Book Review: We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

We Were The Mulvaneys starts out by being told by the point of view of One of their sons, Judd. Joyce Carol Oates develops the character excellently. Judd is a journalist and serves as an excellent narrator of the novel. He creates an idyllic scenery of his family life at the beginning of the novel. The Mulvaney family resides at High Point Farm in upstate New York. Judd characterizes The Mulvaneys as the typical loving middle class family. The father is a working business man, loving mother, and smart well adjusted children. The idyllic narration of the novel would be typical of someone like Judd. He is the baby of the family, and he reminisces about the joy and happiness of his childhood. He clearly longs for things to be back the way they were. The Mulvaneys are characterize as good people who go through difficult times. This makes the novel very relatable.

The typical American family falls apart after the Marianne, one of the daughters, is raped after a school dance. The novel does an excellent job of showing how rape and other forms of view effect an entire family. The Novel is beautifully written and shows how the tragedy and sadness that a rape victim would have. There whole entire lives change. They are psychologically damaged. They constantly live in fear, not knowing who to trust. The effective narration also makes the read an easy one. Judd easily steps into the voices of each one of his family members. Perhaps this is because he knows them so well. As the baby of the family he is close to all of them, and needs their attention.

The Novel depicts life is rural America. The novel has a small town view point, which creates an close-knit mood. The reader feels like they know the characters. They want to see the characters improve their lives. The mood allows the reader to connect and identify with the characters, especially Marianne.

I would highly recommend this novel. It is excellent and well written. I originally read it for a high school English class, and I am glad I did. They novel is great for high school and college students who are looking for a satisfying read. This brilliant novel has few flaws. Oates brilliantly captures the essence of family in this article. The novel also has appeal to older audiences. Hell, it was even on Oprah's book club.