JCO: Sunday NY Times Book Review of The Falls

Hi friends!
I guess she isn't everyone's favorite. A couple of
weeks ago, someone shared a writeup from a British
newspaper. I thought it said some similar things but
in a nicer way. (Wish I could remember the
particulars--something about her being uneven or
unpolished?)
Many people consider On the Waterfront and Lord of
the Rings to be wonderful movies. But to me they were
so awful that I couldn't even sit through them. And
I'm not really that hard to please.
Maybe the NYT tries to present various opinions.
Certainly that reviewer must not be the only person
who doesn't like JCO. But as you say, Ted, I don't
suppose she is too worried.
The way he described it, it still sounded like a
good story to me! Sounds like Niagara Falls is a kind
of metaphor? I don't know if I'll read this one, as I
seldom read novels.
I read the first 60 pages or so of Bloodsmoor about
a month ago. It was good, but I can't see reading the
rest of it!
Laurie

=====
Better Edit!
http://www.betteredit.net
laurie@betteredit.net

"Wow, it looks a lot better than it did."
--MLIS student
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Re: JCO: New story: Spider Boy and BY THE NORTH GATE

I think you're right about that, but it seems like a "blurted out" response
that he gives the police. It's not really a conscious careful decision- like
Freaky Green Eyes his wild "undisciplined" side is what does the good, not
his rational "better self"- read, better behaved self. Impulsive misbehavior
turns out to serve the purpose of protecting himself and others from his
parents.
Ted

on 9/18/04 10:02 AM, Cyranomish@aol.com at Cyranomish@aol.com wrote:

> Hi, Ted. Yes, I think anger at his mother is important -- but the key motive
> is Phillip's memories of the lost hitchhiker boys, particularly the one
> nicknamed Spider Boy. In this story -- as in last year's "Fruit Cellar" --
> the
> child who discovers Dad's secret predatory sex life realizes on some level
> that
> the victimized child is a substitute for him/herself. In other words, Dad
> attacks other kids in lieu of his own kids. I think Phillip's identifying
> with
> the victims ("It could have been me!) is what moves him to "betray" his
> parents.
> Phillip realizes that his parents are not reliable people -- in fact, they
> are dangerous.
> Cyrano
>
> In a message dated 9/18/2004 12:25:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> music@thenightshades.com writes:
>
> << I'm struck that what makes Phillip spill the beans to the police is his
> impulsive anger at his mother.
>>>
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Re: JCO: Sunday NY Times Book Review of The Falls

Don't really know much about Terrence Rafferty, but the review is rather stupid!
Can't even be certain that he bothered to read the book.  But what would your expect form the New York Slimes.

Re: JCO: Sunday NY Times Book Review of The Falls

Hi--thanks for sending a copy of the NY Times reviews of "The Falls"  --- it does have kind of an odd tone, doesn't it?  I'm not familiar with Terrence Rafferty, the reviewer, but perhaps if his main claim to fame is writing about movies, he wouldn't have the patience to read a book......not a good choice of someone to write about JCO's work, I think....

 

Best wishes

Christa

JCO: Sunday NY Times Book Review of The Falls

Hi. This review is already posted on the NY Times website. I wasn't too pleased with the tone of the review. I have a problem with reviewers who seem to criticize Oates for her prolific writing ability rather than admire her for it. Anyway, here it is.....

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/09/19/books/review/19RAFFERT.html?8hpib

Re: JCO: New story: Spider Boy and BY THE NORTH GATE

Hi, Ted. Yes, I think anger at his mother is important -- but the key motive
is Phillip's memories of the lost hitchhiker boys, particularly the one
nicknamed Spider Boy. In this story -- as in last year's "Fruit Cellar" -- the
child who discovers Dad's secret predatory sex life realizes on some level that
the victimized child is a substitute for him/herself. In other words, Dad
attacks other kids in lieu of his own kids. I think Phillip's identifying with
the victims ("It could have been me!) is what moves him to "betray" his parents.
Phillip realizes that his parents are not reliable people -- in fact, they
are dangerous.
Cyrano

In a message dated 9/18/2004 12:25:28 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
music@thenightshades.com writes:

<< I'm struck that what makes Phillip spill the beans to the police is his
impulsive anger at his mother.
>>
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Re: JCO: New story: Spider Boy and BY THE NORTH GATE

"A Legacy" is certainly relevant, as is "An Encounter With the Blind"- the
original (at least as far as publication goes) politician picking up
hitchhikers in a predatory way.

I'm struck that what makes Phillip spill the beans to the police is his
impulsive anger at his mother.

It's quite chilling how well JCO gets into the head of the child, his
preoccupations and concerns- it's very unnerving. It reminds me of a lot of
things about my own childhood that I try hard to forget- nothing of the
predations, which thankfully I did not experience, but definitely of the way
my folks often seemed more concerned about appearances than about my
concerns and my experience.

I'm not sure it's the tragedy that's so invasive and painful as the way JCO
seems to know what it was like for us, that we never managed to tell
anybody, our own private nightmares of living. We all have our painful
secrets, and they might not be the stuff of headlines, but they are our own
festering and forgotten secrets, until we are reminded... and JCO has a
really uncanny knack of reminding us.
Ted

on 9/15/04 6:36 AM, Cyranomish@aol.com at Cyranomish@aol.com wrote:

> Hi, Laurie> That's a good interpretation. Teenagers, as you know, are not
> the only age group that doesn't like tragic stories. Some famous writer (H.L.
> Mencken???) once said that tragedy doesn't play well in the US because
> Americans don't like losers.
> The person in my class who objected so strongly to JCO's story "The Girl With
> the Blackened Eye," was well into her thirties. (Though you couldn't call
> that story a tragedy, exactly, because the heroine does survive her ordeal and
> starts a new life. There must be some word for that kind of story -- the
> protagonist is damaged but survives, like Ismael in MOBY DICK.)
> For those of you who are going through the stories in BY THE NORTH GATE,
> you may find some similarities in the next story "A Legacy" about a girl who
> goes to visit her young brother on death row. Here is another family tragedy
> with some family members trying to acknowledge and wittess and others standing
> back -- like the mother in "Spider Boy."
> Cyrano
>
> In a message dated 9/14/2004 8:45:44 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
> laurie@betteredit.net writes:
>
> << Hi friends!
> I can understand teenagers not liking tragic
> stories. When I was younger, I couldn't accept stories
> that didn't have a happy ending or at least some kind
> of justice.
> Spider Boy was good. The opening line about people
> disappearing could apply to the boy, his mother,
> and/or his father (the sister is shadowy). I don't
> blame the mother too much. The father involved the boy
> in his sins, and something had to give somewhere. I
> thought the boy would become a monster too (whether he
> does later is not known)--but he decides to bring the
> shame out into the light. The mother had decided from
> the beginning not to do so. She was trying to protect
> her family. It worked for her, up to a point; it
> didn't work for the boy.
> The mother tried to revert to the past, which
> didn't work (the boy--or JCO?--thinks the whole town
> must know the truth on some level). The boy's past was
> not in Nyack, and he doesn't feel safe or welcome
> there, so he couldn't do the same.
> The boy has grown out of the situation, in two
> senses: outgrown and grown as a result of. Which is as
> it should be for someone his age. And maybe the mother
> was acting as she should have too. She was concerned
> about her son, and perhaps glad that the truth had
> come to light. At the same time, she naturally feels
> angry and violated, and she wishes the boy had acted
> differently.
> An interesting variation on We are all guilty. And
> how illusory and fragile families are?
> Laurie
>>>
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