As already announced in my Hello September post, and my Buddy Read post, Lisa @Capitvated Reader and myself are hosting a buddy read this month. I will add Lisa's link to my post as soon as she has published hers.
Spoiler alert:
A buddy read like this cannot be as vague as many of my other reviews. On the other hand, I can't hide everything, so I will have to talk about this book as if I were in a book club and we all read the book.
Therefore, I will be quite open in the next couple of weeks but will, at the end, write a description of the whole book in the way you are all used to. So, if you haven't read the book but still would like to, be patient, I'll get there.
I am not a big fan of fantasy or fantastic, mythical figures. I probably wouldn't have even looked at the book were it not by one of my favourite authors and for a dear blogger friend who invited me to join her buddy read.
Week 1 (Oct 1–Oct 8)
• Author's Note & Prologue: Sets up the faux-historical framing in Princeton, New Jersey, during 1905–1906.
• Part One: Demon Bridegroom: Focuses on the bizarre seduction and abduction of a young bride at her wedding.
The beginning of the novel is quite interesting. There are well-known historical figures but what about the others? Do they exist? E.g. the Slade family?
I don't believe in ghosts, so this doesn't frighten me in any way. So, I can't really believe in a "curse". I do hope this leads people who believe in it to change their habits. Why do they think there is a curse on the town. They must be convinced that they did something wrong.
To dig deeper into the story, I used some discussion questions from LitLovers.
I believe, JCO uses a lot of her fantastic psychology to describe this and the conflict members of the town encounter.
The fictional narrator, M.W. van Dyck, always has his own opinions that he likes to add, even though he calls himself a historian and should therefore be more neutral. However, he also guides us to many questions of this "history". And we might learn from them, if we don't agree with him already.
A great quote from this part of the book:
"But we don't suffer nearly as much as most people", Meta said, hesitantly, "like Negroes, and the poorest immigrants. And We can read ... there is always the prospect of escape."
"Books are not a means of 'escape', Meta. Books are a means of knowledge, and of learning how to cope with the future."
This is a discussion between Upton Sinclair and his wife Meta. Do we agree with Upton or with Meta? I totally like the way of learning how to cope with the future. However, I also like books as a way of escape. Sometimes, this world is too hard on us and we need some distractions. Of course, we can get both from a lot of books.
In the prologue, the questions gets asked whether the curse really exists or whether the narrator is inadvertently describing an outbreak of collective hysteria and moral decay. I believe in the latter.
One more question from the LitLovers list:
The Accursed asks us to ponder the nature of evil? What is "evil" in the scope of the novel?
That is an important question. And one that we should consider very heavily. Some people consider socialism an "evil", others the opposite of it. What is really evil, in my eyes, is selfishness, not caring about your neighbour (as the bible teaches us and those who claim they are "good Christians" like to preach but not live by).
Lisa said, it feels quite different than other books we've read by JCO.
I must agree but she is such a great author that I am sure we get the most of it.
There are plenty of real life people /and their relatives) in this book:
presidents: Woodrow Wilson, Grover Cleveland, Teddy Roosevelt
authors: Upton Sinclair, Jack London, Mark Twain
others: Andrew Fleming West
Book Description:
"This eerie tale of psychological horror sees the real inhabitants of turn-of-the-century Princeton fall under the influence of a supernatural power. New Jersey, 1905: soon-to-be commander-in-chief Woodrow Wilson is president of Princeton University. On a nearby farm, Socialist author Upton Sinclair, enjoying the success of his novel 'The Jungle', has taken up residence with his family. This is a quiet, bookish community - elite, intellectual and indisputably privileged. But when a savage lynching in a nearby town is hushed up, a horrifying chain of events is initiated - until it becomes apparent that the families of Princeton have been beset by a powerful curse. The Devil has come to this little town and not a soul will be spared. 'The Accursed' marks new territory for the masterful Joyce Carol Oates - narrated with her unmistakable psychological insight, it combines beautifully transporting historical detail with chilling fantastical elements to stunning effect."
No comments:
Post a Comment