--- jacquesdebierue <
jacquesdebierue@yahoo.com> wrote:
> I have tried with Oates, but she remains my
bete
> noire, no pun
> intended. I find her heavy handed, trying to
overtly
> push a message,
> and, worst of all, very boring. I did, however,
once
> read an excellent
> nonfiction article by her. And I also recall
an
> awful article on
> Chandler (NYRB). Overall, I detect no signs of
a
> talent to put her in
> a class with Faulkner, or anywhere near.
>
> Is she an acolyte of Faulkner's? That's
very
> surprising.
****************************************************** Oats
often uses quotes from Faulkner to preface her novels. She
has said he was her muse. I agree, she's heavy handed and
some of her work is almost trite. But her best work is
stunning.
Have you tried WONDERLAND, the story of a white trash boy,
Jesse Vogel, who survives the murder/suicide of his entire
family by his father? Jesse is then adopted by a doctor from
New York State, whose natural children are certifiable
geniuses. His object in adopting Jesse is to prove that a
child from an unfortunate circumstance can, with the right
training, achieve scholastic excellence. Jesse does. The
doctor then puts Jesse in an untenable position and deserts
him with nothing but pocket money, in Chicago. How Jesse
endures and learns what "family" means, and the decisions he
makes to save his family in a crisis circumstance, makes one
of the best books I've ever read.
Not all of Oats' books are good. She writes about three a
year, so with that kind of obsessive output, mistakes will
happen. But when she's good, she's just about as good as it
gets.
Patrick King
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