Joyce Carol Oates

a novel

The gravedigger's daughter

Janet Doré

No doubt...this was a long read. If you aren't connected with the main character, Rebecca/Hazel, you won't make it to the end. This was my first JCO book and I will definitely explore her further. In this book, her writing is unconventional, filled with incomplete sentences and often lacking proper punctuation. At first, it was a bit distracting to me, but by the end, I had acclimated and actually enjoyed it. I'm finding this book difficult to review...it was one of the more unique ones I've read. Excellent character development, definitely a tragedy and quite depressing (if you're looking for uplifting...keep looking), insightful into the psyches of abusers and victims (I particularly 'connected' with the emotional disconnect of the victims in this story), a slow story (more psychological than action driven). Definitely a book for an advanced reader...

The gravedigger's daughter a novel

Reviews