Started out as a mini "Grapes of Wrath" but didn't live up to Steinbeck.

- went back and forth about whether to give this four or five stars but ultimately decided on four since i think the tone could be a bit uneven but overall this was excellent. totally fully realized, vividly imagined characters, really great prose with some fantastic glimmers, and fairly well paced
-i think that JCO does such a good job of showing (not telling) the story of intergenerational trauma/memory without hitting you over the head the way that modern writers do, and the gaps between an upwardly mobile family
-clara was such a well-written character and the move away from her POV was so sad and apt

1

well written, drawn out fodder. ferrante’s Neapolitan Novels but the pleasure doesn’t feel so guilty. big fan of lila and clara. “i can pick fuckin lettuce—“

oates using the same stuff in the sixties as her nineties novels. suicide, coming of age, incest, alcoholism, new york, economic disparity. harsh characters in rough settings. works for me.

she’s gotten better at it. You Must Remember This is of no more significance, but stays stronger throughout its too many pages. A Garden of Earthly Delights wanes quickly once clara is penned.

3 stars

Heartrending drivel with no sense of plot. If this wasn't dressed up as social commentary, it certainly wouldn't be worth a read. I won't be reading a title from this author again.

Every time I read Joyce Carol Oates, I don't understand why I don't do it all the time. This novel was first published in 1967, which JCO later revised. This is the 2002 edition. That is another fascinating thing about Oates, as an author: that she has rethought and revised some of her work.

The title comes from a Hieronymus Bosch painting, which has been interpreted to represent the idea of paradise lost. Indeed, this historical novel, which starts during the depression, illustrates much that is tragic about society.

Clara Walpole is the central character, but her life is defined by the men in her life, who are drawn vividly. Her life starts as the daughter of a migrant worker, which means she worked from an early age and did not get an education. When she runs away and accepts help from a man she believes she is in love with (at about age fourteen), her life is defined by his visits. Eventually, she is married to a rich man, which defines her socially. In the end, it will be her son who will change her life.


I've now completed The Wonderland Quartet, though I read the others ages ago. Each one is excellent.