false <![CDATA[them]]> http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166485814m/11779.jpg 11779 11 Joyce Carol Oates' Wonderland Quartet comprises four remarkable novels that explore social class in America and the inner lives of young Americans. As powerful and relevant today as it on its initial publication, <i>them </i>chronicles the tumultuous lives of a family living on the edge of ruin in the Detroit slums, from the 1930s to the 1967 race riots. Praised by <i>The Nation</i> for her "potent, life-gripping imagination," Oates traces the aspirations and struggles of Loretta Wendall, a dreamy young mother who is filled with regret by the age of sixteen, and the subsequent destinies of her children, Maureen and Jules, who must fight to survive in a world of violence and danger.<br><br>Winner of the National Book Award, <i>them</i> is an enthralling novel about love, class, race, and the inhumanity of urban life. It is, raves <i>The New York Times</i>, "a superbly accomplished vision.2<br><br><i>Them</i> is the third novel in the Wonderland Quartet. The books that complete this acclaimed series, <i>A Garden of Earthly Delights</i>, <i>Expensive People,</i> and <i>Wonderland</i>, are also available from the Modern Library. 2455601 1967 them total:592|5:146|4:195|3:186|2:51|1:14| 592 2184 982 68 4 3 false false Wed Aug 01 00:00:00 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 08:54:46 -0700 2007 Mon Jul 30 08:54:46 -0700 2007 them: The woman is indeed a superb writer. From page one, this novel (published when Oates was 31), pulls you in with its confident rhythms, sharp dialogue, and natural storytelling ease. It's the ...more...]]> 2 0 false false Sun Sep 20 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 17:47:52 -0700 2009 Sun Sep 20 17:53:48 -0700 2009 read what?
This is a book in which every character, all the time, is confused. At first, I thought maybe Ms Oates was not quite so sympathetic an observer as she thinks she is and that she may just think that her poor characters are poor because they're dumb. But no! The ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Mon Jun 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jun 10 06:52:23 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 16 09:35:53 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sun May 31 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 13:47:20 -0700 2009 Sun May 31 13:47:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sat May 30 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 11:23:54 -0700 2009 Mon Jun 01 11:30:31 -0700 2009 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Jul 15 17:12:20 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 13:14:23 -0700 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Aug 02 23:37:17 -0700 2009 Thu Jul 30 22:34:18 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 23:37:17 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Oct 18 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jan 03 06:44:07 -0800 2009 Fri Oct 23 08:14:50 -0700 2009 Wonderland Quartet, a group of stories about America - the America most of the reading public never encounters directly. For as Ms. Oates writes in her Afterward: "Few readers of them have been them, because them as a class doesn't read, certainly not lenghtly n...more...]]> 3 0 false false Fri Jun 20 00:00:00 -0700 2008 Tue May 27 12:32:34 -0700 2008 Sat Jun 21 20:15:09 -0700 2008 them is like nothing I've ever read, really. Sometimes I feel like Oates is describing another planet. Maybe it's just another century.

As a reading experience, though, I'm tempted to compare it to The Corrections. Both are sprawling, absorbing realistic novels with a similar project: to...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sat Jul 01 00:00:00 -0700 2006 Sat Jan 26 18:21:35 -0800 2008 Sun Feb 03 19:41:16 -0800 2008 more...]]> 2 0 false false Fri Sep 28 11:47:11 -0700 2007 Sun Mar 09 18:36:00 -0700 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sat Jan 17 11:30:53 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 11:36:34 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Sat Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2007 Fri Aug 31 13:09:45 -0700 2007 Fri Aug 31 13:09:45 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 true false Fri Nov 28 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Sat Nov 08 15:08:13 -0800 2008 Thu Dec 04 12:06:38 -0800 2008 1 the most fucked up story ever?

I still haven't wrapped my mind around it all and that to me is a mark of Ms. Oates works...she always leaves me thinking, pondering and occasionally scratching my head.

I don't ...more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Aug 23 11:16:04 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 23 11:18:30 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Wed Aug 05 08:45:50 -0700 2009 Wed Aug 05 08:47:13 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 1972 Mon Apr 27 06:02:17 -0700 2009 Mon Apr 27 06:04:36 -0700 2009 4 0 false false Sat Mar 14 12:25:24 -0700 2009 Sat Mar 14 12:27:24 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Wed Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Thu Sep 06 16:44:32 -0700 2007 Thu Sep 06 16:51:38 -0700 2007 more...]]> 2 0 false false Thu Jun 18 19:13:44 -0700 2009 Thu Jun 18 19:14:20 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=11779