Man Crazy

No question, Joyce Carol Oates is a wonderful writer, but I found the graphic details of this story too much to bear. The story's about a young girl (told in her voice) whose father has abandoned the family. A Vietnam war vet and pilot, he's on the run, wanted by the police. The young girl is left to the care of her mother, who is man crazy, a partier. When the mother shares a family secret, it becomes one that tears the girl apart emotionally and socially. Without giving more of the story away, I found the last third of the book hard to read.

Loving this one. Lots of little short stories, disguised as chapters, though each could stand on its own. It's a tough read because of the various senses in which “man crazy” is evoked, including various types of harmful-to-women crazy men, but well worth the pain so far.

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This is a tough one to read, mostly because all of the men in it are pretty reprehensible. But the language is so brutally beautiful, I can't stop.

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And...it just got tougher to read. But well worth it. I love it when Oates is on her game in this way, but I will need to take a break before I read the next one I have of hers...sometimes the brutally honest writing needs some time to settle.