Night. Sleep. Death. The Stars.
Ratings3
Average rating2.7
15
Ratings3
Average rating2.7
Night Sleep Death The Stars is a gripping examination of contemporary America through the prism of a family tragedy: when a powerful parent dies, each of his adult children reacts in startling and unexpected ways, and his grieving widow in the most surprising way of all. Stark and penetrating, Joyce Carol Oates's latest novel is a vivid exploration of race, psychological trauma, class warfare, grief, and eventual healing, as well as an intimate family novel in the tradition of the author's bestselling We Were the Mulvaneys.
Reviews with the most likes.
This is the second 700+ page book of JCO that I've read in the last two years, and I can honestly say that no page is wasted. Her attention to detail (less setting and more character), the nuances of thought, and the effects of grief on individuals as well as family units, is impeccable. She uses just enough stream-of-consciousness narration to make the reader cringe but feel also feel an awkward, sometimes uncomfortable, intimacy with each character. I got to the last ten pages of the book and put it down for several hours, not wanting to finish. Now I'm left trying to find something to read that can match this work of art - the afterglow of experiencing a beautiful book. IMHO ;)
