A Book of American Martyrs: A Novel Paperback – October 10, 2017

This novel may be promoted around the idea that the martyrs are those on either “side” of the abortion issue. Some have accused the author of promoting tired stereotypical characters representing these sides. But from my standpoint, abortion made the perfect “foil” for a powerful examination of family; how families connect, disconnect, re-form and blow apart. Just as there are nuances in the abortion debate (unless you find yourself on one extreme end or the other), so there are nuances in what it means to be in a family. And as this novel so powerfully displays, family may or may not be your birth family, it may or may not be that you were actually a “wanted” child (even though you were not aborted); it may or may not be that the family you are in is the family you eventually choose for yourself or is perhaps chosen for you by circumstance. It may take part of a lifetime to realize who actually comprises your family; your “loved ones”. Family is a choice. A commitment. A result of all our life decisions. In the end, we have all, in one way or another, chosen our families.I was actually hesitant to read the book because I have been so discouraged by all the polarization arising from the “culture wars” in our society. But by the end of the novel, I was actually in tears and had to get up and walk around. The ending was stunning. If you read the last pages first, your library card should be revoked!

Oates takes us down, down far beneath the surface of a vexing problem and humanizes both sides. And yet she avoids the trap of justifying the unjustifiable. An awkward reconciliation at the end provides a ray of light amidst the gloom. Disturbing in the best way.

This book couldn’t be more relevant as it reveals all the wounds of our country’s abortion issues and illuminates them as only a fine novel can. Luther Dunphy feels called by God to murder abortion doctor Gus Voorhees, which Dunphy considers to be justifiable homicide. Oates explores Dunphy’s thoughts leading to the murder, the trials, his imprisonment, and his execution. She also takes us inside the lives of Luther’s and Gus’s wives and children as they deal with this violent event and its consequences. In particular we come to know Gus’s daughter, Naomi, and Luther’s daughter, Dawn, as each spends years sorting out their relationship to a father who lived according to his deepest ideals. Naomi attempts to create an archive of her famous father’s life and Dawn pours her passion into becoming a professional boxer. This 736-page book felt in no way too long. I was stunned by its raw look at tragedy and moved to tears by its heart-felt relationship to each character.

Oates's ability to show how a personal tragedy can cause a family to unravel is unmatched, and in this regard, A Book of American Martyrs reminds me of her 1996 novel We Were the Mulvaneys. The characters in the former are complex and three dimensional; even the secondary players (such as the invalid Karl Kinch) are drawn with deft strokes. It's a painful book for many reasons beyond the actual story, as it poses many philosophical questions that challenge a reader's belief system. Oates uses a broad canvas; it's a sprawling story that takes place between 1999-2012, and the time transitions are relatively seamless. I won't detail the plot here in order to avoid spoilers, but this 700+ page novel is one of the author's most cathartic. Highly recommended.

To say this is another fantastic Joyce Carol Oates novel would be redundant. Has Oates ever NOT written a fantastic novel? Her characters are very complicated, yet very believable. Although she portrays their faults with her usual mix of harsh judgment and cynicism, she manages to make her characters likable and entirely understandable. You want to hate them for who they are and for the sins they commit, but you can almost get why they ended up the way they did. You keep rooting for them to do better, and the ending of the book gives you hope that maybe some of them will. I highly recommend!

I found this novel absorbing -- I am an Oates fan since reading "them" in my teens. The boxing scenes later in the book are particularly well-drawn. In my view, the characters on both sides of the pro-life/pro-choice divide are presented with sympathy and depth.

What can you say? Great Oates. She touches every nerve, especially for those like myself who lived through these intense ideological wars. This is not a book to recommend to all due to its surface topic, but the way we live now, in "America" i.e. USA it is a pertinent reminder of hard won legislative battles. The battles are beginning again. Oates as usual has the ability to inhabit the "Other's" mind with empathy and sympathy, causing conflict in the reader no matter which side of the coin we fall. She can make you care for those often considered hateful and ignorant and uncultured, while simultaneously revealing the weaknesses of any all-consuming ideologies. A book for our times and for the times soon to come. Not for the faint reader.