2 posts tagged “joyce carol oates”

One great thing about having spent the entire year on vox (I’d started in mid-2006, man does that seem like a long time ago…) is that I was able to keep track of the books that I read last year.  22.  Not bad, a little less than previous years I think.  I used to read a lot in airports and airplanes when The Beloved and I lived in separate places.  Now, I just read before bed most of the time.  That’s a trade I’m happy to make.

Regardless, there were a number of really excellent books that I read this past year (and probably a couple of clunkers – Philip K. Dick’s very early piece “Voices From the Street” comes to mind mostly, Charles Frazier’s “Thirteen Moons” for the most disappointing acclaimed book).  The ones I enjoyed the most were:

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln's Killer (P.S.)

James L. Swanson

Manhunt: The 12-Day Chase for Lincoln’s Killer by James Swanson.  This book was suggested by Janie.  I don’t usually read a lot of non-fiction.  I like my books to entertain me, often with a fair amount of escapism.  I joked the other day when we watched the movie “The Nativity Story” that it lacked tension because I knew the ending.  Well, I knew the ending here, too.  I was a history minor in college and read a fair amount of Civil War.  This telling of the plotting and execution of the Lincoln assassination in 1865 was absolutely gripping.  Swanson does a great job of making 19th century letters and documents come alive and invest them with real personality.  In many ways, Booth almost succeed despite himself.  He and his accomplices weren’t exactly masterminds, but they figured out a way around the “system” to commit their crimes – and nearly got away with it.  Great great read.

Girls: A Novel (Ballantine Reader's Circle)

Frederick Busch

Girls by Frederick Busch.  I’ve always liked the way that Joyce Carol Oates has been able to capture the “quiet desperation” of muddling through in the average lives of New England and New York.  I had never read anything of Frederick Busch before and this story of a nearly-broken former-cop-turned-security-guard and his near obsessive investigation into the disappearance of a local girl is impressively haunting.  Not really a whodunit – the investigation is almost secondary – but the book follows the protagonist's inexorable drag into obsession and its effects on him, his marriage and his life.  Real and raw – and with amazing prose – this book stays with you long after finishing it.  (Note: the main character appears again in North, which was FB’s last book published before he died in 2006.  It was also very good, but of the two, I enjoyed Girls more.)

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows (Book 7)

J. K. Rowling

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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling.  In the face of almost impossible expectation, JK Rowling delivered a wonderfully entertaining book that was a fantastic finish to the Harry Potter series and contained within it a great story and surprises all its own.  I’m sure Potterphiles will quibble about certain aspects or outcomes, but I devoured this book when it was released in the summer, and am looking forward to re-reading it (probably the whole series) again sometime in the future -- right now, I think "Half Blood Prince" is my favorite.  I’m sure that Ms. Rowling will be under immense pressure to bring the characters back again, but I hope she doesn’t.  There is grace in a well-told tale – especially one that was so satisfying and surprising throughout.

Top Five Books -- this is actually pretty easy.  We were just comparing lists at work on this very topic.

The Killer Angels

The Killer Angels: Michael Shaara

I first had to read this book in college (under duress naturally -- actually the night before a history final...) but ended up really enjoying it.  A few years ago, I decided to re-read it.  I loved it even more.  I know it’s a novelization of events, but it really seems to come alive in a very true manner.

The Illearth War

The Power That Preserves

The Illearth War
The Power That Preserves: Stephen R. Donaldson

The final two books of Donaldson’s anti-hero Thomas Covenant trilogy (the first one).  Gripping and bitter, full of despair and exultation.  It’s amazing when you realize this entire trilogy would probably be one book in a modern series (you know the type -- they're the ones where editors can’t seem to say “no” apparently).

A Game of Thrones

A Game of Thrones: George R.R. Martin

First book of Martin’s Ice and Fire Series.  Gritty, scary, and complex.  Much much different than your standard fantasy fare. The best part is that he seemingly has no hesitation to kill major characters, so it really keeps you guessing.  The 2nd book (A Clash of Kings) is nearly as good, though the pacing has fallen off a bit on the last two books of what I believe is supposed to be a 7 book set.

We Were the Mulvaneys

We Were the Mulvaneys: Joyce Carol Oates

I like Oates’ novels – I think better than anyone, she captures the inertia of everyday life, and the secret-selves that we hold inside, even that which we hide from our loved ones. I think “Mulvaneys” is her best: it conveys the hopes and heartbreaks of life and how random events can knock the vector of people’s lives way out of whack.

A Wizard of Earthsea

The Tombs of Atuan

A Wizard of Earthsea
The Tombs of Atuan: Ursula K. LeGuin

First two (of four) of the Earthsea series.  Incredibly simple storyline of life, growth, consequences – maybe in a way they are fantasy parables.  Beautifully written.  These books are incredibly “visual” in their storytelling.  You could probably finish one on a lazy rainy weekend afternoon.  Stop after the 3rd though – the 4th one, “Tehanu”, written a couple of decades later, was really disappointing.