Blood Mask

by Lauren Kelly

The Barnes & Noble Review
Under her Lauren Kelly pseudonym, Joyce Carol Oates explores the wildly subjective world of experimental art in her third suspense novel, following Take Me, Take Me with You and The Stolen Heart.



Drewe Hillebrand, the controversial benefactor of an avant-garde artists' colony, is kidnapped from her estate on the Hudson River, along with her niece, Annemarie Straube. Then hikers report something frantically crawling in the underbrush in a remote area of Shale River Mountain State Park -- a wounded animal, perhaps -- and the investigating rangers find Annemarie with massive amounts of crystal meth in her body. She recovers, but her disjointed recollections don't offer many substantial clues as to what took place. The only evidence is a destroyed work of art that Hillebrand commissioned years earlier, a frozen bust of herself covered in her own coagulated blood -- a blood mask -- sculpted by a radical "bio-anatomical" artist. Is it revolutionary art? Blatant sensationalism? Intentional blasphemy? An avant-garde prelude to murder?



The shocking bio-art featured in these pages is a disturbing metaphor for the entire novel. Blood Mask will not only leave readers wondering till the very end where (and why) Drewe Hillebrand disappeared, but also raise serious questions about self-image, prejudice, devotion, and the societal importance of artistic expression -- a page-turner of the highest order. Paul Goat Allen

Genres: Suspense, Fiction, Mystery, Novels

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

There is more than one author with this name in the GR database. This is Lauren^Kelly, one of the pseudonyms used by Joyce Carol Oates.

Reviews

[Thomas Stroemquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this quite dark story. Obviously, with JCO writing as Lauren Kelly, you get her brilliance and bittersweetness packaged in a shorter and seemingly “thriller” format. I’m going to have to check her others under this pen name. Recommended!

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall I enjoyed the story. The description did seem to be a bit misleading, as the involvement of bio-art was not to the extent the back cover seemed to imply. The style might not be to everyone's taste, as it's somewhat disjointed at times, particularly at the beginning. This echoes Marta's mental state, even in later chapters which begin with a quotation that lead her to then pull forth the associated memory. The story is all in her head, which has been affected. There are a few different themes throughout, and I'm sure I missed a lot of it because I went through the book in a day, but I particularly liked how Drewe was so strongly drawn to grotesque art, to hiding identities, to describing normal people as having small souls. The things she found truly impressive and beautiful were those disturbing things people kept buried away. She wanted to both see them and not have to come into contact with them at all. Despite the somewhat misleading description, I still found the book to be good.

[Candice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates rarely lets me down and she certainly didn't in Blood Mask.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terrible torture and abuse in the guise of family love. Joyce Carol Oates writing as Lauren Kelly - more blood than beauty.

[Libscigrl · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Joyce Carol Oates as her lightest...Lauren Kelly is just one of her pseudonyms that she wrote under for a brief spell. For those that find JCO difficult to read, this is a lot easier...less stream of consciousness, more precise story telling.

However, keeping with her typical dark style, the story itself is very JCO. Diabolical, a little confusing and twisty, slightly morbid, though not overtly grotesque. It is the story of Annabelle (who becomes Marta), a teenager sent to live with her rich, art-influenced (influencing) aunt after her parents become incapable of caring for her. What first seems like a dream come true (moving from a broken home to a mansion) quickly becomes a nightmare of manipulation, unrequited love and a struggle to prove loyalty.

A pretty quick read, yet not amazingly profound in any way. Great for those who'd like to dabble in a little JCO to peak behind those dark brocade curtains of her mind.

[Randy Ladenheim-Gil · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm usually a sucker for Joyce Carol Oates under any name, but this one was tedious. I stuck with it, but now I'm a little irritated with myself that I gave it as much time as I did.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was expecting more bio-art info or story.

[Véronique]

Intrigant, mais un brin emmerdant aussi. Elle est fatiguée Mme Oates, même sous un pseudonyme.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was very hard to read. There were no whole sentences and the thoughts were random. Not sure what was real time and what was memory. not a fan!

[Michele bookloverforever · Rating 4 out of 5]

leaves you wondering.

[Tina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Det blir nog inga fler Oates nu...

[Kansas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tenia mucha curiosidad por leer a Lauren Kelly que no es otra que Joyce Carol Oates escribiendo bajo seudónimo; tenia curiosidad por ver si cambiaba en algo su estilo, su narrativa y sin embargo, no veo la diferencia. La Oates como Lauren Kelly sigue siendo prodigiosa, brillante, imaginativa;una novela de suspense que es solo una excusa, una vez más para profundizar en sus personajes, para bucear en la oscuridad no solo en los múltiples recovecos de la personalidad, sino tambien bucear en ciertos temas, en este caso, el arte, los artistas y todo ese mundo gira en torno a las galerias de arte. Totalmente recomendable especialmente para los fans de Joyce Carol Oates.