Re: JCO: Missing Mom

Thanks for the compliment Christa. Yes, Stacey D�Erasmo wrote a very
interesting and beautiful novel called Tea. She also published a novel last
year called A Seahorse Year which was very well received but unfortunately I
haven�t had the chance to read yet. She�s a very original writer.

To me it felt like she was circling around Missing Mom in favour of talking
about her admiration for Oates� work in general and her overall respect for
what she�s produced. She did make me think about the novel from a different
point of view though, that perhaps Oates was contemplating �the brutality of
never mattering� and class politics instead of just the personal process of
a period of grieving. This is a similar idea to the one expressed in the
excellent film �About Schmidt�. In this movie, a man at retirement age who
has led a very straightforward life begins questioning what the accumulation
of all his little life�s details signifies when contemplating if he really
matters to the world. It�s an unsettling thought and one which Oates
protagonist of Missing Mom is obviously struggling with when examining the
physical things that amount to her parents� life work.

All my best,
Eric

>From: NotEnoughKittens@aol.com
>Reply-To: jco@usfca.edu
>To: jco@usfca.edu
>Subject: Re: JCO: Missing Mom
>Date: Tue, 11 Oct 2005 13:31:38 EDT
>
>Eric, that was an interesting and thoughtful note---I'm sorry to say that
>I've never heard of the writer who did the review---can you recommend one
>of
>his/her books that you especially liked? I've learned to trust your
>judgment
>on this kind of thing!
>
>Thanks and best wishes
>Christa

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