Reviews

Missing Mom by Joyce Carol Oates

megklaughtland's review

emotional reflective sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

hnbates's review

4.0

This book was recommended by Vanessa. It talks about dealing with grief. What do you guys think?

bupdaddy's review

2.0

I don't know why this didn't grab me. Maybe because the pain of loss didn't resonate with me - just that this woman started to bake bread and befriend people in need - like her mom!

Then we got a nice bow-tied story of her falling in love with the right (tm) guy, who wasn't smooth or sexy but was a good (tm) man. And you saw it coming for 300+ pages, but it only happened in the last ten - like, "oh, yeah, I still need to get them together."

In writing this review, I just decided to deduct another star.

laurareshara's review

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

spinstah's review

4.0

I enjoyed this quite a bit, and it was interesting to read in the wake of some of the other books I've torn through recently. This book covers some familiar territory for Oates -- family life and the attendant emotions and issues when something goes terribly wrong. We follow two sisters in the aftermath of the murder of their mother; the book is told from the point of view of the "party girl" sister, Nikki, who is transformed through her grief over her mother's death. There is a little bit of the familiar "misguided woman/lecherous men" theme, for lack of a better word, but this protagonist has more control over the situation. Whether that is because it takes place in contemporary time (as opposed to 30+ years ago, in the case of "A Garden of Earthly Delights") or is due more to the character is hard to say, though I imagine it is a little of both.

The story pulled me along nicely, though there were a few scenes and revelations that I felt weren't quite fleshed out enough to warrant inclusion. For example, we discover (late in the book), that Nikki's father had anger management problems he managed to hide from his daughters. I was unclear on how this was a useful piece of information -- to my mind, it didn't do anything to explain anyone's behavior.

That said, I still enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone who's not previously read any Oates and wonders why I am so into her. :)

colorfulleo92's review

4.0

I found the story to be fascinating. Made me realize again why I love family dramas. The main character was an interesting person to follow. A messy life and not the best relationship with her mom. And to everyone shock and horror is found brutally dead (the mom). The aftermath of it all and the heroine's realiseing that there was much more to her mom then she knew. Very intresting and fast moving plot

pammoore's review against another edition

4.0

I really liked this book; I found it hard to put down (mostly) although it dragged at times. I wished a few loose ends had been tied up and that I understood a little more about why Nikki did some of the things she did. Also, I noticed the one and only Black character in the entire book evoked the hypersexual Black male stereotype. Not a fan.

SPOILERS***

like...
I really didn't understand what drew Nikki to Strabane
What about Nikki and Clare?
Did Strabane invite her to Rochester?
Does Nikki ever write about her grief for the paper?

Also- I loved Lucille's character. It felt kind of weird to meet this surprise character for the first time at the very end and then bam she's gone.

emsbooks23's review

dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

karieh13's review against another edition

4.0

Hmmm - what to say about a book that I picked up, read, put down, picked up...for 5 months? I can say that I actually liked the characters - which is rare for me when it comes to JCO. I really got involved in the story...once I hit page 358. Only at that point did I feel like the main character, Nikki, was actually trying to get a sense of who her mother was as a person. Only then did I start to feel some of Nikki's grief as she realized her mother was lost to her forever. My rating of 4 stars applies mostly to those last 76 pages. (Oh - and the scene where Nikki finds her mother's body - that scene would rate 4.5 stars. Absolutely gripping.)

ricegoshgirl's review

dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5