Black Water in The Roundtable

Nov 24, 2018 Lise Petrauskas rated it it was amazing

Shelves: aint-that-america

Wow, this book is so topical! I didn't intend it to fit a theme, but it fits right in to the #metoo movement. In the first few pages, I was worried that the book was self-consciously experimental in form, but in fact it ended up working for me. It's a fast read and I was highly motivated to understand what was happening and the twists and turns the book took into the past and future brought certain details into sharp focus the way a narrow passage forces a a person walking through to confront wh ...more

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Jul 16, 2022 Heather(Gibby) rated it liked it

Wow that was intense! I never knew of this story before, i definitely will have to do some follow-up reading about the Chappaquiddick incident.

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Dec 12, 2018 Christopher rated it liked it

Shelves: american, fiction, 20th-century, novellas, nameless-characters

I wasn't specifically aware of the Chappaquiddick incident, in which Senator Ted Kennedy drove a car with young Mary Jo Kopechne off a bridge and tried to cover it up, before I read this book. I say "specifically", because even though I didn't know about the actual people or events, it feels like I know the story. It feels like an American myth or parable. And though I didn't love this book, Oates did a fine job in giving her story that same feeling; indeed, she says, "I wanted the story to be s I wasn't specifically aware of the Chappaquiddick incident, in which Senator Ted Kennedy drove a car with young Mary Jo Kopechne off a bridge and tried to cover it up, before I read this book. I say "specifically", because even though I didn't know about the actual people or events, it feels like I know the story. It feels like an American myth or parable. And though I didn't love this book, Oates did a fine job in giving her story that same feeling; indeed, she says, "I wanted the story to be somewhat mythical, the almost archetypal experience of a young woman who trusts an older man and whose trust is violated."

But I really did not like the writing. The book begins with the crash into the black water, and it flashes back and forth between Kelly Kelleher's slow process of drowning in a submerged car and her day-long romance with the Senator (no name is given), with some intervals that give us more details about Kelly's family life, schooling, career, etc. It's as if we're witnessing her life flash before her eyes as she breathes her final breaths. The prose is written in a frantic manner, as if the narrator is trying to get all the words out while she still can.

She heard the single expletive "Hey!" as the car skidded into a guardrail skidding sideways, the right rear coming around as in a demonic amusement ride and her head cracked against the window a red mist flashing across her eyes but she could not draw breath to scream as the momentum of their speed carried them down a brief but steep embankment, an angry staccato tapping against the car as if dried sticks were being broken, still she not breath to scream as the car plunged into what appeared to be a pit, a pool, stagnant water in the marshland you might think only a few feet deep but black water was churning alive and purposeful on all sides tuggin gthem down, the car sinking on its side, and Kelly was blinded, The Senator fell against her and their heads knocked and how long it was the two of them struggled together, stunned, desperate, in terror of what was happening out of their control and even their comprehension except to think This can't be happening, am I going to die like this, how many seconds or minutes before The Senator [...]

...and the sentence goes on for another half page. Apart from the repetition of the word "sideways" which just feels lazy, this style of verbal diarrhea makes sense in a scene where someone is fighting for their life and struggling to comprehend what is happening to them. But it's employed throughout, and makes less sense in a scene where a newly met couple take a stroll down a beach:

She was walking along the beach and beside her was the tall broad-shouldered handsome man, big bearlike maan, gray-grizzled curly hair, a famous face yet a comfortable face, a sunflower face, a kindly face, an uncle's face—the blue eyes so blue so keenly so intensely blue a blue like washed glass.

To me, this type of writing feels sophomoric, which was surprising because Oates has quite the reputation as a writer. I haven't written her off, though. If anyone has any suggestions for my next read by her, let me know. ...more

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Sep 27, 2014 Gerard rated it it was ok

I really want to like this book. I really do. The first few chapters of Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates were just incredible. I was blown away by her sleek, stylish and poetic writing style that seemed to rush off the pages in dark ink. As it progressed, I started to feel a little bit like I was going insane. Disappointment could not even describe how I'm feeling about this short novella right now. It was so trite and repetitive to me that not even Oates spectacular writing could save it. I wil ...more

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