A garden of earthly delights (Oates)

I read my first Joyce Carol Oates, a little while ago (Expensive People) which was fascinating, not least because of its untypical (for a VMC) male teenager narrator. Shortly afterwards, Rachel at Booksnob reviewed a non VMC Oates book, and we got into a discussion about whether or not Oates was a "bleak" writer. Having only read the one novel by her, I ordered another from the library, A garden of earthly delights, which pleased me by arriving in a nice green edition.

It's one of Oates' early books and thus I'm not sure whether it is typical of the rest of her work. This book is a saga of the life of a woman named Clara, told through three novellas, each named after a man who was significant in her life: Carleton, her father, Lowry, her lover and Swan, her son. And yes, it is pretty bleak. Clara is born to migrant workers in the midst of the depression; we see her as she grows up, and then as she falls in love with Lowry, falling pregnant. But she ends up marrying another man, and the remainder of the book deals with her relationship with her husband and her sons.

This one has just been published once by Virago with a green spine but otherwise "modern" cover. One more Oates features on the VMC list - Solstice - and I shall certainly be intrigued to give it a go. And I found this page about Oates on the internet whilst writing this post which has some interesting articles.

Expensive people (Oates)

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)