From one over-typical Virago, to something completely different - a story narrated by a male teenager. Expensive people caught my eye on the TBR as the Cardigan Girl household is currently undergoing some financial sorting out, and although Joyce Carol Oates is an author who is quite well known, she is not one that I had heard of.
The book got off to an excellent start "I was a child murderer" - who would not want to read on (even if you don't like murder stories, I think with that sort of introduction you would be intrigued to find out what happens next). Told by Richard, we learn about his wealthy but disaffected childhood and find out what takes him to a position where he ends up being able to make such a statement.
The book reminded me a lot of A catcher in the Rye - the level of disaffection and the very immediate first person narrative, although Richard is far more screwed up than Holden Caulfield ever was.
It felt like an interesting choice for a Virago, particularly given how I felt after my last read. Obviously it is included because Joyce Carol Oates is an eminent female writing, but this one is so far from the run of the mill VMCs. I'm not complaining though - it made for a nice change!
It's been published twice, once with a modern green cover (which I have - part of my Awesome Books loot) and once with a modern cover (below)
No comments:
Post a Comment