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tsentas's review against another edition
4.0
A sharply written satire that demands close reading to draw out its biting critiques.
dycook's review against another edition
4.0
Hmm... Why is this book so poorly rated? Personally, I found this novel to be a stylistic steppingstone somewhere between Virginia Woolf and Thomas Pynchon. McCarthy certainly deserves to be considered among that kind of company, both for her witty prose and sharp commentary (this is probably one of the most incisive Cold War novels I've read). It's a difficult read, but worth the time.
canadiantiquarian's review against another edition
4.0
In The Oasis, a group of intellectuals flee the dramas of modern society to live happily in "Utopia." It is a grass-is-greener novella satirizing the desire to flee dark reality for a pristine utopia, and the slow realization that this oasis is actually a mirage.
As much as this is Mary McCarthy satirizing the people and dramas of her era, The Oasis is just as thoughtful and stirring today -- not just for how it challenges flights of fancy and superficial desires to expatriate, but also for its treatment of the endless variants of desire. Many of McCarthy's lines feel like they were written today -- her satire deftly pulling the veil from the way one shared desire can be achieved by many different and clashing rationales.
As much as this is Mary McCarthy satirizing the people and dramas of her era, The Oasis is just as thoughtful and stirring today -- not just for how it challenges flights of fancy and superficial desires to expatriate, but also for its treatment of the endless variants of desire. Many of McCarthy's lines feel like they were written today -- her satire deftly pulling the veil from the way one shared desire can be achieved by many different and clashing rationales.
veromes's review against another edition
2.0
Una sátira que no me ha terminado de convencer. Siento que en su momento histórico pudo ser mucho más entendida y desde mi contexto me ha sido más difícil de comprender. Aun así me ha gustado mucho la forma de escribir de la autora.
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