Author of 27 novels, Joyce Carol Oates has won a National Book Award and the PEN/Malamud Award. She has been nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Readers around the world marvel at her ability to trace the subtle dynamics at work in the modern American family.

Judd is the youngest of the four Mulvaney children - three boys and a girl - on their parents’ lush farm in upstate New York. In his childhood, Judd is swept along by the sheer energy of the Mulvaneys and their wealth of beloved family stories. But now, 30 years old, Judd looks back through his memories to tell the secrets that eventually ripped apart the fabric of his storybook family.

Reminiscent of the works of Jane Smiley and Anne Tyler, Oates’ novel tells a tale that could be tragic, but is, instead, a ringing affirmation. Narrator Scott Shina’s performance perfectly captures the complex relationships within the Mulvaney clan.

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We Were the Mulvaneys

Joyce Carol Oates (Author), Scott Shina (Narrator), Recorded Books (Publisher)

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Listening Length	22 hours and 48 minutes
Author	Joyce Carol Oates
Narrator	Scott Shina
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com Release Date	October 20, 2010
Publisher	Recorded Books
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00485TCCU
Best Sellers Rank	#69,104 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) #895 in Fiction Sagas #1,422 in Family Life Fiction (Audible Books & Originals) #3,433 in Literary Fiction (Audible Books & Originals)

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3 star		14%
2 star		6%
1 star		7%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Richard Seltzer

Welcome to the Family

Reviewed in the United States on July 4, 2020

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It wasn't the plot that grabbed and held my interest. It was the way the story was told -- layer upon layer, putting me inside the mind of each family member. I got involved in the lives, the thoughts, the emotions of all of them. To me, they were alive, and I would have been interested in anything and everything they did. I was hooked and would have been happy if it had continued for another four hundred pages.

One of my goodreads friends warned me that this book is depressing. I found it inspiring. With the exception of the father, Mulvaney family members are all resilient. The survive and move on from events that at first seem disastrous. Those events change the direction of their lives, but they grow stronger and in the long run wind up happier than they would have been otherwise..

For me, the conclusion -- a family Fourth of July gathering was particularly poignant as I, by chance, read it alone, covid-sequestered, on the Fourth of July, with fireworks going off in the background.

6 people found this helpful

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Barbara

A Waste of My Time

Reviewed in the United States on February 5, 2019

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After reading almost half of this book and hoping for some semblance of meaning and purpose in its message, I put it down. The grossly stereotypical characters were woven into an implausible plot, with boring descriptive passages that failed in their attempt to evoke any sense of empathy or appreciation from the reader. Absolutely nothing redeeming or insightful about this collection of words.

7 people found this helpful

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Eileen Hammond

Disintegration and Redemption

Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2015

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Ms. Oates writes an amazing story of a family's disintegration and later of its redemption.The Mulvaney family's story begins on a farm in upstate New York. They were a happy, successful and loving family until daughter Marianne was raped.

Her father could not accept what happened to her, and banished her to live away from the rest of the family. The story then relates how each family member was affected after Marianne leaves the family. Mr. Mulvaney spiralled from a successful business owner to a drunk who could no longer support his family.

Each member of the family was negatively affected by the aftermath of the rape. Their evolution back to emotional health was a long journey. Years later, after Mr. Mulvaney's death, the family reunites at a family gathering over the Fourth of July. Their individual journeys find them reuniting as people go have found their way back to emotional health and happiness.

18 people found this helpful

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Lisa N

Save your money and time! Pick a different book!

Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2020

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This book was hard to follow, the characters were unlikable and I didn’t connect with any of them. I chose this because it was part of Oprah’s book club and as I read it I couldn’t help but wonder if she (Oprah) actually read it. It was long and drawn out and felt like it would never end. The narrator, Judd, isn’t always narrating and it is never clear when he stops and steps into another person narrating. I think this was an error not intentional. There was nothing intentional about this book. It rambled on and on for 454 long, drawn out pages of filler gibberish.

2 people found this helpful

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WritingKim

Family life is never dull

Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2014

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There’s a hint in the title of the book, “We Were the Mulvaneys,” and it weighs on you as you read the story. The “Were,” was ever present while reading about this highly functional, amazing family. “Happy Days,” and “The Wonder Years,” couldn’t come close. I wanted to be adopted – but, then, of course, I didn’t.

The family implodes with such devastation to its core. Joyce Carol Oats tells this sad tale that just keeps spiraling out-of-control with no brakes. I kept waiting for someone to be an adult and take charge of the situation, but it doesn’t happen.

The children are so different from one another, and have such a hard time relating to each other when they leave their childhood home. The oldest and the “All-American,” Michael, the genius, Patrick, the too-good to be true, Marianne, and the baby, Judd, all leave their childhood home and are thrown into a world that they have to navigate alone and without parental assistance because of a tragedy that happens to Marianne, the only daughter and sister. Their stories vividly portray the anguish they faced trying to grow up in this new world with rules they don’t quite understand.

The father and mother bothered me, and they will bother you also. It’s hard to understand them now, but I try to remember that time and my parents and the world as it was. There are probably plenty of parents that can’t handle the curve balls life throws at them, but it troubles me when children are involved.

I really enjoyed the book – it made me angry, sad, and in the end hopeful – just what a good book should! Book clubs will have a lot of discussion generated by the parents and the children’s adaptation of their lives. Is Patrick justified in his actions? Is Marianne really so complacent and docile? Is Corinne a good mother, a good wife? How could Michael, Sr. blame everyone else?

Good book, good discussion! I gave it an 8.5 on my book club website.

13 people found this helpful

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AJP

JCO at her "peak"

Reviewed in the United States on November 12, 2019

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I've read quite a few of JCO's novels and they've all been great. I guess it's not accurate to say at her peak if she's always at a very high plateau. Having read her works for the past several decades, I think this may be my favorite
The narrative jumps points of view among all the major characters quite seamlessly, and you really can't predict how things are going to turn out. Once again, great book!
Highly recommended.

One person found this helpful

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Avid Reader

I LOVED this book and became a huge fan of Joyce Carol Oates

Reviewed in the United States on June 20, 2019

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I love reading and We Were The Mulvaneys is one of my favorite books and Joyce Carol Oates is one of my favorite writers. I could hardly put the book down. I have shared it with all my friends and they loved it as much as I did. If you are a passionate reader, this is a book not to miss.
Christine Schwab

2 people found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

M. Dowden

Families

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2019

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Joyce Carol Oates has crafted a well thought out and quite intimate novel of a family, and family life in small-town America. So here we meet the Mulvaneys as the story takes us back to earlier years. Living on a relatively small-scale farm, and the father running a roofing company, whilst his wife runs her small antiques shop on the farm, so there are four children, three boys, and one girl.

We start to get a good feeling for the family, and their sort of place in the local hierarchy and then we read of an event that happens to Marianne, the daughter of the family. One thing is for sure, after this incident, on Valentine’s Day 1976, things will never be quite the same again.

Why this works so well is because we can all identify somewhat with this story, although of course not all of us have a family member who suffers like Marianne, but as we know if we look at our own families there are certain quirks people have, and secrets kept by some from others. We read of how Marianne copes (or doesn’t) with what happens to her, and the outrage and shock felt by the rest of the family, as they know they can never really get justice in a court of law, which really affects the father. And thus, as the family slowly starts to disintegrate, we can see what the different members of the family decide to do next, how they cope, and how their preconceived ideas for the future start to alter.

Bringing to life a family with all its warts and all, so this becomes a good dissection of a cohesive group who loses that cohesion, and how tragedy starts to become apparent. This takes in the psychology of different people, and so we can see how religion may help some, whilst others seek assistance from elsewhere, including the bottom of a bottle.

The end of this book though does hold out hope, not making this a tale of just gloom and doom, as we are taken to 1993, and a family reunion of sorts. We read then of what the members of the family are up to, their ambitions and desires, and that with time, different outlooks and the loss of the patriarch, so things may be able to alter towards a deeper understanding and rapprochement between the family members. Not only are the main characters brought to life, but so is the scenery and even the interactions with some of the pets. Admittedly this is not a fast-paced tale by any means, but then it does really come to life in your hands as you feel the authenticity and power of the story, that has been so finely crafted.

3 people found this helpful

Catherine Rotte-Murray

A compelling family saga drama

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2019

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The Mulvaneys are a little bit of all families - a microcosm of the mundane and the drama that encompass all of us.
This book is told through the narration of Judd the baby of the family, as he struggles to comprehend the personalities and complex relationships in his chaotic family.
The domineering patriarch and the loving loyal matriarch who has to make a terrible choice after a horrific event that rends the family and leads to near-disaster.
Controversial topics like revenge, date rape and marital breakdown are covered to challenge the reader and this book kept me hanging in till the end.
A masterpiece like all of Joyce Carol Oates’ works.

2 people found this helpful

Zoe Leighton

Puzzling, frustrating and beautiful, a book I’m glad to have read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 2, 2019

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I did enjoy this book. It didn’t unfold the way I presumed it would, which is always refreshing, and like life. What was also lifelike was the perplexed and unpredictable reactions of some of the characters, ultimately I accepted that was how their personalities would behave, but I found I had to force myself to that conclusion. Especially the daughter whose story drives all others, I loved her character and the fact that so many adored her made me question how her narrative could be explained. Then I’d stop and think, well of course, familiarity breeds contempt.
I would recommend this book and the beautiful descriptions of the farm and animals. I have never been to the USA, but feel I have been given a window on rural America of yesteryear in all its imperfect glory.

One person found this helpful

V. M. Wells

Intriguing But Ultimately Frustrating

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 25, 2019

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A well drawn portrait of rural American family life. But SPOILER ALERT I couldn't get over the mother's acceptance and complicity in the treatment of the daughter following what was the defining event. I kept expecting some sort of show- down between Marianne and her mother, or one of the boys and their parents regarding the parental treatment of their sister, some come-uppance or reckoning or at least an attempt at justification by the mother for the cruel treatment; but it never happened and all the children seemed to adore Corinne (the mother) regardless. Ultimately, for me, unsatisfying.

One person found this helpful

shoestopper

Great read once it warmed up

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 14, 2017

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Took some time to warm up as the (too many for my tastes) opening pages were descriptions of places I did not know so were not very interesting. However, it must be said the rest of the book gave those pages weight and after the tragic event that broke the family happened, from there onwards I found the book very gripping and captivating. It is very well written and evocative in a way that engages the reader. The emotions and characters are recognisable and the story is very well written.

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