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We Were the Mulvaneys (Paperback)

by Joyce Carol Oates (Author)
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
RRP: £8.99
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Product details

  • Paperback: 464 pages
  • Publisher: Fourth Estate Ltd (2 Jul 2001)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 184115699X
  • ISBN-13: 978-1841156996
  • Product Dimensions: 19.8 x 12.9 x 2.9 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 30,948 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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    #2 in  Books > Fiction > Authors, A-Z > O > Oates, Joyce Carol

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Product Description

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



Review

'I read this book over a year ago, but this family still haunts me.' Oprah Winfrey '"We Were the Mulvaneys" works not simply because of its meticulous details and gestures!What keeps us coming back to Oates Country is something stronger and spookier: her uncanny gift of making the page a window, with something on the other side that we'd swear was life itself.' The New York Times Book Review 'It is a book that will break your heart, heal it, then break it again every time you think about it.' Los Angeles Times 'A brilliantly detailed and varied picture of family life and a succession of dramatic set pieces!These are people we recognise, and she makes us care deeply about them.' Kirkuss Prasie for 'Blonde': 'A torrentially imaginative, compulsively readable tour de force.' Sunday Telegraph 'A mighty -- and a mesmerising -- book.' Elaine Showalter, Literary Review 'If you haven't read Joyce Carol Oates before, start here, and now.' Julie Myerson, Independent
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Customer Reviews

29 Reviews
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2 star:
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Average Customer Review
4.0 out of 5 stars (29 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars A hard lesson in growing up, 31 Dec 2006
By Zannie (London) - See all my reviews
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.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars I was not disappointed by this book, 8 Nov 2001
By jane.sloggett@artemiscorp.com (Basingstoke, Hampshire) - See all my reviews
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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A book that will touch your heart!, 30 May 2001
By A Customer
This review is from: We Were the Mulvaneys (Oprah's Book Club (St. Paul, Minn.).) (Audio CD)
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. Usually, I find it hard to absorb myself in a book, before I've read the first 100 pages but this time, I couldnt put it down from the very beginning.

The book brought home to me how vulnerable we all are, that we could all fall victim to an event that would destroy our lives as we know them. The rape of Marianne Mulvaney, changed the lives of all the characters in a different way, they all were all vastly changed people as the novel concluded to the way they were at the beginning, it highlighted the way a single event can change the entire attitudes and thinking of a whole family.

Marianne was not the only victim of the rape, her parents were and also her three brothers, and it destroyed them as a family. A family who had "everything", and were greatly admired in the community of Mount Ephraim, were suddenly outcasts, in financial difficulty and fighting amongst themselves. Their whole lives changed for the worst...

I would recommend this book to anyone, in fact I already have. It shows that however deep problems go, eventually they'll sort themselves out. The Mulvaney family will never be far from my thoughts.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars While there is still time
The Mulvaneys are well-off, secure, Mike Mulvaney is a proud man, raised in poverty he works hard, builds up his own roofing business; his wife Corinne is large-hearted,... Read more
Published 1 month ago by E. Shaw

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 22 months ago by Janie U

2.0 out of 5 stars 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 Professor Donald Mitchell

2.0 out of 5 stars 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 Professor Donald Mitchell

2.0 out of 5 stars 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

5.0 out of 5 stars 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

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good but Took a Long Time To Get There
I must admit that the only reason that i had read this book was because it was recommended on the Oprah Book Club List. Read more
Published on 11 Oct 2001

4.0 out of 5 stars 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 Louise

5.0 out of 5 stars Gripping, heartbreaking and beautifully written
Joyce Carol Oates' "We Were The Mulvaneys" is that near perfect combination of page-turner (for she writes the tale as a mystery) and compelling literary treatise on... Read more
Published on 28 Mar 2001

2.0 out of 5 stars A Rather Frustrating Read
Although the story is captivating, it just takes forever for Ms. Oates to tell it. The reader ends up knowing more detail about the characters than they probably know about... Read more
Published on 31 Mar 1999

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