Scan barcode
A review by libellus
Son of the Morning by Joyce Carol Oates
3.0
Full review here!: https://libellus.weebly.com/blog/review-son-of-the-morning
Son of the Morning is my second Joyce Carol Oates book this year, and while I was going to give her the benefit of the doubt after disliking the first one, I have come to the realization that her novels are just not my cup of tea. SotM had a promising premise that could have brought us both interestingly twisted characters and a plot full of suspense and jump scares. Unfortunately, she only managed to deliver on the former.
Indeed, we do encounter some colourful characters, especially Nathan. Oates does a good job at making demented people seem normal, almost believable. Therefore, if you are expecting a freaky kind of twisted à la Stephen King, this is not it. Instead, the “freak” aspect comes from how normal everything seems to be. Even when there were some more shocking moments (I could count two, including the ending), it was treated banally.
The plot itself was fine, but could have done with a lot of editing. This book was over 400 pages and, as I said, only two big twists happen. Hence, by combining her approach of “normal characters” and a slow plot, it all gets boring quickly. If you are a particular fan of psychological novels with lots of self-reflection, then you may be fine with this. However, for me, it just combined to a painfully slow reading experience.
Son of the Morning is my second Joyce Carol Oates book this year, and while I was going to give her the benefit of the doubt after disliking the first one, I have come to the realization that her novels are just not my cup of tea. SotM had a promising premise that could have brought us both interestingly twisted characters and a plot full of suspense and jump scares. Unfortunately, she only managed to deliver on the former.
Indeed, we do encounter some colourful characters, especially Nathan. Oates does a good job at making demented people seem normal, almost believable. Therefore, if you are expecting a freaky kind of twisted à la Stephen King, this is not it. Instead, the “freak” aspect comes from how normal everything seems to be. Even when there were some more shocking moments (I could count two, including the ending), it was treated banally.
The plot itself was fine, but could have done with a lot of editing. This book was over 400 pages and, as I said, only two big twists happen. Hence, by combining her approach of “normal characters” and a slow plot, it all gets boring quickly. If you are a particular fan of psychological novels with lots of self-reflection, then you may be fine with this. However, for me, it just combined to a painfully slow reading experience.