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More About the Author

Joyce Carol Oates is the author of more than 70 books, including novels, short story collections, poetry volumes, plays, essays, and criticism, including the national bestsellers We Were the Mulvaneys and Blonde. Among her many honors are the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction and the National Book Award. Oates is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, and has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.

Customer Reviews

14 Reviews

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

Average Customer Review

3.7 out of 5 stars (14 customer reviews)

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42 of 43 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Engrossing, Fascinating, Amazing, September 29, 2001

By

Robert Miller (Eastern USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wonderland (Paperback)

In 1975, I was reading Joyce Carol Oates "Them", when my classmate Lenny noticed it. His reply to me was "Get Wonderland". I took his advice. Wonderland is fabulous. This reader simply couldn't put it down. It is a fascinating story of a doctor from his poor childhood in NY State during the depression through the end of the 1960's. The characters are so real - from the freaks in the doctor's adoptive family, through his heroin-addicted friend who becomes a hippie cult figure. I have since read most of Oates' books, but Wonderland IS my favorite. Joyce Carol Oates has an excellent grasp of the poor in rural NY - she is a genius - totally understanding as to what goes on in the minds of regular people and very talented at putting it down on paper. Do as Lenny said - Get Wonderland!

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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oates' Best - A World of Constant Battles, March 23, 2004

By

Jack M. Walter "Jack M. Walter" (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wonderland (Paperback)

I originally read Wonderland when I was a teenager and remembered only a little of it, so it was a revelation when I read it again a few weeks ago. This is a study of one human being and the torments he endures at the hands of others as he grows up, and how it damages his personality. However, Jesse seemingly prevails, and by the novel's end shows us that the human spirit is never completely extinguished. Jesse is such a real character I expect to see him as a flesh and blood person one day. No doubt, this is JCO's best work.

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Oates's Best, May 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Wonderland (Hardcover)

Of the seven or eight books by Joyce Carol Oates that I've read, this one is far and away the best -- which is saying a lot, because I think she is supremely talented. I read her work only once every few years, because it's SO grim, but I always look forward (in a macabre sort of way) to going back to her. WONDERLAND just seems to have more depth and complexity than the others -- and so much of the writing is intensely vivid. Wonderful character study, as well, with a fascinating psychological framework AND commentary on writing and the art of fiction (truth? fabrication?) deftly blended into the narrative.

Read it.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

1.0 out of 5 stars Very disappointing
I really wanted to like this book, but it just didn't happen. The problem is that it started off really good, I enjoyed the whole beginning of the book and into the murder of... Read more

Published 18 months ago by Megan O'Toole

4.0 out of 5 stars Worthy Effort
A doctor with a troubled past is so engrossed in his professional life that he loses touch with the humanity he serves, and a troubled daughter rebels until she is essentially... Read more

Published 19 months ago by David A. Moyer

2.0 out of 5 stars Past the point of no return
I was past the point of no return, about two hundred pages, when I tired of the characters themselves who seem to be one dimensional and who act without introspection. Read more

Published on February 8, 2009 by M. Magner

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Oates
I love Joyce Carol Oates novels, and this is one of her masterpieces imho. The characters are most fascinating and strange, and the plot is complex and hard to foresee. Read more

Published on June 26, 2008 by MarkusG

5.0 out of 5 stars the great american novel
the great american novel. right up there with grapes of wrath, an american tragedy and catcher in the rye.

Published on September 9, 2007 by A. Apter

1.0 out of 5 stars Ugh
I was forced to read this book in college. It started realistically with the hardships of the Depression and what misery it caused and then turned into a portrait of bizarre... Read more

Published on May 12, 2005 by L. M Young

4.0 out of 5 stars Gripping (mostly)
Joyce Carol Oates is one of the literary geniuses of our time. She has an uncanny way of capturing people. Read more

Published on March 28, 2005 by Nicole Guerrero

2.0 out of 5 stars How to Shorten A Book
Joyce Carol Oates starts with a violent family scene and moves to a rather nightmarish but almost comical family as the story of Jesse carries the reader into the realm of... Read more

Published on August 31, 2001 by C. MacManus

5.0 out of 5 stars Awesome, atmospheric!
Reads like a David Lynch movie at times. Once you start, you can't put it down. My only problem was with the chapter about the math genius girl competing against the idiot... Read more

Published on May 24, 1999

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing story by a skillful writer
I really enjoyed this book by Oates. This is the first book I've read by her, and, from what I understand, the book is not written in her usual Gothicy style, but what a great... Read more

Published on December 31, 1998 by aglaeca@concentric.net

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Inside This Book (learn more)
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Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Joyce Carol Oates, Anne Marie, Ann Arbor, Jesse Jesse, Jesse Vogel, New York, Miss Goldie, United States, Jesse Harte, Santa Claus, Jesse Pedersen, Willard Harte, Milton Kuzma, Benjamin Cady, Jesse They, Mary Shirer, Jack Galt, Pedersen Clinic, Perrault Jesse, Grandfather Vogel, Vogel Clinic, Myron Diebold, Wednesday of April, University of Michigan, Joseph Ross

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