A special
thank you to Edelweiss and Ecco for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This was
an incredible feat for both Joyce Carol Oates to write, and for me to finish. The book is a huge undertaking, both
ambitious in length and subject matter, and it left me confused. I’m confused as to why it needed to be so
long, and confused at some of the characters (more on that later). What Oates does exceptionally well is write,
but that doesn’t mean that the book needs to be as robust to showcase her talent. It would have been more effective if it was
trimmed because she loses readers in the minor events that don’t propel the
story forward.
The story
opens with the reader inside the head of Luther Dunphy, a religious fanatic who
thinks he is doing God’s work when he calls in late to work one day so that he
can assassinate Dr. Gus Voorhees, an abortionist for the Broome County Women’s
Center.
Oates
segues into Dunphy’s back story outlining his motivations and ideologies. The story bogs out here, but push through it before
you bottom out and abandon the book. In
his younger days, Dunphy is every bit the monster he is when he kills
Voorhees–he sexually assaulted women, and exhibited extremely violent
behaviour– only this later version of him thinks he is safe under the cloak of
religion. The reader also learns that he
is father wrought with guilt over the death of a child, a husband who cannot
fix his wife’s depression, and a hard worker that battles chronic pain to
support his family. The sadness and
destitute Luther feels seeks solace in the righting of a wrong; it isn’t
murder, he is the ‘chosen one’.
In the
later chapters, we see into Gus Voorhees’ life.
He is equally as driven as Dunphy, convinced with rightness for his
cause.
We come
to know both men’s families: the liberal, well-educated Voorheeses juxtaposed
against the devout, poor Dunphys. The
families are left devastated in the wake of tragedy, forever changed, yet
leading similar lives. Both wives pull
away from their families, both sets of siblings experience a wedge of grief
that drives them apart. Speaking of
wives, I mentioned earlier that I was confused by some of the characters, and
Jenna (Voorhees’ widow) is one of them.
Why did she abandon her children?
Why did she disappear from the hotel after scattering her husband’s
ashes? Was this just deliberate of Oates
to draw another parallel between the two families? I felt that this wasn’t behaviour that was
driven by grief, it was just plain out of character and was just there to
inflict more pain and tragedy on the Voorhees children.
The story
shifts gears again and focuses on the men’s daughters: Naomi Voorhees and Dawn
Dunphy. Naomi chronicles her dad’s life,
fronted as a documentary, but really she is trying to make sense of the tragedy
and how it has shaped who she is. Stemming
from a vicious attack in school, Dawn becomes a professional boxer and this is
how she exerts control of her life. The
two meet when Naomi feigns interest in Dawn as the subject matter for a documentary
about female boxers. This is where Oates
shines–when she explores the complex relationships and facets of their lives,
the last third of the book is the best part.
