the myth of Orestes and the play by Euripides, though one does not need to know those references to understand the story. She certainly does not shy away from violence and her characters are either crazy or evil enough to break one's spirit. The epilogue brought me back to battery though.
Government corruption it seems is always with us, so parallels to certain issues we face today can be found in the novel I won't say more because no spoilers here. If you are a fan of JCO, you will want to be sure to read this one. If you are not, Angel of Light will not likely change your mind.
The story also has a Greek influence, both the myth of Orestes and the play by Euripides, though one does not need to know those references to understand the story. She certainly does not shy away from violence and her characters are either crazy or evil enough to break one's spirit. The epilogue brought me back to battery though.
Government corruption it seems is always with us, so parallels to certain issues we face today can be found in the novel I won't say more because no spoilers here. If you are a fan of JCO, you will want to be sure to read this one. If you are not, Angel of Light will not likely change your mind.
June 20, 2017
The story line was okay but to an extent it was some how boring hence I give this 2 Star.
April 1, 2018
Way too boring...move on..going to the used store bin.
May 8, 2012
I didn't know until after reading "Angel of Light" that it is considered a modern retelling of "The Oresteia" by Aeschylus.
The story offers plenty to contemplate: familial relationships, betrayal, revenge, paranoia, politics of the 1970s and 1980s.
The story offers plenty to contemplate: familial relationships, betrayal, revenge, paranoia, politics of the 1970s and 1980s.
June 25, 2015
No one writes stream of consciousness and conversations without quotation marks like JCO. The fact that this is typical of her writing does not in any way make this book not worth reading. I'm very glad I stumbled upon this in the library of my mom's apartment building.
October 29, 2012
Every time I read Oates' I wonder why I haven't read everything she's written. She's a captivating, sophisticated author with deep insight into human psyche. I'm loving this book so far.
April 25, 2021
Maurice Halleck, the Director of the Commission for the Ministry of Justice, is accused of accepting bribes and dies shortly after in a car accident. His children Owen and Kristen blame their mother Isabel and Maurie's best friend, Nick Martens. They plot for revenge. The Halleck's are descendants of John Brown the abolitionist who believed that violence was necessary to end slavery, believing that he himself was an instrument of God. This is a book about evil; John Brown was called the "Angel of Light" which is another name for Lucifer. Maurie is in fact a genuinely good person but a bit of a dupe. In school, he and Nick discuss ethics, "to have the power to do good, how can you be good?", questioning power and its ability to corrupt.
The book is told in alternating parts, beginning w/ Owen and Kristen's sections (March 1980 through September 1980) and alternating w/ Maurie, Nick and Isabel's past, from August 1947 through June 1979. The book reads like a thriller; the timelines approach the final section at different rates, and gradually the mysterious death is explained. I greatly enjoyed the first several parts and found myself devouring the book, but it lost momentum. Overall, however, it is a success; only connections between the reader and the characters ultimately disappoint. I wasn't convinced that Owen and Kristen had enough love and closeness to their father to precipitate the violent revenge.
The book is a statement about the 80s. Overall there is an absence of anything binding; the characters are not motivated by honor to family, to country, even ultimately to friendship. One reviewer said the book is about "the impossibility of justice in a fallen, irredeemably compromised human community, ...a romance of desire and betrayal in high society, a psychological examination of alienated youth, a study of marital failure in a declining aristocracy, an uncovering of the personal roots of public violence".
**spoiler alert**
I read that the plot might be based loosely on Aeschylus's Oresteia - the queen kills the king in the bathtub because he sacrificed their daughter (==the still birth baby girl that Maurie didn't want named; Isabel is dumped in the bathtub) and because she wants to be with her lover. (Isabel didn't "exactly" kill Maurie, but her request for divorce and the lack of love in their marriage contributed to his suicide). Years later the children of the queen, Orestes and Electra, come up w/ a plan to kill the queen and her boyfriend. Orestes enters the palace and isn't recognized (==Owen isn't recognized by the members of his mother's party)
The book is told in alternating parts, beginning w/ Owen and Kristen's sections (March 1980 through September 1980) and alternating w/ Maurie, Nick and Isabel's past, from August 1947 through June 1979. The book reads like a thriller; the timelines approach the final section at different rates, and gradually the mysterious death is explained. I greatly enjoyed the first several parts and found myself devouring the book, but it lost momentum. Overall, however, it is a success; only connections between the reader and the characters ultimately disappoint. I wasn't convinced that Owen and Kristen had enough love and closeness to their father to precipitate the violent revenge.
The book is a statement about the 80s. Overall there is an absence of anything binding; the characters are not motivated by honor to family, to country, even ultimately to friendship. One reviewer said the book is about "the impossibility of justice in a fallen, irredeemably compromised human community, ...a romance of desire and betrayal in high society, a psychological examination of alienated youth, a study of marital failure in a declining aristocracy, an uncovering of the personal roots of public violence".
**spoiler alert**
I read that the plot might be based loosely on Aeschylus's Oresteia - the queen kills the king in the bathtub because he sacrificed their daughter (==the still birth baby girl that Maurie didn't want named; Isabel is dumped in the bathtub) and because she wants to be with her lover. (Isabel didn't "exactly" kill Maurie, but her request for divorce and the lack of love in their marriage contributed to his suicide). Years later the children of the queen, Orestes and Electra, come up w/ a plan to kill the queen and her boyfriend. Orestes enters the palace and isn't recognized (==Owen isn't recognized by the members of his mother's party)
June 16, 2020
In spite of the cover, this is not a romance.
Nor is it a book I could finish. Even though I've read and appreciated several of Oates' other books.
Angel of Light provides readers with a rambling list of adjectives, descriptions and events they are supposed to assemble into a story that extends over several generations. It also leaves out quotation marks, which makes it even more incomprehensible and unreadable.
Nor is it a book I could finish. Even though I've read and appreciated several of Oates' other books.
Angel of Light provides readers with a rambling list of adjectives, descriptions and events they are supposed to assemble into a story that extends over several generations. It also leaves out quotation marks, which makes it even more incomprehensible and unreadable.
February 4, 2023
4.25/5 stars
I was throughly engaged in this story from the beginning. It definitely felt like a thriller that would keep me on edge anytime I would pick it up. And like with Oates’s previous novels, the characters are really and memorable. I cannot wait to pick up more of her novels in the future.
I was throughly engaged in this story from the beginning. It definitely felt like a thriller that would keep me on edge anytime I would pick it up. And like with Oates’s previous novels, the characters are really and memorable. I cannot wait to pick up more of her novels in the future.
January 7, 2021
Отличный роман! Много персонажей, но это совсем не мешает. Действие развивается медленно, настоящее сменяется прошлым и наоборот. А к конце действия темп повествования ускоряется! Замечательная, глубокая, психологичная книга!
June 22, 2021
2.75 stars
My least favorite JCO to date. My favorite part were the ones in the past. The parts with the siblings were more steam of consciousness and harder to follow. It felt like there were a love of concepts and ideas but none of them got resolution.
My least favorite JCO to date. My favorite part were the ones in the past. The parts with the siblings were more steam of consciousness and harder to follow. It felt like there were a love of concepts and ideas but none of them got resolution.
August 15, 2025
I’ve seen a few reviews suggesting that this book is boring. Either the definition of “boring” has changed or I never knew it to begin with. This was a real page turner, and of course Joyce Carol Oates’ prose was magnificent. All the stars…I couldn’t put it down!
June 22, 2021
2.75 stars
April 16, 2022
I lack language for how much I love this author’s work. This is one of her best, and I have read 47 of them.
November 3, 2024
It is something to go through her bibliography and work your way through the years/decades.
March 21, 2025
Not worth reading
March 3, 2024
Psycho kids, bribery, suicide/murder and radicalization.
June 9, 2013
Auf mehreren Zeitebenen erzählt Oates die Geschichte Maurice Hallecks, seiner Jugendfreunde und seiner Ehe. Die Ereignisse der Gegenwart spielen 1980, Rückblenden führen in Maurices Jugend im Jahrzehnt nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg. Der titelgebende "Engel des Lichts" ist John Brown (*1800), ein Vorfahr der Familie.
Maurice stammt aus dem amerikanischen Ostküsten-Establishment, seine Familie war als Kupfer- und Aluminium-Dynastie zu Geld gekommen. In den Kreisen der Hallecks besitzt man eindrucksvolle Villen, Stadthäuser und Ferienhäuser. Der Lebensinhalt der Frauen sind die Gesellschaften, deren Gastgeberinnen sie sind, und die Verbindungen, die dabei geknüpft werden. Nick, Tony und Maurice kennen sich seit der Schulzeit. Seit ihm Nick in ihrer Jugend bei einem Bootsunfall das Leben rettete, hat Maurice zu ihm eine Beziehung wie zu einem Blutsbruder.
Den Verkehrsunfall, bei dem Maurice vor kurzem ums Leben gekommen ist, interpretieren seine erwachsenen Kinder, Owen und Kirsten, als Selbstmord und wollen sich an den ihrer Meinung nach Schuldigen rächen. Isabel Halleck betrog ihren Mann mit seinen Jugendfreunden Nick und Tony, selbst Kirsten umgarnte Tony als Jugendliche. Die Geschwister Halleck brechen den Kontakt zur Mutter ab, die sie zu den Schuldigen zählen, seit sie sich kurz vor Maurices Tod von ihm getrennt hat. Kirsten als übersensible, hochintelligente Person steigert sich in die Rolle der unversöhnlichen trauernden Tochter hinein. Kirsten hungerte als Kind nach Beachtung und sie hungerte sich mit den charakteristischen Tricks Essgestörter schon damals krank. Nun wird Owen von seiner Mutter die Verantwortung für die "gestörte" Schwester zugeschoben. Owen, der zunächst der einzig Normale in der Familie zu sein scheint, bricht seine Promotion ab, um alle Weggefährten seines Vaters zu befragen. Owen wirkt verblüffend gut über die RAF-Terroristen in Deutschland informiert. Als zwischen Kirsten und ihm nicht mehr von Rache für den Vater die Rede ist, sondern von Gerechtigkeit, ist für Owen offenbar die Grenze zum Terrorismus überschritten.
Das gesellschaftliche Biotop im Umkreis amerikanischer Ivy League Universitäten, das Joyce Carol Oates in ihren frühen Romanen seziert, verlangt ihren Lesern einige Geduld ab. Schon nach dem ersten Roman hat man genug von verwöhnten Gören aus angesehenen Familien. Doch in "Engel des Lichts" hält Oates ihre Leser dennoch mit gekonnt gezeichneten Figuren bei Laune. Oates' Charakterisierung von Kirsten als ausgekochtem Biest ist so fein gezeichnet, dass die eigentliche Handlung unwichtig wird. Schweppenheiser zählt zu Oates' unvergesslichen Kreationen. Der exzentrische Geschichtslehrer vermag zur Verblüffung seiner Schüler jeder historischen Persönlichkeiten ihren Nimbus zu rauben. Neben dem politischen Bezug auf die beginnenden 80er Jahre nimmt Oates in "Engel des Lichts" das prüde Zeitalter der 60er mit hinreißender Bosheit aufs Korn, als Schwangeren zu breitkrempigen Hüten geraten wurde, damit die Blicke von ihrem Bauch abgelenkt wurden.
Engel des Lichts ISBN 978-3423107419
Maurice stammt aus dem amerikanischen Ostküsten-Establishment, seine Familie war als Kupfer- und Aluminium-Dynastie zu Geld gekommen. In den Kreisen der Hallecks besitzt man eindrucksvolle Villen, Stadthäuser und Ferienhäuser. Der Lebensinhalt der Frauen sind die Gesellschaften, deren Gastgeberinnen sie sind, und die Verbindungen, die dabei geknüpft werden. Nick, Tony und Maurice kennen sich seit der Schulzeit. Seit ihm Nick in ihrer Jugend bei einem Bootsunfall das Leben rettete, hat Maurice zu ihm eine Beziehung wie zu einem Blutsbruder.
Den Verkehrsunfall, bei dem Maurice vor kurzem ums Leben gekommen ist, interpretieren seine erwachsenen Kinder, Owen und Kirsten, als Selbstmord und wollen sich an den ihrer Meinung nach Schuldigen rächen. Isabel Halleck betrog ihren Mann mit seinen Jugendfreunden Nick und Tony, selbst Kirsten umgarnte Tony als Jugendliche. Die Geschwister Halleck brechen den Kontakt zur Mutter ab, die sie zu den Schuldigen zählen, seit sie sich kurz vor Maurices Tod von ihm getrennt hat. Kirsten als übersensible, hochintelligente Person steigert sich in die Rolle der unversöhnlichen trauernden Tochter hinein. Kirsten hungerte als Kind nach Beachtung und sie hungerte sich mit den charakteristischen Tricks Essgestörter schon damals krank. Nun wird Owen von seiner Mutter die Verantwortung für die "gestörte" Schwester zugeschoben. Owen, der zunächst der einzig Normale in der Familie zu sein scheint, bricht seine Promotion ab, um alle Weggefährten seines Vaters zu befragen. Owen wirkt verblüffend gut über die RAF-Terroristen in Deutschland informiert. Als zwischen Kirsten und ihm nicht mehr von Rache für den Vater die Rede ist, sondern von Gerechtigkeit, ist für Owen offenbar die Grenze zum Terrorismus überschritten.
Das gesellschaftliche Biotop im Umkreis amerikanischer Ivy League Universitäten, das Joyce Carol Oates in ihren frühen Romanen seziert, verlangt ihren Lesern einige Geduld ab. Schon nach dem ersten Roman hat man genug von verwöhnten Gören aus angesehenen Familien. Doch in "Engel des Lichts" hält Oates ihre Leser dennoch mit gekonnt gezeichneten Figuren bei Laune. Oates' Charakterisierung von Kirsten als ausgekochtem Biest ist so fein gezeichnet, dass die eigentliche Handlung unwichtig wird. Schweppenheiser zählt zu Oates' unvergesslichen Kreationen. Der exzentrische Geschichtslehrer vermag zur Verblüffung seiner Schüler jeder historischen Persönlichkeiten ihren Nimbus zu rauben. Neben dem politischen Bezug auf die beginnenden 80er Jahre nimmt Oates in "Engel des Lichts" das prüde Zeitalter der 60er mit hinreißender Bosheit aufs Korn, als Schwangeren zu breitkrempigen Hüten geraten wurde, damit die Blicke von ihrem Bauch abgelenkt wurden.
Engel des Lichts ISBN 978-3423107419
May 22, 2015
La Orestiada trasladada al Washington D.C. de 1960 a 1980. Joyce Carol Oates toma el mito, lo destila y consigue crear una atmosférica saga familiar en que Kirsten y Owen Halleck interpretan los roles de Electra y Orestes, subverténdolos, mientras que su madre, la glacial y perfecta Isabel de Benavente Halleck es una Clitemnestra chic-pero-deprimida, capaz de comerse a sus propios hijos para calmar sus ansiedades.
Un elenco de figuras glamorosas y amorales desfila por las páginas (algunos combinan a personajes de la tragedia de Esquilo con figuras actuales de la política estadounidense) y el ritmo se torna preciso en sus tiempos perdidos: vemos la juventud de la generación de los padres, los pecados que cometen, que acaban por reflejarse en los hijos; y cómo éstos ejercen una pavorosa venganza, seducidos por las nociones terroristas underground de su periodo histórico y la sed de venganza ante la sangre familiar derramada: son juez y jurado, las mismísimas furias, y arrastrarán a todos a un clímax violento y devastador.
La novela fluye, se deja leer y por momentos pareciera uno de esos best-sellers de calidad que Sidney Sheldon o Jacqueline Susann solían confeccionar en esa época; aunque aquí hay algo más: una corriente oscura que estudia el colapso psicológico y moral de una familia, algo más cercano a los oscuros territorios de Iris Murdoch o Doris Lessing.
Lectura recomendada, inquietante y de una prosa exquista, filosa, cruel. Una pequeña joya casi desconocida en el vasto acervo narrativo de la autora más prolífica de su generación.
Un elenco de figuras glamorosas y amorales desfila por las páginas (algunos combinan a personajes de la tragedia de Esquilo con figuras actuales de la política estadounidense) y el ritmo se torna preciso en sus tiempos perdidos: vemos la juventud de la generación de los padres, los pecados que cometen, que acaban por reflejarse en los hijos; y cómo éstos ejercen una pavorosa venganza, seducidos por las nociones terroristas underground de su periodo histórico y la sed de venganza ante la sangre familiar derramada: son juez y jurado, las mismísimas furias, y arrastrarán a todos a un clímax violento y devastador.
La novela fluye, se deja leer y por momentos pareciera uno de esos best-sellers de calidad que Sidney Sheldon o Jacqueline Susann solían confeccionar en esa época; aunque aquí hay algo más: una corriente oscura que estudia el colapso psicológico y moral de una familia, algo más cercano a los oscuros territorios de Iris Murdoch o Doris Lessing.
Lectura recomendada, inquietante y de una prosa exquista, filosa, cruel. Una pequeña joya casi desconocida en el vasto acervo narrativo de la autora más prolífica de su generación.
April 16, 2009
While this novel did not impress me, it certainly wasn't bad. The basic storyline is about a family in which the father has supposedly committed suicide, but his two children believe his death to be a murder carried out by their mother and her secret lover. The story follows them as they try to avenge their father's death and the lies created about him. It starts to get confusing because the author jumps from one time period to the next and back again filling in details upon details upon details. The author also repeats herself and writes in phrases. It can also be confusing because in a lot of instances she will give the basic plot and then fill in details and a story. It is a very strange way of writing, almost like Virginia Woolf's or James Joyce's stream-of-consciousness novels. It is also a hefty novel-434 pages.
July 28, 2016
Books that start out really promising are the ones that get under my skin the most. Like a fool I let myself be dragged in, yet again, and keep going so far it's idiotic to dnf. And as I keep convinsing myself I am one of those people who dnf's in emergencies only I pretty much set myself up for failure.
The problem I had with Angel of Light were Oates' relentless descriptions, in the most detailed way possible, of everything basically. Mostly things which I figured pretty early had very little to do with the main plot.
Oh, and here's another thing, and this has to do with many authors in general, not just Oates:
Why is it, that I, the reader, figure out something around page 100 only to keep reading the ramblings to find that one of the main characters figures said thing out around page 270 and there's still like 200 pages to go.
Argh!
The problem I had with Angel of Light were Oates' relentless descriptions, in the most detailed way possible, of everything basically. Mostly things which I figured pretty early had very little to do with the main plot.
Oh, and here's another thing, and this has to do with many authors in general, not just Oates:
Why is it, that I, the reader, figure out something around page 100 only to keep reading the ramblings to find that one of the main characters figures said thing out around page 270 and there's still like 200 pages to go.
Argh!
June 15, 2015
Maurice Halleck is mysteriously killed in a car accident; and his children highly suspect foul play. This novel slowly but surely unravels a master plot to murder Maurie; staged by his closest colleague and infidel wife. Story of love, trust or lack thereof, and vengeance!
January 31, 2011
It's been a while since I've read this, but I remember it as a real page turner.
Displaying 1 - 24 of 24 reviews