logo
Wrong email address or username
Wrong email address or username
Incorrect verification code
We Were the Mulvaneys (Oprah's Book Club) - Joyce Carol Oates
We Were the Mulvaneys (Oprah's Book Club)
by: (author)
3.26 165
A New York Times Notable Book and a former Oprah Book Club® selection Moving away from the dark tone of her more recent masterpieces, Joyce Carol Oates turns the tale of a family struggling to cope with its fall from grace into a deeply moving and unforgettable account of the vigor of hope... show more
A New York Times Notable Book and a former Oprah Book Club® selection Moving away from the dark tone of her more recent masterpieces, Joyce Carol Oates turns the tale of a family struggling to cope with its fall from grace into a deeply moving and unforgettable account of the vigor of hope and the power of love to prevail over suffering. The Mulvaneys of High Point Farm in Mt. Ephraim, New York, are a large and fortunate clan, blessed with good looks, abundant charisma, and boundless promise. But over the twenty-five year span of this ambitious novel, the Mulvaneys will slide, almost imperceptibly at first, from the pinnacle of happiness, transformed by the vagaries of fate into a scattered collection of lost and lonely souls. It is the youngest son, Judd, now an adult, who attempts to piece together the fragments of the Mulvaneys' former glory, seeking to uncover and understand the secret violation that occasioned the family's tragic downfall. Each of the Mulvaneys endures some form of exile--physical or spiritual--but in the end they find a way to bridge the chasms that have opened up among them, reuniting in the spirit of love and healing. Profoundly cathartic, Oates' acclaimed novel unfolds as if, in the darkness of the human spirit, she has come upon a source of light at its core. Rarely has a writer made such a startling and inspiring statement about the value of hope and compassion.
show less
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 9780452277205 (0452277205)
ASIN: 452282829
Publisher: Plume
Pages no: 454
Edition language: English
Bookstores:
Community Reviews
Sad Books Say So Much
Sad Books Say So Much rated it
1.0 Completed January 31, 2015
This review is way too long, and riddled with spoilers. I need to include them in order to explain how truly awful this book is. Please consider my review a public service announcement. ******** Michael and Corinne Mulvaney have four children- three sons and a daughter. Together, they are THE...
Reading Slothfully
Reading Slothfully rated it
4.0 We Were the Mulvaneys
I found this at a church book sale. I figured I should read at least one Joyce Carol Oates book before I die, so this one got the nod. Apparently, I didn't choose as wisely as I might have, but then I didn't really have the opportunity. It's what the church book table had the day I got the idea. Thi...
Lisa (Harmony)
Lisa (Harmony) rated it
2.0 We Were the Mulvaneys (Oprah's Book Club)
I'd tried Oates before: her novel Black Water as well as some of her short stories. Just never clicked with her. Oates still leaves me cold after this soap opera. Much of her style irritates me. Oates overuses the exclamation point. She indulges too often in the post-modern habit of piling on list...
Laine Cunningham
Laine Cunningham rated it
4.0 We Were the Mulvaneys
A subtly constructed work that should receive a national award. I compare her to Franzen yet she offers readers more meaningful fare than he does...and in my mind that makes Oates superior to Franzen.
Kinga's Reading
Kinga's Reading rated it
3.0
In a book where none of the characters appealed to me, Joyce Carol Oates somehow wrote a book that I liked. Half-way through, I considered abandoning it because the misery, the utter hopelessness was too much and the characters living in the book were too annoying. I struggle with Michael Mulvaney, ...
Other editions (22)
Books by Joyce Carol Oates
On shelves
Share this Book
Need help?