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21st out of 24 books
—
14 voters
Patricide: A Novella
Roland Marks is a Nobel Prize winning novelist with a penchant for younger women and four marriages behind him. Lou-Lou Marks, his grown daughter, is a successful academic in her own right. But her real career lies in attending to her father. An egomaniacal and emotionally manipulative man, he demands of her absolute filial loyalty and an uncompromising acquiescence to his...more
ebook, 100 pages
Published
July 3rd 2012
by Ecco
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Carol Oates has crafted a story about a father and daughter relationship.
He is a celebrated writer and the author of a Nobel prize winning novel.
This is a strained relationship at times but the father and daughter have an understanding and have had some great moments in their lives.
She is not married or with kids and she seems to not want flee the household of her father and takes up the role helping administer his busy writing life.
The title of this novella is the name of the novel of which he...more
He is a celebrated writer and the author of a Nobel prize winning novel.
This is a strained relationship at times but the father and daughter have an understanding and have had some great moments in their lives.
She is not married or with kids and she seems to not want flee the household of her father and takes up the role helping administer his busy writing life.
The title of this novella is the name of the novel of which he...more
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A lovely, compact novel, closely focused. Rather like an extended short story. "Lou-Lou" is the narrator, the daughter of a great writer. He rarely offers her any praise for her part in his life, even though all of his wives and his other children have abandoned him to his self-centered ways. Roland Marks, the writer, is now in his seventies and is working with his daughter to sell his massive archive to the New York Public Library. He is hoping for a large sum from the sale, not least because o...more
We have met Roland Marks before. Phillip Roth wrote about a character just like him in "Exit Ghost." Self absorbed. Serial womanizer because he places his needs and vanity above the needs and welfare of his family. Seeking the attention of younger and younger women as he diminishes both physically and artistically and struggles with his increasing irrelevance.
The difference here is that the perspective is not of the aging literary lion---which tends to create sympathy for him. This beautifully w...more
The difference here is that the perspective is not of the aging literary lion---which tends to create sympathy for him. This beautifully w...more
2 likes · like · see review
Patricide is the story of Lou-Lou, a middle-aged college dean who exists in the shadow of her brilliant father, Pulitzer-prize winning author Roland Marks. Joyce’s theme wasn’t difficult to find. No matter how liberated, brilliant, and successful certain women become, they often cannot escape the shadows of the men they love (her theme, not mine, so save your hate mail). Those shadows linger long after those men die. Lou-Lou realizes this and hates herself, her father, and all her father’s ex-wi...more
It's been a while since I've read any Oates, but as soon as I started reading this there was no mistaking her voice. Being a novella, this is very short, but she still manages to flesh out her characters pretty well. Essentially we come in on the final days of Roland Marks, as viewed by his daughter Lou Lou. An accomplished and intelligent woman, her obsession with her father's live eventually destroys her own, at least in part. If you enjoy Oates I recommend picking this up, but this is very mu...more
I wasn't as wowed by this as I think I was supposed to be. The premise is as old as time -- ugly duckling daughter yearns for scraps of love and respect from self-absorbed, egomaniacal father. I didn't find Lou Lou or her horrid father all that likable, though Oates does a good job of setting up the weird, co-dependent dynamic between them.
I think I wanted this to be darker, a bit more sinister. It didn't feel like anything new or different. The ending was too ambigious for me, but maybe that w...more
I think I wanted this to be darker, a bit more sinister. It didn't feel like anything new or different. The ending was too ambigious for me, but maybe that w...more
I loved Mudwoman, but was not wowed by Patricide. I would have liked this more had I not read Mudwoman. The central female characters were too similar to be interesting.
Interesting tale of a famous writer (seems reminiscent of Saul Bellow), his daughter and his much younger fiance. Lots of room for jealousy and intrigue.
Always enjoy reading her work. I actually got to work with her once, doing an over-the-phone interview for a National Book Month radio spot.
I usually adore everything by Joyce Carol Oates... however, this one was just "okay" I think i expected more from the title, and it just sort of landed flat for me. Compared to her other work, I consider this to be on the weaker end.
I liked this novella. It was a quick read but that didn't detract from the great story and rich characters.
I've always enjoyed Oates' storytelling techniques. She draws the reader in with dark and disturbing view of human nature.
My kind of Joyce Carol Oates--not too long, not over the top, just a well-written novella.
Actually 3.5--ending contrived, but otherwise satisfying and meaty plot and characters.
Enjoyed this novella very much. A quick, interesting read.
A lot of this story about being a Father's daughter rang very true. Plus JCO writes so well, it is great to read anything she writes!
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Joyce Carol Oates is a recipient of the National Book Award and the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction. She is also the recipient of the 2005 Prix Femina for The Falls. She is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, and she has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978. Pseudonyms ... Rosamond Smith and Laure...more
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