A review by josephine_mariane
I'll Take You There by Joyce Carol Oates

4.0

The book is divided into three parts. The first deals with the main character's time as a member of a sorority and the mental breakdown that ensues. The second part focuses on her obsessive love for a Black PhD philosophy student. And the last, and shortest part, follows her as she travels to Utah to see her father in his last days before he dies of cancer. The novel beautifully follows the winding paths of a mind that sometimes verges towards insanity. I especially adored the second part but I must say I was disappointed by the end. It isn't clear why the book should end at that moment, on that remark. It is an abrupt and unsatisfactory end to a dreamy, maddening exploration of the inner life of a young woman.