We Were the Mulvaneys by Joyce Carol Oates

 We Were the Mulvaneys

by Joyce Carol Oates

This story follows the Mulvaney family, well-known and almost mythic in their small rural town of Mt. Ephraim. They are wealthy and full of promise, a young father (Michael, Sr.) and mother (Corinne) and their four children (Mike, Patrick, Marianne, and Judd). The Mulvaneys live on a prosperous farm and have a reputation for being among the social elite, a position long fought for by Michael who is a high school graduate who left home after a falling out with his father. He met Corinne as she was an undergraduate student and the two fell madly in love. A succession of children followed, as well as their idyllic life.

But all of that changes when Marianne is raped by her prom date and the family falls apart, their world falls apart, in the aftermath as each responds to this tragic event in their own ways. The rape is hushed up by those in the town and Michael goes on a rampage, becomes ashamed at his actions so much so that he can no longer look at his daughter. Marianne is sent away by Corinne in order to retain some sense of order to their lives. The family, from their, begins to fall apart. Michael's roofing business begins to suffer, Mike withdraws from the family, Patrick as well while in college, and Judd is left behind to deal with his parents' disintegrating marriage and loss of the farm. Marianne suffers in her own ways, feeling shunned by her family and now unable to give herself to the idea of love from anyone, especially men.

As they each work through their anger, frustration, and sadness in their own ways there is an air of hope that pervades the book. Corinne is the driver of that hope, mainly, but they each embody it at some point. This is a story about love and about redemption in a family. There is loss, but the guarded belief that things will get better. It is as if distance creates the healing each member needs in order to come back together in strength.

Oates has this power in her writing of getting into the grit of a person's psychology. She knows middle class life, working class life, and writes it unflichingly. I cared about all of the characters, even though I sometimes found Marianne to be a little bit too naive. At times I kind of hated Michael as I felt that he was blaming Marianne for everything that happened after the incident. Each chapter had a way of revolving around a set piece that flashed back and forth between the present and the time the Mulvaneys fell apart. I found this structure to be incredibly effective and masterful.

We Were the Mulvaneys is a strong 4 star read.