We Were the Mulvaneys (Oprah's Book Club),Used

From Publishers Weekly In a tale told primarily from the point of view of the youngest boy, Judd, listeners learn how each of the Mulvaneys struggles with 16yearold Marianne's date rape and her father's fierce reaction to it Mike Mulvaney bans his daughter from the house, ostensibly because she will not name her rapist. In her 26th novel, Oates once again shows her prowess as mistress of the macabre. The best scenes are not early on when we're introduced to the lovely, successful Mulvaneys, their smart and charming children, and their middleclass American milieu. They are not in the rebuilding of individual lives in the wake of the father's disintegration and death. Nor are they toward the end, when the Mulvaneys reunite as an almostfunctional, though muchchanged family. It is the flashbacks of Marianne's date rape and especially brother Patrick's plotting and executing his vigilante justice that carry listeners from sentence to sentence throughout Adams's utterly convincing reading. Based on the Penguin hardcover. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. Product Description The Mulvaneys are blessed by all that makes life sweeta hardworking father, a loving mother, three fine sons, and a bright, pretty daughter. They are confident in their love for each other and their position in the rural community of Mt. Ephraim, New York. But something happens on Valentine's Day, 1976an incident that is hushed up in the town and never spoken of in the Mulvaney homethat rends the fabric of their family life. As the years pass the secrets they keep from each other threaten to destroy them, but ultimately they bridge the chasms between them, and reunite in the spirit of love and healing. Rarely has such an acclaimed writer made such a startling and inspiring statement about the value of hope and compassion. From Library Journal Wonderful as they are, Oates's lengthy novels do not always translate well into audio, and this is one of the less successful attempts. Even in this version, read by J. Todd Adams, the action starts off slowly, too slowly for many listeners (who aren't as likely to dwell on the poetic language as readers are). We have been listening for nearly two hours before we're told that Marianne was raped, when we suspected it within the first halfhour. After this point the pace picks up a bit, actually keeping us on the edge of our seats for awhile, but it slows again near the end. And even at its narrative best, this program is likely to make one somewhat skeptical. The book's premise, a raped high school girl shunned by students, faculty, and her father, banished to live with a distant relative, seems more evocative of the 1950s than the 1970s. And the father's descent into madness, though reminiscent of many Oates (Blonde) characters, seems incredulous. Still, the print edition of this 1996 novel was an Oprah selection, so anticipate high demand for the audiobook. Rochelle Ratner, formerly with "Soho Weekly News," New York Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the Author In addition to many prizewinning and bestselling novels, JOYCE CAROL OATES is the author of a number of works of awardwinning gothic fiction. In 1994, Oates received the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award in Horror Fiction. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey. From AudioFile Before date rape was an acknowledged occurrence, in the bad old '70s, when sexual intercourse between acquaintances was considered consensual, an innocent Christian teenager sufferes that fate after a prom. The longterm effects upon Maryann Mulvaney prove only slightly more severe than upon every member of her loving family. J. Todd Adams's familiarity of tone immediately brings the listener into a family confidence, as he convincingly assumes the role of Maryann's young brother, Judd. His characterizations of parents and siblings are portrayed in the way of just such a brother telling a family story. Fi