Joyce Carol Oates discussion

I had heard much about Oates over the years, but I tend to be skeptical of the hype over much-praised contemporary authors and thus had never read her work. I was looking for novels with a few very specific themes and scenarios set in a particular time period and happened upon "You Must Remember This." It was the first time in a long time I'd read a book that made me want to run out and read more of the author's work immediately. I was then further intrigued when I was planning what to read next and saw what an immense variety of topics and approaches Oates had explored in her many novels. How could any one person have written so much about so many things? I've been going through all her novels and story collections since then and cannot say I've ever found anything close to a "flop" among them.

I don't know where I started with her. I love The Falls, Middle Age, the Wonderland trilogy, We were the Mulvaneys, Tattoed Girl. I am amazed by her and have devoured everything she has written. I still have so much more to read on my list. I loved Mudwoman - thought it was typical Oates, but didn't get great reviews. Her work is very personal though. I like some better than others, but they are all great - short stories too. I have not read Blonde or Firefox and I've heard these were her best so I'm ready.

I just bought "Mudwoman" and it's on my list to be read as soon as I finished a few things that I promised to read with friends. I was surprised by the poor reviews, so I'll see how it goes.

I never go by that. Reading is so personal. There were books I didn't care for that people loved and vice versa.

I know what you mean, Sunny. That's why I have trouble finding books sometimes: my tastes are eclectic, so recommendations don't always work for me. But with Ostes, I've liked almost everything except for, of course, the occasional short story here and there. So I went ahead and bought "Mudwoman" in hardcover, whereas, with most authors, unless I'm reading with friends or a group, I wait for the paperback unless the book sounds so good that I can't wait for some reason. I'm looking forward to reading it.

It's very good and very different and typically Oates. Have you read the Wonderland series? It's worth the time - its phenomenal!

I loved the Wonderland series! Incredible! :)

OH I know. I thought it was flawless writing. I wish I could get pleasure out of every book the way I enjoyed that series!

I read on a kindle now and no where can I get Blonde or Foxfire in Large Print. I need the Large Print or the big print of the kindle. Blonde isn't on the kindle as far as I know. Probably I could get Foxfire.

I'm a librarian in a high school. I want the kids to read books and they are, but I absolutely love my kindle because of the ease on the eyes. I am reading a YA book at school called The Fault in Our Stars and its big enough print, but I found myself pressing the side of the page, as if it was a kindle. Anyway its a poor area, where I work and the kids are loving the urban lit books, so that makes me happy.

Your job sounds awesome! :) :) I do some work with adult literacy and have organized book clubs to encourage adults to read, so I know how rewarding it is to get people into books.

I don't use a Kindle, and the few times that I've tried it, I kept trying to treat the Kindle as if it was a book. It was really strange for me. Think I'll always be a book person, as long as my eyes hold out.

I became a librarian a long time ago and people laughed at me....now I'm laughing last with a great job of making a difference and a good salary. When Ihad my third son, went back and got certified as a library teacher. It paid off - I love the HS. the kids are great, really great.
My husband bought me a kindle for Mother's Day about 3 years ago and I got hooked. I love it. I take it to the gym and nail salon - its so easy. We have a whole library of hard and soft covers - we are both book people - so we have a lot of books. We made our family room into a library!

How about The Falls and Rage?

I haven't read "Rage." I loved "The Falls."

Yes, The Falls was one of my favorites

The first Oates book I ever read was "We were the Mulvaneys". I read it last fall and was hooked. I subsequently read "The Falls", and "The Gravedigger's Daughter". I LOVE her writing. It is almost poetic. I have found that I have to read her books slowly to truly appreciate the beauty of her writings. I also have to complete her books and then reflect on the various themes she is trying to get across.

Mine was 'Middle Age: A Romance' then 'We Were the Mulvaneys.' Her writing does read like a stream of poetry. Beautiful, sometimes-so-wretched-I-feel-like-throwing-up-in-sadness stuff.

It was either Blond or The Falls. Have still some of her work to track down and read even though I've read so many. Unbelievably prolific writer!

Claudine wrote: "Mine was 'Middle Age: A Romance' then 'We Were the Mulvaneys.' Her writing does read like a stream of poetry. Beautiful, sometimes-so-wretched-I-feel-like-throwing-up-in-sadness stuff."

Love the way you describe JCO - Claudine!

I think that "wretched" is an especially good word choice. It perfectly describes something Oates can do in her work that other writers cannot.

There's nobody like her. She creates raw emotion in her characters and we, as readers, respond in kind.

I didn't know that she was on Twitter. I just read Black Water this summer. I liked it a lot.

I read Black Water last year and thought it was very well-written. Good novella. Black Girl, White Girl was great!

Stolen Heart: A Novel of Suspense. Not my favorite work of hers, but it led me to seek her out. It is written under her ghost name Lauren Kelly.

I love her short stories and enjoyed two or three novels, but reading My Heart Laid Bare got me hooked and led to me buying all of her work. I try to keep up, but she writes so fast! Bellefleur is fascinating, and once again made me reconsider just how brilliant she is as an author.

I haven't read those, but I love the fact that she's written so much. I've read all of a few of my other favorite authors' work, and there's always that sad feeling when I finish the last page and know that that's it. With Oates, I've probably read 10 or 15 books and have barely scratched the surface. More to read for years! :)

Lucinda wrote: "I haven't read those, but I love the fact that she's written so much. I've read all of a few of my other favorite authors' work, and there's always that sad feeling when I finish the last page and..."

I love that about her too. It's a challenge I enjoy to get hold of all her books.

I don't remember either when I started but I was a teenager - in any case the first strong memory was We were the Mulvaneys, and one of my favorites that was really a book that got me through a hard time was My Heart Laid Bare. I am French so I read her in French most of my life, and I am happy to report she is not lost in translation!

"them" was my very first!

That was a good one, Laurene. Never a dull moment in that book!

Them was my first JCO book, as well. I was in high school and was starving for something different to read. I remember being thoroughly entertained.

My first book was Foxfire, which I read about 20 years ago. I had never even heard of her, I just thought the cover was intriguing. Since then I have read more than 50 of her books and seen her speak several times. What I Lived For is definitely my favorite.

I just recently discovered Oates. The first book that I read was Bellefleur which I fell completely in love with. I was devastated to turn the last page and immediately began a quest to acquire as much of her work as possible. Her writing is lyric and mesmerizing in a way that I have never experienced before. I plan on reading A Bloodsmoor Romance next and can't wait! I also received the Wonderland Quartet for Christmas and can't wait to jump into that as well!

It just makes me happy to read how engaged we are with her works, each work a different engagement. I read TWO OR THREE THINGS I FORGOT TO TELL YOU and LITTLE BIRD OF HEAVEN last year. Looking forward to THE FALLS and another 1-2 more this year. Happy reading, guys!

The Falls is amazing. I'm about to read My Sister, My Love

Sunny wrote: "The Falls is amazing. I'm about to read My Sister, My Love"
That is one of her best I think, enjoy

Bellefleur! It changed my life and is still my favorite book of all time.

Hi. My first JCO book was "The Falls". I have since read several more and am currently on "Little Bird of Heaven". I love the depth and breadth of her writing, the multi-layering and how the plot(s) unfold and are revealed. I also love her intuitive, poignant character studies and portrayal of the human condition. I've read a lot of A S Byatt and when I read the "The Falls" I experienced the same engaging, intelligent prose so I was motivated to read more. I love that she has a vast canon of books, there'll always be one to read!

I have read a lot of JCO and "the falls" remains favourite

I think I will try "Belleflleur" next. My understanding is that it is part of a gothic series, with maybe 4 or 5 others.

Christine, the original trilogy is that, A Bloodsmoor Romance and The Mysteries of Winterthurn. Amazing stuff!

Christine wrote: "I think I will try "Belleflleur" next. My understanding is that it is part of a gothic series, with maybe 4 or 5 others."

That's very helpful, thanks.

As a life long reader of contemporary fiction I just cannot understand how I'd missed out on JCO until about 3 years ago when I picked up a copy of 'The Falls' in our local library. It turned out to be one of the best novels I'd ever read and I did this thing of recommending it to everyone I knew who read books and sending copies to friends as presents. After that it was all over really: it took very little time to become totally addicted to her astonishing and wonderful writing. Like quite a few people whose comments I've read on Goodreads I'm now embarked on reading everything of hers I can get my hands on. Lost count of how many I've read so far (about 15 novels I'd guess) but I've never been disappointed yet. The only slight reservation I had was with 'We Were the Mulvaneys - the usual excellent plot, wonderful writing and believable characters but a sentimental ending - from Joyce Carol Oates - I couldn't believe it! But then I wondered - was I missing something, perhaps she was being ironic?! So far the one I've loved best was 'Blond' - a quite extraordinary and deeply touching story. However I'm now on #3 of the Wonderland Quartet and 'them' is running it close - we shall see. I should say that I'm a British reader who has never even visited the United States but this makes no difference to my appreciation of this brilliant writer. After reading her books I feel I have been there. And anyway her themes are universal. I'm running out of superlatives and haven't even mentioned her wonderful dry sense of humour yet. This woman is a five star genius - you Americans are very lucky to have her.

I'm a little late to the table, here, picking up this thread, but JCO is the author I most enjoy reading. I listened to her being interviewed once, a few years ago, and decided then that I would look into her work. A fair bit of time has since elapsed, but this year, I saw her being interviewed regarding her recent novel The Sacrifice. After reading it, I quickly picked up a copy of The Jack of Spades, another recent publication, and decided then that I would read her complete body of work, in chronological order.

I've read part of her first Journal, to be rejoined soon.

It was difficult to find a copy of her first novel With Shuddering Fall, but I was able to secure a copy through interlibrary loan. When I think how young she was when she wrote that first novel…

I’ve begun reading the Wonderland Quartet, just completing the first novel A Garden of Earthly Delights. The more I read of her work, the more I want to read. Expensive People and Wonderland will be found under the Christmas tree this year. You may understand when I say Christmas can’t come quickly enough. I’ve read the first chapter of Expensive People online. Three times. It is haunting. And wickedly good.

JCO, of whom it is said with mind numbing regularity, is a prolific writer, but she truly is, has also written poetry, essays and critical works. And for that I am grateful.

I wonder if any other authors have this tendency to inspire their readers to embark on reading everything they've written? There must be quite a community of us out there for JCO. Some of the earlier novels are hard to find, at least in the UK, so I'm reading them in more or less random order. Fortunately the Wonderland Quartet, which I recently finished reading, is now available in the beautifully produced Modern Library Classics editions. All four were wonderful in their different ways but 'them' was quite outstanding. I can see why Jules Wendell is one of JOC's own favorite characters.
Just finished 'Middle Age: a Romance' - about a well to do community called Salthill-on-Hudson full of local groups with pretentious titles dedicated to preserving the ‘historical character’ of the area. Like most of her books it’s savagely funny in places, especially about some of the residents’ awful, ungrateful children. Including one of her funniest 'one-liners' at the top of p.336. One of those novels one is really sad to finish - I just loved it.
I'm just grateful she's so prolific . I'm now on #23 'Son of the Morning' and thankfully, not yet half way through! And even if I do manage to 'outpace' her production of new titles I'm looking forward to re-reading my favourites.

Years ago a friend gave me "Expensive People" to read and I never looked back.

JCO is one of my favorite authors. I stumbled across Blonde in a book shop years ago and bought it without knowing anything about the author. Since then I've read several of her books - Black Water, Rape, Mulvaneys, My Sister My Love, The Falls ... - and she's one of those authors where even a bad novel is so good. I'm. It even sure if she has written a bad novel...
I don't think she's the only author to inspire the completionist game though - I for once feel that way with John Irving too. The difference is that he has written about 15 novels I think and JCO has written roughly a billion...!
She's amazing!

It's strange: i met JCO reading her book on Boxing ... but it was like a lightning strike !!!! I love writers that teach you to understand yourself better than psychoanalytic session :)
I'm convinced that JCO is and will be next to the GIANTS in literature history.
Until now, my favourite is "black girl/white girl"

.... and what about "little bird of heaven" ... thanks JCO!!

I have always been a big fan of The Falls but currently reading A Book of American Matyrs which is up with JCO best. A thought provoking book that manages a complicated and divisive subject in a fair and balanced manner