Noteworthy, But Flawed
We Were The Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates
I am a book junkie. I'm not proud, but I admit it. I buy books like a toddler in a shopping cart - grabbing at every novel whose title or jacket catches my eye and stimulates my imagination. I have a cocky need to personally select each book, devour it, and then glow in the enjoyment of knowing that I have "discovered" yet another fabulous novel.
I always have at least of few "recently discovered" books lined up in the queue so I'm never without my next fix. My night table is a jagged mountain of books threatening a literary avalanche with each quick or careless movement, yet somehow this crazy system works for me. I enjoy the great majority of my reading selections, and am proud to have "discovered" so many wonderful novels and novelists in recent years!
When I "discovered" Joyce Carol Oates' We Were The Mulvaneys I could scarcely contain my excitement. Something told me that this book was to be my find of the year - the book that I wouldn't be able to put down and the one about which I would not be able to stop talking. The book jacket teased me with a story of one family's secrets, pain, and triumph:
"The Mulvaneys are blessed by all that makes life sweet..They are confident in their love for each other and their position in the rural community of Mt. Ephriam, New York. But something happens on Valentine's Day, 1976 - an incident that is hushed up in the town and never spoken of in the Mulvaney home - that rends the fabric of their family life. with tragic consequences.. ultimately We Were The Mulvaneys celebrates the miracle that allowed a family to bridge the chasms that had opened up between them, and to reunite in the spirit of love and healing."
My prediction was half-right - I couldn't put this book down. Joyce Carol Oates' writing is evocative. In just the first few pages she was able to grab my imagination and transport me to High Point Farm in Mt. Ephriam New York, where the Mulvaney family lived happily in their beautiful lavender farm house. I felt the warmth of their family life and envied their peaceful rural lifestyle. We Were the Mulvaney's, however, is flawed. While Oates' writing is undeniably beautiful, somewhere along the way I lost my connection with the family and their experiences.
If you have not read the book yet, and would like to experience the story and characters for yourself, please stop reading now and proceed to my closing paragraph.
We Were the Mulvaneys tells the story of a close knit family who is unable to deal with tragic injustice that shakes their tranquil lives. Oates introduces us to the Mulvaney family, and allows us to fall in love with each family member.
Mike Mulvaney is the patriarch of the family. When we meet him, Mike is the loving husband and father of four. He is a successful businessman; proud of his family and of his standing in the community. While in college, Mike met Corinne. Mike, the handsome ladies man, was popular and fun loving. He enjoyed playing the field, and was somewhat surprised to fall in love with the less-than-beautiful Corrine. When Corrine unselfconsciously jumps into a lake to save a swan entangled in fishing line, Mike could not deny his attraction for her self-confidence and ability. The couple married shortly after, and created a storybook life for themselves.
Corinne, is a loving wife and mother, enjoying the security and comfort of a strong and stable family life. She is the keystone of the Mulvaney family - a strong and capable woman. Yet, Corinne lives her life sheltered from the outside world - she can not fathom the idea that anything dark could touch her or her loved ones, and is unprepared to deal with tragedy when it strikes her own family.
Their first son, Mike Jr., followed in his father's footsteps as a popular and athletic young man. The second child, Patrick, is the family "brain". Cerebral and studious, Patrick is destined for great things. Marianne, the third child and the only daughter, is her parents' pride and joy. A beautiful and popular cheerleader, Marianne is the peaches and cream girl next door who everyone loves. Judd is the baby of the family, and the narrator of the Mulvaney's story.
In 1976, after a school dance, Marianne is sexually assaulted by a classmate. No one in the family is prepared to deal with the pain that is inflicted upon them. Marianne is plagued with guilt that she is somehow responsible for the rape. She tries to hide the incident from her family, but it torn apart emotionally by the crime committed against her. She turns to religion, shies away from her friends, and withdraws into her own pain. In the end, the biggest injustice that she suffers is from her parents who can not provide her with the unconditional love and support that she needs to heal.
Mike Sr. is not equipped to support his daughter through her ordeal. When he seeks out and attempts to attack his daughter's rapist, he finds himself punished by the police and shunned by his friends and associates. A proud man, he can not deal with his inability to protect his daughter. Rather than seek help, he sends Marianne away and refuses to have any contact with her. While his actions are unjustified, he, too, is a victim. Not only does he lose his daughter, he loses his confidence, his standing in the community and his self-respect. In the end, he turns to alcohol and loses everything.
Corinne does not know how to support her family in the wake of the crime. She, too, turns to religion and faith and believes that time will heal. A once take-charge confident woman, Corinne becomes broken and allows her husband to slowly, and methodically, unravel her close-knit family. With Marianne out of the house, Corinne mistakenly focuses her energies on supporting her husband and maintaining the semblance of a happy family. The results are tragic.
Each of Corinne and Mike's children suffers terribly. Mike Jr. leaves home as quickly as possible, distancing himself from his family's pain. Patrick becomes obsessed with executing justice on his sister's assailant. He, too, leaves home, distancing himself from his family. Marianne, a once straight A student, is unable to function in college. She drifts from place to place desperately seeking to fit in but fleeing as soon as anyone gets too close. Judd, the baby of the family, is largely forgotten. Left alone with his parents at High Point Farm, Judd clings to his connections with his siblings but is forced to witnesses the ultimate decay of his family.
We Were The Mulvaneys is a story of heartbreaking tragedy. The reader witnesses the destruction of a family and the pain of each family member. Oates, however, fails to share each character's process with us. While we see the effect of the crime on each family member, we can not feel each characters' experiences. The Mulvaney family is torn away from the reader, just as they are torn away from each other. I wanted to get into their heads - I wanted to know what they were thinking, yet the narrative is lacking.
In the final chapter, the epilogue, Oates writes of a family reunion. The reunion is a true homecoming as each of the Mulvaney children return to Mt. Ephriam. The reader is pleased to see that each family member has found peace and happiness. We are delighted to see that the Mulvaney family is still connected by strong and enduring bonds of love. I, however, would have liked to see how each family member got there. How did they transition from pain to acceptance and happiness?
As I stated, Judd narrates the story, and this perhaps is the novel's key flaw. As narrator, Judd can not get into the minds of the other characters. He should be limited to sharing his own observations, yet Judd tells of incidents that he did not witness, and shares thoughts that he could not know. If We Were The Mulvaneys limited itself to Judd's own observations, we might have had a wonderful character study about the effects of the Mulvaney's experiences on its youngest member. By allowing Judd to share information that he does not witness or experience, Oates leaves us wanting more.
I hesitate to give any novel or product a wishy-washy rating, yet, I find myself rating We Were The Mulvaneys with 3 stars out of 5. The story is interesting, but the narrative is flawed. Oates' writing is wonderfully descriptive, and I am thrilled to have "discovered" her. Despite this mixed review, I will read more of Oates' novels.
