Wednesday, February 16, 2011

The Falls by Joyce Carol Oates

I'm a big fan of the actual Falls, Niagara that is.  I grew up practically in The Falls backyard yet never made the trip to see them until a couple years ago.  It's a place that's engraved in my psyche.  A friend of mine knowing how much I love The Falls sent me some pictures from 1911 when The Falls were completely frozen over and people went to walk on them. Pretty fascinating stuff. I guess no one worried about slipping on the ice, breaking a leg and suing back then.   And in case you didn't know, there's always a rainbow at The Falls.

I loved this book.  Joyce Carol Oates certainly does know what she's doing.  The prose is brilliant, the characters superb.  Her ability to build tension is probably the finest I've ever read.  The Burnaby family however were all such tortured souls.  They lived and were legends in and around The Falls.  That's all I want to say about the plot.  It's well worth reading to find out what I mean.

I love reading the literary stories.  I love all the words, descriptions, dialogue.  I love getting lost in the characters lives.  The only thing that really bugged me about this book was that the questions that burned in my mind were never clearly answered.  And then I thought about them a little more.  No question any of us face in life is resolved clearly and specifically.  Ever. Other things simply happen that move us forward to where we're supposed to be.

The Falls is rated 4 out of 5 stars, well worth the time whether you're a Niagara Falls fan or not.  

No comments:

Post a Comment

Splintered Silence by Susan Furlong

Splintered Silence by Susan Furlong First off I have to say I happened on this book by chance.  My sister's name is Susan Leigh Furl...