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The Pursuit
As a child, Abby had the same recurring nightmare night after night, in which she wandered through a field ridden with human skulls and bones. Now an adult, Abby thinks she's outgrown her demons, until, the evening before her wedding, the terrible dream returns and forces her to confront the dark secrets from her past she has kept from her new husband, Willem. The following day – less than 24 hours after exchanging vows – Abby steps out into traffic. As his wife lies in her hospital bed, sleeping in fits and starts, Willem tries to determine whether this was an absentminded accident or a premeditated plunge, and he quickly discovers a mysterious set of clues about what his wife might be hiding. Why, for example is there a rash-like red mark circling her wrist? What does she dream about that causes her to wake from the sound of her own screams?
Slowly, Abby begins to open up to her husband, revealing to him what she has never shared with anyone before – the story of a terrified mother; a jealous, drug addled father; and a daughter's terrifying captivity.
With a suspenseful, alternating narrative that travels between the present and Abby's tortured childhood, The Pursuit is a meticulously crafted, deeply disquieting tale that showcases Oates's masterful storytelling.
183 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2019
529 people are currently reading
4321 people want to read
About the author
Joyce Carol Oates
871 books9,911 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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November 22, 2021
Twenty-year-old Abby Hayman is an employee of County Services in upstate New York, where she works at the Rehabilitation Center for the Blind.
That's where Abby meets Willem Zengler, a devoutly Christian college student who volunteers to read for the sightless patients.
Abby is pretty, Willem is handsome, and the two young people fall in love. Willem proposes despite the reservations of his parents, who feel like Abby is too much of an unknown quantity.
Abby lost her parents at a young age, and was raised by her Aunt Traci in Chautauqua Falls, which is a couple of hours away. Thus the Zenglers haven't met any of Abby's relatives, and feel they don't know enough about Abby or her family.
Abby is an innocent in many ways, but she does indeed have secrets. Both of Abby's parents disappeared in unknown circumstances when she was five. It's alleged that Abby's father committed suicide out west, which he threatened to do in postcards.
And it's believed that Abby's mother went off to look for the troubled man....and never returned.
Moreover, Abby's name isn't really Abby.....it's Miriam Frances. And the future bride has to explain this when she produces her birth certificate to get a marriage license.
In any case, Abby and Willem marry, and less than 24 hours later Abby steps in front of a bus. During Abby's long recuperation and rehabilitation, Willem - who barely leaves her side - tries to elicit an explanation for the incident. Was it an accident? Attempted suicide? Something else?
We learn that recurring bad dreams - involving skeletons - played a role in Abby's actions, though the meaning of the nightmares isn't immediately clear.
While Abby is slowly recovering from her injuries, there's a long flashback to the lives of Abby's parents, Nicola and Llewyn (Lew) Hayman - who lived in Chautauqua Falls.
When we meet the Hayman family, little Miriam Frances (called Meer-me) is five; Nicola is a teacher at a community college; and Lew is a cantankerous, hard-drinking veteran of the Middle East war.....perhaps suffering from PTSD.
Lew is an angry controlling man who's sure Nicola is cheating on him, and determined to prove it. To do this Lew enlists the help of little Meer-me. In his 'kind-Daddy' voice, Lew repeatedly asks Meer-me: "Does Mommy have a friend who visits her when Daddy is away?.....Does Mommy have a special friend - a male - who visits her when Daddy is away?"
Meer-me isn't sure what 'male' means, and sensing Daddy wants her to agree, murmurs "Uh-huh" and nods yes.
This leads to the Haymans' separation, and things go downhill from there.
We get a SLOW, TORTUROUS, HORRIFYING picture of Lew's subsequent behavior, which leaves Meer-me in the custody of Lew's sister Traci, who - barely able to make ends meet - moves them into the old ramshackle family home.
At the age of eight, Meer-me accidentally learns about (what she sees as) the consequences of her 'nodding yes', and it's this that spawns the nightmares that plague her.
For me, most of the flashback section is too slow and disturbing. Lew's downward spiral, and the subsequent consequences, are predictable, and a harrowing play by play feels like piling on.
Anyone familiar with true crime programs, law and order shows, or the real news can figure out where this novel is going. It's nothing new.
I also don't like Willem much, who - in his goody two shoes religious way - is also a controlling man who "knows" what God wants.
As for the women, Abby and Nicola are too weak and acquiescent. Both women should run for the hills instead of hooking up with Willem and Lew (but then there wouldn't be a story 🙂).
Joyce Carol Oates is a gifted writer, but it's not clear (to me) what she was aiming at with this book. To put the best spin on it, this is the story of childhood trauma and self blame that has serious repercussions.
Still, many readers gave this book high ratings, so - if the theme interests you - I'd suggest giving it a try.
You can follow my reviews at https://reviewsbybarbsaffer.blogspot....
September 22, 2019
Eyes open. Eyes shut.
Nightmares have a way of seeping into the cracks.
Abby Hayman has been suffering from the same haunting, repetitious nightmares for years. Her brain sorts through the carnage of endless treks through grassy fields and the horror of what lays tangled in the weeds. Waking exhausted, she stumbles through her day only to return to the same mind channel again and again.
But Abby has met someone at the County Services where she is employed in Hammond, New York. She specializes in the rehabilitation for the blind. Having just turned twenty, Abby is a young soul entrapped in the weighted spirit of her past. We'll come to see the flickering light under the door of that past as this story unfolds.
William Zengler has fallen head over heels for the fresh and freckled Abby. He's currently taking classes in Pre-Med at the university. He and Abby are soon married even though his family keeps questioning him about Abby and her lack of details in regard to her own background and family. No honeymoon has been planned with conflicting work schedules. Both must go back to work the very next day after the wedding.
But something has upset Abby while riding the bus to work that morning. She frantically pulls the cord for the driver to stop. In her haste to escape the confines of the bus, once on the curb, she steps right in front of the bus as it pulls away. Was it intentional or something else altogether?
Joyce Carol Oates has opened a sort of Pandora's Box in this one. The more we lift the lid, the more we shudder to find out what's inside. Oates creates a parallel storyline of present and past lining it with Abby's struggles after the bus accident and a glimpse into the lives of her unsettling parents, Nicola and Lew.
Be warned that Oates adds some pretty heavy-duty ingredients in The Pursuit. It's people behaving badly, really badly. With sparks of PTSD, verbal and physical abuse, and palpitating hearts, Oates sets up a highly unusual arc of circumstances here. I dare you not to speed through this compact little gem of 224 pages of life cruising through Bizarroville. Just don't get pulled over until you reach the end of the road, Folks. Whew!
I received a copy of The Pursuit through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to The Mysterious Press and to Joyce Carol Oates for the opportunity.
Nightmares have a way of seeping into the cracks.
Abby Hayman has been suffering from the same haunting, repetitious nightmares for years. Her brain sorts through the carnage of endless treks through grassy fields and the horror of what lays tangled in the weeds. Waking exhausted, she stumbles through her day only to return to the same mind channel again and again.
But Abby has met someone at the County Services where she is employed in Hammond, New York. She specializes in the rehabilitation for the blind. Having just turned twenty, Abby is a young soul entrapped in the weighted spirit of her past. We'll come to see the flickering light under the door of that past as this story unfolds.
William Zengler has fallen head over heels for the fresh and freckled Abby. He's currently taking classes in Pre-Med at the university. He and Abby are soon married even though his family keeps questioning him about Abby and her lack of details in regard to her own background and family. No honeymoon has been planned with conflicting work schedules. Both must go back to work the very next day after the wedding.
But something has upset Abby while riding the bus to work that morning. She frantically pulls the cord for the driver to stop. In her haste to escape the confines of the bus, once on the curb, she steps right in front of the bus as it pulls away. Was it intentional or something else altogether?
Joyce Carol Oates has opened a sort of Pandora's Box in this one. The more we lift the lid, the more we shudder to find out what's inside. Oates creates a parallel storyline of present and past lining it with Abby's struggles after the bus accident and a glimpse into the lives of her unsettling parents, Nicola and Lew.
Be warned that Oates adds some pretty heavy-duty ingredients in The Pursuit. It's people behaving badly, really badly. With sparks of PTSD, verbal and physical abuse, and palpitating hearts, Oates sets up a highly unusual arc of circumstances here. I dare you not to speed through this compact little gem of 224 pages of life cruising through Bizarroville. Just don't get pulled over until you reach the end of the road, Folks. Whew!
I received a copy of The Pursuit through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to The Mysterious Press and to Joyce Carol Oates for the opportunity.
October 5, 2019
A Sad and Dark Mystery!
A young woman of twenty suffers from horrible nightmares but she is looking forward to her future with Willem, her husband of one day. On this morning (the day after her wedding) Abby is hit by the bus that she had just stepped off from. While Abby is convalescing from her traumatic injuries in the hospital, a background story is told of all the events that had caused her to have the nightmares that have plagued her throughout her life and then Willem discovers that he did not have a clue to the person who is his bride.
I am sorry to say this story was not for me. Of course, "Pursuit" was well-written but I found it depressing and dark without any real suspense or tension. It was a fast read and the storyline was interesting but for me it was just a sad and dark drama. if you are a fan of Joyce Carol Oates, I recommend reading this book but (IMO) it just did not rise to a suspenseful thriller.
I want to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!
I have given a rating of 3 Wavering Stars!!
A young woman of twenty suffers from horrible nightmares but she is looking forward to her future with Willem, her husband of one day. On this morning (the day after her wedding) Abby is hit by the bus that she had just stepped off from. While Abby is convalescing from her traumatic injuries in the hospital, a background story is told of all the events that had caused her to have the nightmares that have plagued her throughout her life and then Willem discovers that he did not have a clue to the person who is his bride.
I am sorry to say this story was not for me. Of course, "Pursuit" was well-written but I found it depressing and dark without any real suspense or tension. It was a fast read and the storyline was interesting but for me it was just a sad and dark drama. if you are a fan of Joyce Carol Oates, I recommend reading this book but (IMO) it just did not rise to a suspenseful thriller.
I want to thank the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book!
I have given a rating of 3 Wavering Stars!!
February 9, 2021
Pursuit is a tense little book by prolific author Joyce Carol Oates.
Abby is a young twenty-something and suffers from terrifying nightmares. She marries Willem early in the story, a relationship that seems a little awkward. Next thing, she steps off a curb and is hit by a bus. We are unsure if this is deliberate, an accident or as a result of foul play. The timeline jumps back and forth between her childhood and present day. Abby’s upbringing wasn’t a straightforward exercise. Her mother and father had difficulties, with each other and within - fighting their own inner demons. Simmering along in the background are Abby’s recurring nightmares – these involve skulls, bones, familiar countryside and a river. They’re so vivid she’s not certain if they’re dreams or based on some level of reality.
This author paints a very menacing, dark picture of uncertainty throughout this story. I was constantly wondering where the author was taking me, it was unsettling. Each character seemed to have secrets to reveal, but I was kept hanging on a thread – not knowing, how bad each secret was, or in fact, if there were any secrets at all.
Oates maintains the level of suspense going throughout, the pace of the book was relentless – it kept ticking, page after page. When the horrors were revealed – they were exactly that, horrific.
Seems like Joyce Carol Oates is an author I have been in search of for quite some time. The real bonus is, she’s written so much AND she’s still alive and writing!!!
Maximum stars for this troubling piece of work. Highly recommended.
5 Stars
Abby is a young twenty-something and suffers from terrifying nightmares. She marries Willem early in the story, a relationship that seems a little awkward. Next thing, she steps off a curb and is hit by a bus. We are unsure if this is deliberate, an accident or as a result of foul play. The timeline jumps back and forth between her childhood and present day. Abby’s upbringing wasn’t a straightforward exercise. Her mother and father had difficulties, with each other and within - fighting their own inner demons. Simmering along in the background are Abby’s recurring nightmares – these involve skulls, bones, familiar countryside and a river. They’re so vivid she’s not certain if they’re dreams or based on some level of reality.
This author paints a very menacing, dark picture of uncertainty throughout this story. I was constantly wondering where the author was taking me, it was unsettling. Each character seemed to have secrets to reveal, but I was kept hanging on a thread – not knowing, how bad each secret was, or in fact, if there were any secrets at all.
Oates maintains the level of suspense going throughout, the pace of the book was relentless – it kept ticking, page after page. When the horrors were revealed – they were exactly that, horrific.
Seems like Joyce Carol Oates is an author I have been in search of for quite some time. The real bonus is, she’s written so much AND she’s still alive and writing!!!
Maximum stars for this troubling piece of work. Highly recommended.
5 Stars
July 22, 2019
Haunting, disturbing, and seriously bleak.
I wanted to like this more (but it’s hard to enjoy a book that deals with this kind of cruelty). The story of Abby is not necessarily engaging. I could not get behind her or Willem and their relationship. It was weird to me. She’s so meek and mild, and he’s such a neurotic, cloying child... it came off odd. I was curious to know more of Abby’s history, as well as the reason behind her “accident”, but the whole of it was not handled coherently.
Joyce Carol Oates employs a stream-of-consciousness technique here, and though it makes the story more intense and nightmarish, still ended up boring me. And this is not a long book (144 pages!); it’s closer to a novella in length. The details regarding that of Abby’s mother and father were hard to get through. I was disturbed throughout. But I found it all entirely implausible. I won’t go into spoilers, but there is a long stretch of time between a certain crime and Abby’s present circumstances. No questions raised? No investigations? Aunt Traci? Dominique? NO ONE?!? Totally unrealistic.
I’m a reader who reviews based having on emotions, and this one has me empty and nauseated. Honestly, it left a real bad taste in my mouth come the conclusion, and I am dismayed.
Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me this copy, in exchange for an honest review.
I wanted to like this more (but it’s hard to enjoy a book that deals with this kind of cruelty). The story of Abby is not necessarily engaging. I could not get behind her or Willem and their relationship. It was weird to me. She’s so meek and mild, and he’s such a neurotic, cloying child... it came off odd. I was curious to know more of Abby’s history, as well as the reason behind her “accident”, but the whole of it was not handled coherently.
Joyce Carol Oates employs a stream-of-consciousness technique here, and though it makes the story more intense and nightmarish, still ended up boring me. And this is not a long book (144 pages!); it’s closer to a novella in length. The details regarding that of Abby’s mother and father were hard to get through. I was disturbed throughout. But I found it all entirely implausible. I won’t go into spoilers, but there is a long stretch of time between a certain crime and Abby’s present circumstances. No questions raised? No investigations? Aunt Traci? Dominique? NO ONE?!? Totally unrealistic.
I’m a reader who reviews based having on emotions, and this one has me empty and nauseated. Honestly, it left a real bad taste in my mouth come the conclusion, and I am dismayed.
Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me this copy, in exchange for an honest review.
July 1, 2025
This was a quickie. Just over 200 pages, easily consumed in one day, if you have that luxury. I do love that type of book. Although, for me, this was just okay.
I've had a mixed experience with JCO. Some things scorchingly brilliant (Zombie, The Rise of Life on Earth), one particularly saccharine (We Were the Mulvaneys). Look, it's obvious she's a genius of sorts. She's incredibly prolific and she writes across genres, and can basically do whatever she wants, whether it's terrifying literary horror, or something at home in Oprah's Book Club.
This one felt a bit... basic... for me. A bit "general", "for the masses". It reads very quickly, no doubt because of the many one, two, and three word sentences peppered throughout. Those are not actual grammatical sentences, and they grated on me a little, because there are just so many.
The story is about a young woman who is delicate and disturbed by something that has happened in her childhood. That something is eventually revealed, and then the book just... ends.
It's written by a genius of sorts, so the quality of the storytelling is definitely higher than your average thriller, and she makes it look easy, but I was left pretty empty, and this will likely fade from memory fairly quickly (whereas Zombie is tattooed on my brain).
I've had a mixed experience with JCO. Some things scorchingly brilliant (Zombie, The Rise of Life on Earth), one particularly saccharine (We Were the Mulvaneys). Look, it's obvious she's a genius of sorts. She's incredibly prolific and she writes across genres, and can basically do whatever she wants, whether it's terrifying literary horror, or something at home in Oprah's Book Club.
This one felt a bit... basic... for me. A bit "general", "for the masses". It reads very quickly, no doubt because of the many one, two, and three word sentences peppered throughout. Those are not actual grammatical sentences, and they grated on me a little, because there are just so many.
The story is about a young woman who is delicate and disturbed by something that has happened in her childhood. That something is eventually revealed, and then the book just... ends.
It's written by a genius of sorts, so the quality of the storytelling is definitely higher than your average thriller, and she makes it look easy, but I was left pretty empty, and this will likely fade from memory fairly quickly (whereas Zombie is tattooed on my brain).
August 5, 2019
Joyce Carol Oates. Having been a follower for over 40 years, I am completely in awe of her output, her stamina, the sheer genius of her plotting and range of her topics. It is difficult to separate the creation from the creator in much of her work. I read recently of how sometimes she gets clarity while out running. Running. And she's over 80 years old. Someone recently told me he saw her in a TSA line, in which he was feeling smug about the fact that he was reading a book, only to see her there, writing a book. In line.
All of this is by way of expressing my admiration for this, her excursion into the horrifying world of PTSD and its consequences, in an intricate, moving, exceedingly complicated whole that is ultimately satisfying if disturbing. Her characterizations are spot-on, her POV structure, exact and uncompromising. Even the title, which holds a different connotation for each of the participants.
All of this is by way of expressing my admiration for this, her excursion into the horrifying world of PTSD and its consequences, in an intricate, moving, exceedingly complicated whole that is ultimately satisfying if disturbing. Her characterizations are spot-on, her POV structure, exact and uncompromising. Even the title, which holds a different connotation for each of the participants.
October 29, 2019
Oates never retreats from delving deeply into the dark recesses of the traumatised psyche. Not for the faint of heart. Gritty, tense and brutal.
August 28, 2021
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The Pursuit is depressing, even by Joyce Carol Oates standards.
Joyce Carol Oates' chameleon-like ability to shift between writing styles is one of the reasons why even when she returns to themes she has previously explored her books have always some innovative element to them.
In The Pursuit Oates interrogates the way in which trauma affects, shapes, and alienates the self. There is also plenty of ignorance, hatred, and evil within these pages, and Oates doesn't hold back from delving into the darkest parts of human nature. The Pursuit has a quite fitting title as I felt, similarly to its central figure Abby, 'pursued' by the horrors of her past.
This novella offers no breaks but it is relentless in its portrayal of Abby's mental dissolution. The fragmented narrative reflects Abby's state of mind: a day after marrying she walks in front of a bus. Was this a deliberate act or an accident? Abby is haunted by a horrific event which has etched itself onto her psyche so that even when she about to embark on a 'happy' future as a married woman, she is plagued by nightmarish visions and whispers.
The choppy prose emphasises Abby's growingly incoherent worldview, and adds a sense of feverish urgency to her story. Within this novella the syntax of Oates' writing has a fitful start and stop quality that renders Abby's agitated thought processes.
The narrative then takes us back to the Abby's past, introducing us to her parents' unhappy relationship, and forces to read from the perspective of a deeply troubled individual whose own paranoia and delusions lead him to pursue a destructive path.
The repetitive imagery of Abby's visions (bones, a skull, handcuffs) creates a rhythm that makes the story all the more disturbing.
Personally however, I just prefer when Oates writes in a more articulate, if not elegant, manner. Although I appreciated why this style suited the tone of this particular story, I longed for a less impressionistic narrative.
Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads
The Pursuit is depressing, even by Joyce Carol Oates standards.
“Early on the morning of her wedding day. Before dawn she is wakened from the dream with a jolt. The skeleton dream she had reason to believe she’d outgrown, vivid before her staring eyes.”
Joyce Carol Oates' chameleon-like ability to shift between writing styles is one of the reasons why even when she returns to themes she has previously explored her books have always some innovative element to them.
In The Pursuit Oates interrogates the way in which trauma affects, shapes, and alienates the self. There is also plenty of ignorance, hatred, and evil within these pages, and Oates doesn't hold back from delving into the darkest parts of human nature. The Pursuit has a quite fitting title as I felt, similarly to its central figure Abby, 'pursued' by the horrors of her past.
This novella offers no breaks but it is relentless in its portrayal of Abby's mental dissolution. The fragmented narrative reflects Abby's state of mind: a day after marrying she walks in front of a bus. Was this a deliberate act or an accident? Abby is haunted by a horrific event which has etched itself onto her psyche so that even when she about to embark on a 'happy' future as a married woman, she is plagued by nightmarish visions and whispers.
“This self she has carefully constructed as an adult among the adults of the world—this being does not yet exist in the dream. In the dream there is only the child-self, her truest self, unprotected, as a newborn deer is unprotected, lacking even a scent.”
The choppy prose emphasises Abby's growingly incoherent worldview, and adds a sense of feverish urgency to her story. Within this novella the syntax of Oates' writing has a fitful start and stop quality that renders Abby's agitated thought processes.
The narrative then takes us back to the Abby's past, introducing us to her parents' unhappy relationship, and forces to read from the perspective of a deeply troubled individual whose own paranoia and delusions lead him to pursue a destructive path.
The repetitive imagery of Abby's visions (bones, a skull, handcuffs) creates a rhythm that makes the story all the more disturbing.
Personally however, I just prefer when Oates writes in a more articulate, if not elegant, manner. Although I appreciated why this style suited the tone of this particular story, I longed for a less impressionistic narrative.
Read more reviews on my blog / / / View all my reviews on Goodreads
June 15, 2020
En esta novela corta de Joyce Carol Oates, su más reciente hasta ahora, vuelven sus temas de siempre en forma de thriller o novela de terror. Por una parte tenemos su estudio sobre dualidades: una misma persona puede ser dos al mismo tiempo, transformándose de una a otra dependiendo de los traumas de su pasado que van resurgiendo. Y no hablamos solo del personaje protagonista, Abby, que realmente se llama Miriam pero siendo Miriam,le recuerda a ese pasado que no quiere reconocer. Y Abby no es el único personaje dual, aunque no voy a destriparlo aquí.
"De jovencita, aprendes a no ofender a los extraños con tu rechazo. En particular a los hombres. A los extraños, pero tampoco a los jefes. Ni a los profesores, en sus tiempos de estudiante. Siempre sonriente y cordial, porque eras una chica guapa, sí, pero si dices lo que no toca o no sonríes con la vivacidad que se espera, un hombre puede volverse muy desagradable rápidamente."
Otro tema que surge una y otra vez en sus novelas es la violencia contra la mujer, una violencia que muchas mujeres sufren desde niñas por el solo hecho de haber nacido mujeres. En novelas más extensas, esta autora monta todo un ensayo psicológico en torno a este tema disfrazado de thriller, solo hay que leer sus novelas usando su pseudónimo como Rosamond Smith. Sus reflexiones en torno a los tópicos femeninos de la mujer como víctima (exageradamente narrados para incidir en que la mujer no es solo victima, también verdugo) siempre están perfectamente documentados y es evidente que esta autora domina la psicología forense en torno a ciertos perfiles, y Abby encaja perfectamente en este perfil en el límite entre la cordura y locura, entre fantasia y realidad; muchas veces no sabes realmente si es cierto lo que le está pasando o solo el resultado de su mente atormentada.
"¿Qué había visto Abby en el abismo del sueño? La había invadido una especie de parálisis convulsiva. Willem se sentía como si luchara contra algo, contra otro ser, una criatura, algo que tenía presa a su mujer y se negaba a soltarla."
Y otro tema que le interesa mucho a esta autora y que ha surgido en muchas de sus novelas, sobre todo en los últimos años es el del soldado que vuelve de la guerra, concretamente de la de Irak, y a su vuelta a casa, ve que no encaja, que no es aceptado y cuya mente en muchos momentos no es capaz de reconocer la realidad que había dejado antes de marcharse y al mismo tiempo trae a cuestas toda una mochila repleta de situaciones aterradoras vividas, que derivan en un trastorno de estrés postraumático.
Uno de los talentos de esta autora y uno de los motivos por los que me gusta tanto, es que tiene una habilidad especial de hablar de cosas que normalmente no se cuentan, ese tabú ancestral escondido del que nos aterra hablar. Es capaz de de verbalizar eso tan difícil como es el tormento de la mente cuando está en la cuerda floja, y como he comentado antes, Abby es el personaje "oatiano" perfecto en este sentido, porque ella que tiene una pesadilla recurrente crónica en la cual vaga por un campo de esqueletos y huesos, y que apenas la dejan dormir, cree que puede encontrar la paz casada con el chico americano perfecto. Y aquí la Oates vuelve a ironizar sobre las bondades del matrimonio y sobre las apariencias en las que se escudan las perfectas familias americanas. Y en el camino nos está hablando de un cierto talibanismo religioso, de racismo y de la América profunda a la hora de exiliar a los que son de fuera. Y al mismo tiempo nos habla de las pesadillas de Abby relacionadas con un pasado que se va desenterrando poco a poco y en un plis plas, nos ha contado un cuento de terror al más puro estilo gótico.
"Con tiempo de sobra para darle vueltas y más vueltas a sus pensamientos, como quien revuelve la tierra con una pala.
La mujer y la niña... son suyas.
¿Por qué debería un hombre renunciar a sus posesiones? No debería hacerlo y no lo hará".
Me encanta la Oates aunque también es cierto que en esta última etapa, siento que le falta algo a sus personajes, que no están terminados de desarrollar, parece que a sus personajes les falta un último trazo para estar terminados de profundizar en ellos, pero esos son pequeños defectos, nímios si lo comparamos con la facilidad que tiene para construirnos toda una historia que al final no deja de ser otra cosa que un cuento sobre lo terriblemente compleja que es la mente humana.
"Echa a correr. Trata de liberarte. Inténtalo."
"De jovencita, aprendes a no ofender a los extraños con tu rechazo. En particular a los hombres. A los extraños, pero tampoco a los jefes. Ni a los profesores, en sus tiempos de estudiante. Siempre sonriente y cordial, porque eras una chica guapa, sí, pero si dices lo que no toca o no sonríes con la vivacidad que se espera, un hombre puede volverse muy desagradable rápidamente."
Otro tema que surge una y otra vez en sus novelas es la violencia contra la mujer, una violencia que muchas mujeres sufren desde niñas por el solo hecho de haber nacido mujeres. En novelas más extensas, esta autora monta todo un ensayo psicológico en torno a este tema disfrazado de thriller, solo hay que leer sus novelas usando su pseudónimo como Rosamond Smith. Sus reflexiones en torno a los tópicos femeninos de la mujer como víctima (exageradamente narrados para incidir en que la mujer no es solo victima, también verdugo) siempre están perfectamente documentados y es evidente que esta autora domina la psicología forense en torno a ciertos perfiles, y Abby encaja perfectamente en este perfil en el límite entre la cordura y locura, entre fantasia y realidad; muchas veces no sabes realmente si es cierto lo que le está pasando o solo el resultado de su mente atormentada.
"¿Qué había visto Abby en el abismo del sueño? La había invadido una especie de parálisis convulsiva. Willem se sentía como si luchara contra algo, contra otro ser, una criatura, algo que tenía presa a su mujer y se negaba a soltarla."
Y otro tema que le interesa mucho a esta autora y que ha surgido en muchas de sus novelas, sobre todo en los últimos años es el del soldado que vuelve de la guerra, concretamente de la de Irak, y a su vuelta a casa, ve que no encaja, que no es aceptado y cuya mente en muchos momentos no es capaz de reconocer la realidad que había dejado antes de marcharse y al mismo tiempo trae a cuestas toda una mochila repleta de situaciones aterradoras vividas, que derivan en un trastorno de estrés postraumático.
Uno de los talentos de esta autora y uno de los motivos por los que me gusta tanto, es que tiene una habilidad especial de hablar de cosas que normalmente no se cuentan, ese tabú ancestral escondido del que nos aterra hablar. Es capaz de de verbalizar eso tan difícil como es el tormento de la mente cuando está en la cuerda floja, y como he comentado antes, Abby es el personaje "oatiano" perfecto en este sentido, porque ella que tiene una pesadilla recurrente crónica en la cual vaga por un campo de esqueletos y huesos, y que apenas la dejan dormir, cree que puede encontrar la paz casada con el chico americano perfecto. Y aquí la Oates vuelve a ironizar sobre las bondades del matrimonio y sobre las apariencias en las que se escudan las perfectas familias americanas. Y en el camino nos está hablando de un cierto talibanismo religioso, de racismo y de la América profunda a la hora de exiliar a los que son de fuera. Y al mismo tiempo nos habla de las pesadillas de Abby relacionadas con un pasado que se va desenterrando poco a poco y en un plis plas, nos ha contado un cuento de terror al más puro estilo gótico.
"Con tiempo de sobra para darle vueltas y más vueltas a sus pensamientos, como quien revuelve la tierra con una pala.
La mujer y la niña... son suyas.
¿Por qué debería un hombre renunciar a sus posesiones? No debería hacerlo y no lo hará".
Me encanta la Oates aunque también es cierto que en esta última etapa, siento que le falta algo a sus personajes, que no están terminados de desarrollar, parece que a sus personajes les falta un último trazo para estar terminados de profundizar en ellos, pero esos son pequeños defectos, nímios si lo comparamos con la facilidad que tiene para construirnos toda una historia que al final no deja de ser otra cosa que un cuento sobre lo terriblemente compleja que es la mente humana.
"Echa a correr. Trata de liberarte. Inténtalo."
October 13, 2019
The nightmare has plagued Abby since childhood. Skeletons in a field. The skulls in the grass. She thought the dream was finally gone for good, but on the eve of her wedding, it returns. In a panic, strange thoughts flooding her head, Abby runs off a city bus and is struck by a car. While recuperating, she opens up to her new husband, Willem. There are so many secrets....
This story is suspenseful and builds slowly, revealing Abby's life little bit by little bit. It isn't an exciting, edge of your seat sort of burn....but a very atmospheric, strange but compelling story. Abby reveals her life slowly. It shows the depth of feeling and trust she has for Willem. The story switches back and forth from Abby to Willem's POV several times. Usually I don't really care for bouncing POV, but in this case, it really works.
This is the first full-length novel by Joyce Carol Oates that I've read. Yeah, I know....I'm late to the party. I have no excuse....just ponderous TBR and only so much time. After reading two short stories by Oates -- Miao Dao and The Sign of the Beast -- I knew I needed to delve into her gigantic list of published novels. I enjoyed this book. I will definitely be reading more of her work!
I think what I liked best about this story was the slow build. Oates doesn't hurry. She doesn't use quick action to build her story, rather she lets it tumble out just like Abby's rambling revelations about her parents and childhood. Her writing style and word choices help build the feeling of panic, helplessness, and secrets. Pursuit is well written. Very enjoyable read -- dark and more than a bit creepy.
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Grove Atlantic. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
This story is suspenseful and builds slowly, revealing Abby's life little bit by little bit. It isn't an exciting, edge of your seat sort of burn....but a very atmospheric, strange but compelling story. Abby reveals her life slowly. It shows the depth of feeling and trust she has for Willem. The story switches back and forth from Abby to Willem's POV several times. Usually I don't really care for bouncing POV, but in this case, it really works.
This is the first full-length novel by Joyce Carol Oates that I've read. Yeah, I know....I'm late to the party. I have no excuse....just ponderous TBR and only so much time. After reading two short stories by Oates -- Miao Dao and The Sign of the Beast -- I knew I needed to delve into her gigantic list of published novels. I enjoyed this book. I will definitely be reading more of her work!
I think what I liked best about this story was the slow build. Oates doesn't hurry. She doesn't use quick action to build her story, rather she lets it tumble out just like Abby's rambling revelations about her parents and childhood. Her writing style and word choices help build the feeling of panic, helplessness, and secrets. Pursuit is well written. Very enjoyable read -- dark and more than a bit creepy.
**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book from Grove Atlantic. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.**
September 4, 2019
Joyce Carol Oates is back (though she never left) with a short novel of dark suspense that explores the life and inner psychology of Abby, a young newlywed. The morning after her wedding she steps in front of a bus, landing herself in the intensive care unit. Why would she do such a thing? And why is she haunted by a dream of discovering two skeletons in a field of tall grass?
For the first tenth or so of this long novella I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, for the characters took some time to grow on me and I was waiting for the trademark JCO menace. Sometimes her stories take a little time to work their way under the skin, and boy, once this got going I couldn’t stop reading.
After over six decades of publishing JCO could easily rest on her laurels—hell, she could decide to retire and not publish at all. Instead, she continues to churn out wholly original, involving works like this: stories that spike the reader’s blood pressure while examining the darkest, most honest aspects of humanity. Some passages of The Pursuit actually turned my stomach, and I wanted to quit reading ... but I couldn’t. And, of course, by the story’s end I felt drained, spent—which is how I always feel after reading a work by Oates, arguably the finest living storyteller.
The Pursuit is out on October 1, and it is perfect for Halloween reading! It perfectly combines elements of suspense and horror, making it another fine addition to the JCO catalogue. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Read for the ‘favorite author’ square in Halloween Bingo.
For the first tenth or so of this long novella I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, for the characters took some time to grow on me and I was waiting for the trademark JCO menace. Sometimes her stories take a little time to work their way under the skin, and boy, once this got going I couldn’t stop reading.
After over six decades of publishing JCO could easily rest on her laurels—hell, she could decide to retire and not publish at all. Instead, she continues to churn out wholly original, involving works like this: stories that spike the reader’s blood pressure while examining the darkest, most honest aspects of humanity. Some passages of The Pursuit actually turned my stomach, and I wanted to quit reading ... but I couldn’t. And, of course, by the story’s end I felt drained, spent—which is how I always feel after reading a work by Oates, arguably the finest living storyteller.
The Pursuit is out on October 1, and it is perfect for Halloween reading! It perfectly combines elements of suspense and horror, making it another fine addition to the JCO catalogue. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.
Read for the ‘favorite author’ square in Halloween Bingo.
September 2, 2019
4 ☆ This might be a short book but it packed a whole lot of punch. It explores main character Abby’s life, starting with a nightmarish dream of skeletons in a field the night before her wedding, leading up to her horrific accident the day after the wedding, questioning was it “accidental or purposeful.” The story is then told in alternating storylines of her family history and childhood, disturbing and intense I had to step away from reading several times. The different POV of the mother, father, aunt, and husband all weave together to create a dark, thought-provoking journey for the reader. Caution for domestic violence, sexual assault, PTSD and its consequences.
*An Arc was provided by Mysterious Press via NetGalley for an honest review*
*An Arc was provided by Mysterious Press via NetGalley for an honest review*
October 13, 2019
I really didn't like the writing style of this book. It's the first time I've read Joyce Carol Oates and I'm not going to pick up any more works of hers. I didn't like any of the characters, and didn't find it very thrilling or horrific. There's really nothing good that I can say about this.
December 8, 2019
The best suspense novels always have a teasing ambiguity about whether you can trust the characters at the centre of their stories. Abby, the protagonist of Joyce Carol Oates’s most recent novel of suspense PURSUIT, can barely trust herself. At the start of the book she steps in front of a bus (whether on accident or on purpose is unclear) and is rushed to hospital with a concussion. Willem, who Abby only just married the day before, stays faithfully by her side and hopes to discover the reason why she has such persistently disturbing nightmares. Abby’s past is shrouded in secrecy as Willem has never met any of her family and eventually learns that her birth name was entirely different from the one she uses.
What follows is the tale of Abby’s self-invention born out of a violent upbringing and a broken home similar to that of Oates’ previous novel THE GRAVEDIGGER’S DAUGHTER, but here there is a gothic pallor to the atmosphere steeped in a consciousness so traumatized that Abby can scarcely separate fantasy from fact. There’s a teasing ambiguity to this story which entrances the reader with its swift momentum as well as its chillingly precise psychological and physical details. In trying to free herself from the catastrophic destruction of her parents’ marriage, Abby becomes tragically entombed within a fairy tale of her own creation.
Read my full review of Pursuit by Joyce Carol Oates on LonesomeReader
What follows is the tale of Abby’s self-invention born out of a violent upbringing and a broken home similar to that of Oates’ previous novel THE GRAVEDIGGER’S DAUGHTER, but here there is a gothic pallor to the atmosphere steeped in a consciousness so traumatized that Abby can scarcely separate fantasy from fact. There’s a teasing ambiguity to this story which entrances the reader with its swift momentum as well as its chillingly precise psychological and physical details. In trying to free herself from the catastrophic destruction of her parents’ marriage, Abby becomes tragically entombed within a fairy tale of her own creation.
Read my full review of Pursuit by Joyce Carol Oates on LonesomeReader
November 16, 2019
Abby has just met and married the man of her dreams. But as her wedding fast approaches she begins to feel as if she does not deserve to be happy. She finds herself having confusing nightmares about skeletons and awful feelings of dread.
Then, less than 24 hours after she has married, Abby steps off and is hit by a bus causing her to almost die. As her husband Willem sits lovingly by her side and waits for her to wake up, he can’t help but wonder if his wife accidentally or intentionally caused the accident.
Abby refuses to answer this question, but as she grows stronger and she begins to see Willem’s true love for her, she starts to reveal truths she has kept hidden since her childhood. Willem makes the decision that in order for Abby to completely heal, they must go back to her childhood town and revisit what happened.
It is then that Abby must confront the abuses she and her mother endured many years ago at the hands of her father.
Oates has once again written an intense psychological horror story with a narrative which goes back to the past and then to the present and with an ending which although is quite sad, if filled with hope.
Pursuit is a haunting tale of abuse, murder and salvation.
Then, less than 24 hours after she has married, Abby steps off and is hit by a bus causing her to almost die. As her husband Willem sits lovingly by her side and waits for her to wake up, he can’t help but wonder if his wife accidentally or intentionally caused the accident.
Abby refuses to answer this question, but as she grows stronger and she begins to see Willem’s true love for her, she starts to reveal truths she has kept hidden since her childhood. Willem makes the decision that in order for Abby to completely heal, they must go back to her childhood town and revisit what happened.
It is then that Abby must confront the abuses she and her mother endured many years ago at the hands of her father.
Oates has once again written an intense psychological horror story with a narrative which goes back to the past and then to the present and with an ending which although is quite sad, if filled with hope.
Pursuit is a haunting tale of abuse, murder and salvation.
July 22, 2019
This is a dark mystery, not just in its plot but in the characterisation of some deeply vulnerable and disturbed people. Most of the time I wasn't sure who to believe with four different POVs competing for the underlying truth. I stopped trying to resolve this mystery and just had to go with the flow. This was the antithesis of a page turner, I didn't really want to know what happened next, but of course, it is human nature to keep reading. In the end it wasn't as bad as my imagined fears, but it was still brutal and gross.
With thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
With thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
August 28, 2021
A darker kind of thriller story. Very enaaging read and I'm eager to continue on with my reading Joyce Carol Oates journey I'm on
October 29, 2020
Impecable!
July 15, 2019
4 stars--I can't say I really LIKED reading this book, but wow it was effective. Warnings for sexual assault and domestic abuse.
Joyce Carol Oates is my favorite non-horror horror writer. She really knows how to make me suffer for her characters. Reading her books, for me, is to experience that sinking-gut feeling the whole way through.
This is a short, brutal little book about some really horrible things. But it's not gratuitous violence, and its strength is in how much it makes you feel for the characters. The ending isn't really happy, but has a strong element of hope. Really devastating and well done.
I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!
Joyce Carol Oates is my favorite non-horror horror writer. She really knows how to make me suffer for her characters. Reading her books, for me, is to experience that sinking-gut feeling the whole way through.
This is a short, brutal little book about some really horrible things. But it's not gratuitous violence, and its strength is in how much it makes you feel for the characters. The ending isn't really happy, but has a strong element of hope. Really devastating and well done.
I received this review copy from the publisher on NetGalley. Thanks for the opportunity to read and review; I appreciate it!
February 9, 2021
Esperaba más.
October 6, 2019
Joyce Carol Oates has long been on my list of authors to try. So I finally did, and read this novel about a woman who gets married but steps in front of a bus, trying to flee the voices in her head. The rest of the short novel is about the voices and really shifts off of who I thought would be the main character. I'm not sure if this is typical of JCO but I found the pacing to be a little uneven and the violence to be more than I usually like in books. But she may just not be for me.
ETA: When I posted this review in Instagram and Litsy, I got a lot of feedback from people who said that JCO writes in multiple genres and her books are not all the same. Also many people suggesting I should try We Were the Mulvaneys.
I had an eARC from the publisher through NetGalley; it came out October 1.
ETA: When I posted this review in Instagram and Litsy, I got a lot of feedback from people who said that JCO writes in multiple genres and her books are not all the same. Also many people suggesting I should try We Were the Mulvaneys.
I had an eARC from the publisher through NetGalley; it came out October 1.
July 7, 2023
Setting: New York State, USA.
At 20 years of age, Abby has just got married to Willem. She hopes that getting married will put an end to the nightmares that have haunted her since her childhood - but they haven't. Both on the eve of her wedding and on the bus on the way to work on the day after the ceremony, she is again besieged by the visions from her past - she gets off the bus early and steps in front of it as it pulls away, causing her serious injuries. Her husband is by her side in the hospital, but is determined to discover why she did what she did. So Abby has to reveal the story of her unusual upbringing to him, together with details of the haunting nightmares that plague her....
The story commences with Abby as an adult but she also reflects on her childhood, when her father left home and then her mother apparently abandoned her when she was just five years old and she ended up being raised by an aunt, her father's older sister Tracie. Strangely, Abby ended up living at the farm where her father had been raised - and, in exploring the banks of the nearby creek, made a discovery which, as a young child, she could not understand: two human skeletons together with skulls. The dream which has haunted Abby since childhood is being 'pursued' by the people to whom the skeletons belong and, as the story unfolds, it explains all about the relationship between her mother and father and what happened between them when Abby was a child.
Another disturbing story yet also a masterclass in writing from the pen of this prolific and ever-readable author, whose books I automatically pick up if I see them in a shop or library - 9/10.
At 20 years of age, Abby has just got married to Willem. She hopes that getting married will put an end to the nightmares that have haunted her since her childhood - but they haven't. Both on the eve of her wedding and on the bus on the way to work on the day after the ceremony, she is again besieged by the visions from her past - she gets off the bus early and steps in front of it as it pulls away, causing her serious injuries. Her husband is by her side in the hospital, but is determined to discover why she did what she did. So Abby has to reveal the story of her unusual upbringing to him, together with details of the haunting nightmares that plague her....
The story commences with Abby as an adult but she also reflects on her childhood, when her father left home and then her mother apparently abandoned her when she was just five years old and she ended up being raised by an aunt, her father's older sister Tracie. Strangely, Abby ended up living at the farm where her father had been raised - and, in exploring the banks of the nearby creek, made a discovery which, as a young child, she could not understand: two human skeletons together with skulls. The dream which has haunted Abby since childhood is being 'pursued' by the people to whom the skeletons belong and, as the story unfolds, it explains all about the relationship between her mother and father and what happened between them when Abby was a child.
Another disturbing story yet also a masterclass in writing from the pen of this prolific and ever-readable author, whose books I automatically pick up if I see them in a shop or library - 9/10.
August 18, 2019
I am a fan of Joyce Carol Oates' short stories (Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been is deliciously suspenseful and psychologically nuanced) but not necessarily her novels. Good thing for me, then, that The Pursuit seems more of a long short story than a fully-fleshed novel.
A character who has renamed herself Abby has spooky dreams about a field of skulls and bones. Her new husband, Willem, a devout Christian, marries her without doubts or questions despite the fact that he has never met her relatives and only seems to know her superficially. The day after the wedding, Abby steps out in traffic and is confined to a hospital, fighting for her life.
The question is: why? And why is there a red rash-like mark on her wrist? The answers lie in the past with her parents, and JCO devotes a large part of this short novel unfolding the parents' story and the ghoulish events that occurred after the couple part. The up-close-and-personal look at a father back from Iraq with PTSD and a mother who tries to keep him at bay is finely drawn and very unsettling.
It's not the finest psychological suspense novel ever; I prefer more open-ended and ambiguous endings and I wondered how Abby had fallen through the cracks in such an extreme way. But it kept me turning pages and wanting to find out more.
A character who has renamed herself Abby has spooky dreams about a field of skulls and bones. Her new husband, Willem, a devout Christian, marries her without doubts or questions despite the fact that he has never met her relatives and only seems to know her superficially. The day after the wedding, Abby steps out in traffic and is confined to a hospital, fighting for her life.
The question is: why? And why is there a red rash-like mark on her wrist? The answers lie in the past with her parents, and JCO devotes a large part of this short novel unfolding the parents' story and the ghoulish events that occurred after the couple part. The up-close-and-personal look at a father back from Iraq with PTSD and a mother who tries to keep him at bay is finely drawn and very unsettling.
It's not the finest psychological suspense novel ever; I prefer more open-ended and ambiguous endings and I wondered how Abby had fallen through the cracks in such an extreme way. But it kept me turning pages and wanting to find out more.
March 12, 2021
Ufff, pues un enganchón, eh, sin parar. Qué tensión y qué mal me han caído todos los personajes, excepto Dominique, y tal vez Nicola. A pesar de lo cual no he podido dejar de leer. Tenía ganas de algo de Joyce Carol Oates y desde luego me ha convencido cien por cien. Qué historia tan concentrada y qué tensa.
June 17, 2020
Cuando una se asoma al perfil de IG de Joyce Carol Oates se topa con jardines, plantas, animales domésticos y guisos. Escenas bucólicas imposibles de relacionar con la violencia, la opresión psicólogica y el terror que sufren sus personajes en Persecución. Que nadie me malinterprete: no digo que la señora tenga que parecer una psycho killer o vivir en una mazmorra para que me resulte coherente. Eso sería una sandez.
Sin embargo, el contraste entre las imágenes con flores y perritos de su feed y las imágenes con esqueletos y huesos que ha dejado grabados a fuego en mi cerebro me ha pillado desprevenida. Ojo, lejos de resultarme chocante, me divierte e incrementa la intriga que me produce.
Creo que Oates es como una tuneladora cavando en la parte más oscura de la mente humana. Consigue que sospeches de todos en este thriller psicológico cuya potencia visual ha hecho que, a pesar de su altísimo nivel literario, recuerde esta historia más como una película que como una novela.
Es cierto que en algunas partes se pone repetitiva o densa de más, pero después comprendes que esa indagación exhaustiva y en bucle era necesaria; justo cuando te das cuenta de que "el malo de la peli" te tiene totalmente acojonada
Me lo he pasado bien. ¿Me recomendáis mi siguiente Oates?
Sin embargo, el contraste entre las imágenes con flores y perritos de su feed y las imágenes con esqueletos y huesos que ha dejado grabados a fuego en mi cerebro me ha pillado desprevenida. Ojo, lejos de resultarme chocante, me divierte e incrementa la intriga que me produce.
Creo que Oates es como una tuneladora cavando en la parte más oscura de la mente humana. Consigue que sospeches de todos en este thriller psicológico cuya potencia visual ha hecho que, a pesar de su altísimo nivel literario, recuerde esta historia más como una película que como una novela.
Es cierto que en algunas partes se pone repetitiva o densa de más, pero después comprendes que esa indagación exhaustiva y en bucle era necesaria; justo cuando te das cuenta de que "el malo de la peli" te tiene totalmente acojonada
Me lo he pasado bien. ¿Me recomendáis mi siguiente Oates?
July 12, 2019
Wow. This was intense. It’s such a short book, practically a novella, yet it packs a potent emotional punch, pretty much as you would expect from a tale of a relationship gone very very wrong. Skeletons, though not in the proverbial closet, but still…skeletons, skeletal remains haunt a new bride, tearing away at her until she steps into the traffic. She survives, but the question is will she be able to properly recover, not just physically, but also mentally. And then the readers are taken into the past to witness a devastating tragedy that was her parents’ marriage. PTSD driven paranoia, jealousy and violence of a man returning from war as he fails to reenter his family life, eventually spiraling into a genuinely horrific event. The story is told in a sort of steam of consciousness narration, it completely immerses the readers into its nightmarish reality. In fact, Abby’s (the young bride’s) story pales in comparison with her mother’s, but the two work well in tandem to provide a sort of…well, not happy per se, but at least a semi optimistic resolution so that the sins of her father don’t have to extoll such a heavy cost for so long. Really quite a powerhouse of a story. This one should definitely be read in one sitting. Uncharacteristically I didn’t manage to do that, because, you know, life, but really set aside some time and don’t out this down until it’s over, maintain the narrative momentum and all that. Very good read. Recommended for fans of dark psychological fiction. Thanks Netgalley.
March 17, 2020
A staccato-burst of a book, in that there are all these separate elements - punch-punch-punch! - and you can't quite make how one goes with the other, the other, the other...
Sort of.
A young woman steps in front of a bus the day after she's married. She's comatose, near death, watched over by her loving and heavily-invested, adoring, caring husband. There are flashbacks and forwards and it's confusing as heck at times until it all sort of comes together. It's like watching someone knitting a very complicated pattern into an already multi-colored sweater. (Ever seen this done? And without a look at the pattern book? Yeah, I have.) And you're told, it'll all come together, wait and see. Then it does!
Like this book. With elements of 'maybe' child abuse or neglect, and a huge dose of PTSD, and an interlacing of several characters who you will alternately like, hate, then maybe just tolerate as you understand them, this is a complex, fairly short novel for lovers of Ms. Oates.
I liked it. I often go back and forth with her work, but this was a good one.
Four stars.
Sort of.
A young woman steps in front of a bus the day after she's married. She's comatose, near death, watched over by her loving and heavily-invested, adoring, caring husband. There are flashbacks and forwards and it's confusing as heck at times until it all sort of comes together. It's like watching someone knitting a very complicated pattern into an already multi-colored sweater. (Ever seen this done? And without a look at the pattern book? Yeah, I have.) And you're told, it'll all come together, wait and see. Then it does!
Like this book. With elements of 'maybe' child abuse or neglect, and a huge dose of PTSD, and an interlacing of several characters who you will alternately like, hate, then maybe just tolerate as you understand them, this is a complex, fairly short novel for lovers of Ms. Oates.
I liked it. I often go back and forth with her work, but this was a good one.
Four stars.
August 12, 2019
Pursuit is a short book, but an intense one. Young, conservative Abby is haunted by nightmares. The day after she marries Willem, she runs out of a bus and into traffic. The question the doctors have--and the one that haunts Willem--is whether this was on purpose. Willem is naive, the product of a regimented upbringing by a strict and self-righteous fundamentalist Christian family that says no to everything remotely fun, and has no idea what Abby is hiding.
As Abby heals slowly, in fits and starts, the story unspools. Perspectives change throughout Pursuit. There are reasons why Abby's family wasn't involved with her wedding. They will become obvious.
This is a story of horrific events and flawed people. This is also a story of learning who to trust, of opening up, and of healing. A good read for any Joyce Carol Oates fan.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
As Abby heals slowly, in fits and starts, the story unspools. Perspectives change throughout Pursuit. There are reasons why Abby's family wasn't involved with her wedding. They will become obvious.
This is a story of horrific events and flawed people. This is also a story of learning who to trust, of opening up, and of healing. A good read for any Joyce Carol Oates fan.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.
October 9, 2021
Entretenido, crudo y con varios giros inesperados. Mantiene la tensión hasta el final. Joyce Carol Oates es una excelente narradora.
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