Friday 12 January 2007

Mother, Missing by Joyce Carol Oates

Where to start? Well, I launched into this book with great gusto, relieved to be reading something that came as highly recommended after my few recent unsatisfactory reads.
I was involved in the characters immediately and I think that is the key to this book - the narrator is excellently portrayed - you aren't always sure you like her, she doesn't always write "well" but you are drawn to her, not to her story necessarily. So I read LOTS in the first few days of reading it and am vaguely surprised now to find that it took me almost two weeks to finish it, perhaps I became a little less involved - towards the end I did get a little less interested but not in a drastic way. I did also notice a couple of editorial errors that I can still remember now - often I notice errors but by the end of the book no longer know what they were. Perhaps because I knew I'd be writing this, I remembered or perhaps it is an indication that I wasn't so involved in the story itself. I suspect if that latter was the case, it was through self preservation. The book follows the first year of a woman's life as she copes with the untimely death of her mother. And if there is anything that REALLY scares me in the world, it is the thought of one of my parents (or my husband) dying. (Having never experienced someone very close to me dying, only my dog.) So I may have distanced myself a little.
A couple of really interesting elements to the book (without saying too much as I wouldn't want to spoil) are...
The book feels like it covers a bigger time span than one year. Although vague timings are always put on things, you do feel the sense of the slowness of time that comes when you are sad and when you are waiting for something big to happen. The book did not drag. But I was amazed when reaching the end to realise it really had covered just one year.
The other thing was, as mentioned above, the narration style. The narrator is a journalist and so much of the time "writes well". However, at points of particular sadness or particularly strong emotions, especially around memories, the writer slips into childish styles, email style communication (not going quite as far as text speak!) which creates a really interesting effect of bringing you closer to the character.
So a good book and I imagine I will read quite a bit more of her's in future.

2 comments:

Mad Medea said...

I'm glad you liked it - even if you had to 'distance' yourself from it, although I do understand why. I have to say it is the book I've been most emotionally involved in since 'An Equal Music' - but I kept thinking about mine and Husband's grandmas so it was a little easier for me to get through (and my relationship with my Mum at the moment isn't exactly super close....)

Anyway, now I get to blog about it as I don't have to worry about spoiling your Christmas present anymore!

AdventuringJen said...

Tee hee! I look forward to reading your comments!
I wasn't quite as absorbed as An Equal Music but it was probably not far off, I certainly found myself thinking in her style of speech.
It was a very good Christmas present. :)
xxx