Customer Reviews

The Gravedigger's Daughter: A Novel (P.S.)

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The central character of Joyce Carol Oates's 36th novel changes her identity several times in the course of the epic, conveniently changing portions of her brutal past to transform into a more pure, acceptable lady. In her heart, she remains the Gravedigger's Daughter, the American-born daughter of WWII-era Jewish immigrants Jacob and Anna Schwart. Jacob was humiliated by his stateside job as the local cemetery caretaker, which afforded his family a life of squalor from which Anna slowly withdrew into catatonic madness. As the family spiraled violently out of control in the racist small-town atmosphere of 1940's upstate New York, Rebecca Schwart was orphaned as a young teenager.

Forced to reinvent herself as a charity case, a ward of the state, Rebecca begins to suppress the violent secrets of her past and emerge as a reliable, hard-working girl with no family, but also with no ghosts in her past and no need for anyone's pity. As Rebecca works her way up in society, earning legitimacy through marriage and motherhood, she hears the echoes of her father's harsh words to her. "In animal life the weak are quickly disposed of. So you must hide your weakness, Rebecca." The Gravedigger's Daughter is a novel about identity, and the lengths to which we will go to suppress our past to gain the acceptance of others. Rebecca ascends into a life of privilege, but not without looking over her shoulder for past demons.

Rebecca is guarded throughout the novel--to outsiders, to herself, and to the reader--proving herself an unreliable narrator, but the reader who is frustrated by this must remember that Rebecca is unreliable to herself, deluding herself to survive in an impossibly bleak world. The most compelling portions of this dense novel, which is told in three parts, center on the resilience of Rebecca in her quest for legitimacy and acceptance. The gravedigger's daughter first transforms her identity after the childhood loss of her family and later flees from an abusive, murderous husband to live under the assumed name of Hazel Jones. Unfortunately, Oates wrote her story not about these two metamorphoses, but in three portions, so the book opens with an overwrought, dreary exposition about the struggle of an immigrant family working in low-skilled jobs in a new country.

The plight of the immigrant family is close to Oates's heart--the author worked for over a decade on this novel to honor her family heritage. As an adult, Oates discovered that her own grandmother was Jewish (a secret that was buried in the 1890's to assimilate into the United States). Oates knew her grandmother, but no one in the family knew of her religious heritage or the last name she had abandoned upon arriving in the United States. In an interview with Edmund White, Oates revealed, "My grandmother had experiences very similar to Rebecca's experience with her father. In actual life the man who was my great-grandfather was a gravedigger. He did not kill his wife; he did injure her, though. And he did threaten his daughter, and he did commit suicide with a shotgun. That's all true." Oates reveals how exactly her grandmother's experience inspired the life of Rebecca Schwart/Hazel Jones by insisting, "[She] was unfailing. She never was the girl whose father had almost killed her and blew his head off with a shotgun... She was never the woman whose husband had abused her and then left her. She never would have wanted to play those cards."

The Gravedigger's Daughter is an expansive portrait of American life from one of our most agile living storytellers. Oates may lose a reader or two with her opening ruminations on poverty and family structure for inland immigrants, but those who read on will be rewarded with a challenging drama of fortune and identity in America. In the end, you may love or hate this book, but it is hard not to admire it.

First I must say that this is the first book I have ever read by Joyce Carol Oates. This book is easy to get into, but once strapped in, be ready for the bumpy ride! There is no question (at least to me) about Ms. Oate's genius. I found myself reading passages repeatedly just to appreciate the complexity of word use and the fascinating mirror on humanity that Ms. Oate's holds up again and again in her story. There is a lot of violence in this book, however, I found its use necessary to the story. The story is about a strong woman's survival against incredible odds. I say that the book is a bumpy ride simply because the author flashes backwards and forwards in reality. When the book ended I felt somewhat dissafisfied and didn't know exactly why. However, I find myself thinking of the story and reflecting on the characters. So I think I am dissatisfied because I wanted the book to continue. In any case I recommend this book, however, this is not your "vacation" book. Be in the mood for heavy themes and startling insights into human nature.

In "The Gravedigger's Daughter," Joyce Carol Oates explores the impact of childhood abuse on the development of a woman's identity. Her intricately designed and compelling novel details the brutal early life of Rebbeca Schwart and follows her into adulthood, one in which the grown woman casts off previous sufferings but never escapes their cruel shadow. The youngest child of an impoverished German Jewish immigrant family, Rebecca endures a barren early life that includes being subjected to an ill-tempered, violent father, the slow and tortured descent of her mother into mental illness and the callous disregard of her two insensitive older brothers.

Unable to endure the moral and spiritual poverty of their graveyard surroundings, Rebecca's brothers flee the wrath of their father and the hopelessness of their condition. Eventually, Rebecca witnesses the murder/suicide of her mother and father, an event whose impact reverberates throughout her life. Abandoned, traumatized and directionless, Rebecca must reinvent herself, first as a ward of the court, then as a wife and mother. It is Oates' brilliant depiction of a woman struggling to create a new self while simultaneously attempting to submerge her previous identity that gives "The Gravedigger's Daughter" its emotional impact. Rebecca's cryptic personae permit her to survive but never grant her existential peace.

What solace she savors derives from her brilliant but tormented son, he the product of one of the most nefarious characters of contemporary literature. Beguiled and then beaten by Niles Tignor, Rebecca re-experiences the controlling, violent outbursts that characterized her father. Her act of personal liberation, her reinvention of identity and her commitment to her child's wellbeing exemplify a quiet, implacable will to live. Always wary of being discovered, perpetually cautious and suspicious, Rebecca refuses to give herself away to any man or idea. She lives to survive.

Written with excruciating detail, "The Gravedigger's Daughter" is much more than an exploration of one woman's consciousness. Joyce Carol Oates has crafted a work that explicitly describes violence, directly confronts social injustice and sensitively describes how a thwarted human spirit heals itself. This is a novel that will unsettle and upset, but it is also a cautionary tale of how identity, however shattered, will undergo reformation and reinvention.

Joyce Carol Oates is quite a prolific author having penned 36 novels in her career so far [about a book a year] and its amazing that each of them is unique and makes for compelling reading [Middle Age, High Lonesome -my opinion anyway]. In her latest effort, we are introduced to a tortured soul in the form of female protagonist Rebecca Schwart. In the prologue, we learn that Rebecca narrowly misses being abducted by a stranger who calls her "Hazel Jones" as she returns from her factory job. As her story unfolds, we learn that Rebecca is the daughter of Holocaust survivors whose tortured memories of the past make it difficult for them to lead happy lives. Her father, a former schoolteacher, works as a cemetery caretaker, and later kills his wife and shoots himself [not before almost killing Rebecca herself]. Male brutality is a running theme throughout the novel, as Rebecca marries a beer salesman, Niles Tignor who turns out to be physically abusive. After she escapes being brutally beaten to death, Rebecca flees with her son Niley, and assumes the name Hazel Jones, and renames her son Zacharias. They lead a nomadic life, and Rebecca finds some contentment with an older man, Chet Gallagher who nurtures her sons prodigious musical talent, but never truly escapes her past. Yet Rebecca's story is a tale of self-discovery, of escaping a cycle of abuse, and many other things that define human relationships, and human lives. It is a long read, but the complexities of Rebecca's background, her relationships, and her own self make for compelling reading. Another masterpiece of human study by Oates.

I've read quite a few of Joyce Carol Oates' many novels and this is one of her better ones. The gravedigger's daughter is Rebecca Schwart, daughter of Jews who fled Nazi Germany in the 1930's and the book's heroine. Abusive relationships are a major theme in the book as Rebecca leads a miserable childhood with her embittered and disturbed parents, has a brief period of relative happiness working as a hotel maid then enters into an abusive "marriage" with a much older man until she flees with her musical prodigy son. There is a subplot about "Hazel Jones" a name she is called early in the novel by a stranger. Rebecca later takes Hazel Jones as her own name and this mystery of the real Hazel Jones is finally told with a sad and unexpected twist. A well executed epilogue in the form of letters between Esther/Hazel and another daughter of Holocaust survivors makes a memorable ending. This is a long often "wordy" book at 582 pages but worth the time and effort for fans of Oates or other good contemporary writers of women's stories.

... the weak are quickly disposed of. So you must hide your weakness, Rebecca. We must". This opening statement reflects a father's command to his daughter, setting the stage for her life. Rebecca, heroine of the story and daughter of immigrants, grows up in rural New York State during the Depression and World War II years. Her environment is characterized by abject poverty, discrimination and prejudice against those who are different. Denying their German-Jewish background is part of their tragedy. No German language is allowed in the house, but neither the mother nor the two older brothers manage the adopted language adequately. Violence, alcoholism and crime are part of daily life in the family and those living in their neighbourhood near the graveyard.

Oates skilfully evokes the oppressive atmosphere in which the gravedigger's family eke out a living, literally at the edge of human society. Increasingly, the young Rebecca withdraws into herself, drops out of school and tries to escape and to follow her brothers. A violent family drama that almost kills her and leaves her alone, in the end provides her with the opportunity for a much brighter future. However, is she capable of freeing herself from her background? Can changing her name, as she does a couple of times, change her life for the better? Hope, trust and happiness are emotions and experiences that are new to Rebecca and that will have to be learned. Her son, a child prodigy pianist from a marriage that was supposed to bring love and happiness, provides her with new energy and focus. But she has to escape again and, now completely unsettled, is moving from place to place until she finds an environment that offers hope and security for her son and herself. Will she stay? Is a new life possible and how will she be able to adjust to love and comfort? Can she trust enough to reveal the story of her past?

Oates' exquisite use of language to evoke characters and landscapes is well known. This talent comes again to the fore in The Gravedigger's Daughter. As the author depicts the ups and downs of Rebecca's emotional and physical life, her style is, at times, light and almost playful, but mostly, given the subject matter it reflects, it is intense and anguished. Those around Rebecca, who are supportive and caring, even loving, are painted as almost too good to be true. The Gravedigger's Daughter is a complex story that will keep the reader captivated to the end. Questions remain in the mind of the reader that the intriguing epilogue will not answer fully. It is not an easy read but worthwhile, in particular those interested in the social complexities in the pre- and post World War II American society. [Friederike Knabe]

This book is amazingly intricate and simple at the same time...It is a hard book to read, because its theme is unpleasant at times, and somewhat depresseing. Joyce Carol Oates takes you again in her writer's journey and leaves you pondering with this big question. Do we all make up who we really are and were we come from ... are we truthful about our lives... this journey Rebecca's journey is a must read for those who love this writer...I could not put it down as painful as it seemed at times...and at other times somewhat predictable, as I have read so many of Oates books...it is an incredible read! Highly recommend it! You will not be disappointed at all...its quite memorable, and stays with you ... unforgettable story.

A labor of love for Oates, whose grandmother was a gravedigger's daughter and whose first marriage was to an abusive husband, from whom she ran with her young son (Oates' father). The title character, Rebecca, lives with her family in America after fleeing Germany in the years leading up to WWII, denying their Jewishness and former lives pretty much altogether. Her mother gradually slips away from the world (there are umpteen references to her `raddled' face) and Rebecca and her brothers suffer the abuse of their father, who sees nothing but contempt in the faces of all `others' and who loses first his pride and then his mind. The brothers run away and Rebecca is forced to reinvent herself after a horrible act of violence that leaves her a shattered orphan. She finds independence in various upper New York towns, and meets the overwhelming Niles Tignor, beer salesman and minor racketeer, while working as a chambermaid. Oates is wonderful at revealing Rebecca's thought processes as she and Niles `court' - we are always aware that he is nothing more than a bully - and when she takes flight with her son, there is an enormous relief for the reader. The scene which prompts Rebecca's flight is so grisly and grimly detailed that it is difficult to read, and after the harrowing family scenes already depicted, some respite is definitely in order. While it is certainly a hallmark of Oates' skill in rendering the unpleasant without sentiment, the pervading sense of sadness and/or dread can be a trial, but readers will ultimately be rewarded with the survivor's story that is Rebecca's.

The book begins as Rebecca Schwart is trapped in an abusive relationship and a miserable job, and very much has a victim's mentality. If the writing had not been so good, I would have given up. The novel then moves back in time to her childhood and proceeds chronologically; it becomes a compelling read, notwithstanding that Rebecca's childhood is very bleak. No one would describe Oates' prose as elegant, but she provides an emotional wallop without being maudlin, some very effective images, and she can be wordy without being dull. She is also not above including plot elements such as could be found in mass market fiction, and I'm not above enjoying them. Rebecca is a complex character who grows and flowers in a totally convincing way, but is always marked by her childhood experiences. There are many elements common to both "The Gravedigger's Daughter" and Oates' best selling novel, "The Falls". I preferred "The Falls", but only because the beginning of that novel was so good.

Oats does it again! How can I write a review without spoiling the ending? Like most of Oat's novels she deals with the evil, dark side of human nature that has a sound footing in reality and touches home. Here she deals with hidden identities and self loathing that became part of the European Jewish Survivor experience after the holocaust. Self-preservation turns into self-denial into self hatred into self destruction and multigenerational curses that never fully resolve themselves. The holocaust was more than genocide. The effects on those left behind and who got out in time, survivor guilt, is ugly and real. Oats may not be fun reading but she is a master of the ugly side of modernist and post-modernist America. She will be read and studied for generations to come.