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Amazon.co.uk Review
Joyce Carol Oates' We Were the Mulvaneys is the story of a happy family. After decades of marriage, Mum and Dad are still in love--and the proud parents of a brood of youngsters, which includes a star athlete, a class valedictorian and a popular cheerleader. Home is an idyllic place called High Point Farm, and the bonds of attachment within this all-American clan do seem deep and unconditional:

Mom paused again, drawing in her breath sharply, her eyes suffused with a special lustre, gazing upon her family one by one, with what crazy unbounded love she gazed upon us, and at such a moment my heart would contract as if this woman who was my mother had slipped her fingers inside my rib cage to contain it, as you might hold a wild, thrashing bird to comfort it.

But as we all know, Eden can't last forever. And in the hands of Joyce Carol Oates, who's chronicled just about every variety of familial dysfunction, you know the fall from grace is going to be memorable. By the time all is said and done, a rape occurs, a daughter is exiled, much alcohol is consumed and the farm is lost. Even to recount these events in retrospect is a trial for the Mulvaney offspring, one of whom declares: "When I say this is a hard reckoning I mean it's been like squeezing thick drops of blood from my veins."

In the hands of a lesser writer, this could be the stuff of a bad made-for-tv film but this is Oates' 26th novel, and by now she knows her material and her craft to perfection. We Were the Mulvaneys is populated with such richly observed and complex characters that you can't help but care about them, even as you wait for disaster to strike them down. --Anita Urquhart, Amazon.com --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Oprah Winfrey
'I read this book over a year ago, but this family still haunts me.' --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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28 Reviews 5 star:  (11) 4 star:  (11) 3 star:    (0) 2 star:  (6) 1 star:    (0)           Average Customer Review (28 customer reviews)		Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews   11 of 12 people found the following review helpful: Very Good but Took a Long Time To Get There, 12 Oct 2001 By A Customer This review is from: We Were the Mulvaneys (Paperback) I must admit that the only reason that i had read this book was because it was recommended on the Oprah Book Club List. And once I had started to read it I realised how much out of practice i was with reading.Having returned to books after having 2 children ( and now some spare time )it was my first proper 'Grown Up' book that i have read for a long time. I think this is why it took my so long to really get into it. I knew the basics of the book, typical american family, daughter gets attacked and is sent away and how this affects the family. This is correct but i found the first half of the book very slow and hard going, but maybe that was me. But once the introduction of the whole family and how they live is passed I was drawn in and had to carry on. It is very difficult to understand why they do certain things because unless you are that certain family you don't understand. You start with wishing that your life was like theirs, carefree, loving and living life to the full. Then you are shattered by the complete break-up of not only the family but the individuals themselves. All the way through you are uplifted and brought down again.Then again, isn't that what real life is like !!! It is very tragic but i will say without giving too much away that the ending is wonderful so please don't stop. It is worth it !!  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: A hard lesson in growing up, 1 Jan 2007 By  Zannie (London) - See all my reviews This review is from: We Were the Mulvaneys (Paperback) The core of the plot in this novel is around the reaction of a family to the rape of their idolised daughter. However, what I really took out of the book is not how to cope with a specific catastrophe, but the importance of inner strength compared to people who rely on external validation to make them feel good about who they are. The degeneration of the father is centred around his perception of what his family think of him, his clients and the various people of the town. His daughter, while somewhat supported internally by her own faith also appears to measure herself through external recognition, while feeling uncomfortable with it at the same time. The catalyst of her rape flings the characters apart, in some instances across the country and while there is more focus on some family members than others, the theme for all is the same in that they avoid a reconciliation with each other until they have come to terms with themselves and formed their own roots away from the central unit. The lesson they are learning is that the family of one's childhood is never a permanent fixture and that growing away from it is an essential part of truly growing up. The wonderfully strong character of Corinne Mulvaney, the mother of the family, is fortunately the character that her children have inherited and while sometimes they lose their way on the journey, all 4 children are able to leave and develop the various next generations of Mulvaney. The family is completely different at the close of the novel, but fundamentally intact as, with the exception of Michael Mulvaney Sr, they are all people who have learned to love and appreciate themselves for who they are before returning to the family unit to share their experiences and ensure that the whole is indeed greater than the sum of its parts. One note on this edition - the editing is slack, with some grammar and spelling errors, plus some continuity issues in the detail.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this)   5 of 5 people found the following review helpful: I was not disappointed by this book, 9 Nov 2001 By  jane.sloggett@artemiscorp.com (Basingstoke, Hampshire) - See all my reviews This review is from: We Were the Mulvaneys (Paperback) Part way through this book I wondered how any of these realistic characters would survive. It struck me that maybe we all wish our family could stay as it is in our memories, but sometimes outside circumstances change it. The book tells the story of not only the family's struggle to survive as a whole but each character in that family as well. I was not disappointed by this book at all. It is a lovely, satisfying story.  Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? (Report this) › See all 28 customer reviews...		Most Recent Customer Reviews Jam packed full of details I loved the detail in this book even though it did make it very long. The description of the farm and surroundings was beautiful and drew an idyllic picture. Read more Published 4 months ago by Janie U Slow Motion Family Disintegration and Quick Reconnection The Mulvaneys were living the American dream . . . until their perfect daughter, Marianne, was brutally raped while drunk on Prom night. Read more Published on 20 Jun 2004 by Donald Mitchell Slow Motion Family Disintegration and Quick Reconnection The Mulvaneys were living the American dream . . . until their perfect daughter, Marianne, was brutally raped while drunk on Prom night. Read more Published on 4 Jun 2004 by Donald Mitchell an utter disappointment I'm a Joyce Carol Oates fan from way back, and I know there are lots of us out there. But this novel is not only the worst Oates novel I have ever read, it's one of the worst... Read more Published on 25 Mar 2002 by kreed@pbj.cz A stonking read! This was a little slow to get started, but despite being a somewhat hefty tomb I found myself quite caught up in the plot, and demolished the book pretty quickly. Read more Published on 15 Nov 2001 by moli5251@aol.com Powerful saga I have just finished reading "We Were The Mulvaneys" and I found it very interesting. It is a long book (c. Read more Published on 10 Oct 2001 by lmsunshine77 A book that will touch your heart! I bought this book on a recent trip, and I'm so glad that I did. I have never read a book that moved me so much, I could really feel for this poor family. Read more Published on 30 May 2001 Gripping, heartbreaking and beautifully written Joyce Carol Oates' "We Were The Mulvaneys" is that near perfect combinatio