Babysitter

A Novel

By: Joyce Carol Oates

Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell, Kirby Heyborne, Max Meyers

Length: 17 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

From one of America’s most renowned storytellers—the bestselling author of Blonde—comes a novel about love and deceit, and lust and redemption, against a backdrop of shocking murders in the affluent suburbs of Detroit.

"Hannah’s unreliable, elliptical narrative is seductive and compelling, like following someone into a fever dream ... [Oates] is in no hurry to trigger the action, dropping tiny morsels of foreshadowing to keep us on our toes."—The New York Times Book Review

“Unsettling, mysterious, deft, sinister, eerily plausible.”—Margaret Atwood, best-selling author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments, via Twitter

In the waning days of the turbulent 1970s, in the wake of unsolved child-killings that have shocked Detroit, the lives of several residents are drawn together with tragic consequences.

There is Hannah, wife of a prominent local businessman, who has begun an affair with a darkly charismatic stranger whose identity remains elusive; Mikey, a canny street hustler who finds himself on a chilling mission to rectify injustice; and the serial killer known as Babysitter, an enigmatic and terrifying figure at the periphery of elite Detroit. As Babysitter continues his rampage of abductions and killings, these individuals intersect with one another in startling and unexpected ways.

Suspenseful, brilliantly orchestrated, and engrossing, Babysitter is a starkly narrated exploration of the riskiness of pursuing alternate lives, calling into question how far we are willing to go to protect those whom we cherish most. In its scathing indictment of corrupt politics, unexamined racism, and the enabling of sexual predation in America, Babysitter is a thrilling work of contemporary fiction.

©2022 Joyce Carol Oates (P)2022 Random House Audio

Critic reviews

“[Oates] writes beautifully. Hannah’s unreliable, elliptical narrative is seductive and compelling, like following someone into a fever dream . . . Oates masterfully manipulates the narrative timeline, without losing the reader in the process. She is in no hurry to trigger the action, dropping tiny morsels of foreshadowing to keep us on our toes . . . Babysitter is a ghost story without the ghosts, but with tension thick enough to inspire several heart attacks. Read with care.”—Oyinkan Braithwaite, The New York Times Book Review

“Violent and vile, timely and terrifying . . . [Babysitter’s] pages are lit up by Oates’s searing rage about patriarchy’s toxic stain, the church’s enabling of and eager participation in the sexual predation of children, racism’s pernicious taint . . . Oates’s ability to create a sickening sense of horror is as keen as ever . . . Oates’s righteous anger, her ability to invest her story with mythological resonance, and her talent at creating eerie scenes all make Babysitter a worthwhile read.”—Priscilla Gilman, The Boston Globe

“[Babysitter] is a wild and panoramic piece of work, the serial killer’s activities a mere backdrop to a pinpoint vision of a society with rottenness at its core . . . To be able to write with such tearing astuteness about such fiercely contemporary issues would be a feat for any author of any age . . . As ever, Oates’s prose—almost insolently alive—would seem to break all the rules. The result is nothing less than magical . . . Definitely one of Oates’s finest achievements to date, Babysitter is an unforgettable portrait.”—Julie Myerson, The Guardian

Tour de force

For me, this is JCO at her best, dark, mysterious, and complex. I could not stop listening. It's a long book, yet the perfect length and I couldn't wait to get back to it. I'd have preferred the ending to be clearer, but it didn't detract from the story, imagining that what followed was what we were led to believe with no surprise twist. The talented Cassandra Campbell's narration was perfect with her differing accents and vocal inflections. I will reread this book to capture any of the details I may have missed as I was propelled forward in the strong current of the story. JCO's style of writing is not for everyone, but if it is, I can't recommend this book enough.

Insidious Evil

It seems all the best elements of a JCO novel come together in this dark, chilling novel. You almost feel grabbed by the scruff of the neck as you are pushed into a world of depravity and violence yet come to understand this world is always all around everyone, just obscured by "social norms". There are monsters of every stripe but the harshest condemnation goes to the institutionalization of such evil.

Cassandra Campbell delivers!

Huge props to Cassandra Campbell for her narration of Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates. Campbell deftly wound her way through 17+ hours of Oates dreamy, disorienting, narcotic storytelling, and kept me engaged with a character whom I frankly found exasperating. A buzzing WASP-y white woman in the wealthy suburbs of 70s Detroit, dallying with the dark side to stir some drama in her life. A perpetual victim, yet not self-pitying (nor self-aware), just constantly confused. Oates plays with themes of memory, perception, passion, and violence. The book is masterfully constructed if you can make it through, but it's a slow, slow burn. Campbell's subtle, elegant voicework portrays a range of characters articulately without losing the amnesiac atmosphere of the main character's point of view. The producers chose two male narrators to voice the last moments of victims of the titular serial killer. The serial killer, however, is more a story device than anything, and these separate narrations felt needlessly ornamental to me. Campbell could have easily handled the job. Not Oates' most accessible work, but if you're a fan (as I am) it's worth the journey for the literary architecture, if nothing else.

Chilling

I couldn’t stop listening.
The story is Suspenseful, even when you can see where it is headed.
The only thing keeping me from five stars was the contempt I often felt for the main character, and the simpering way she was narrated (intentionally I imagine) while behaving so foolishly, although this is probably intentional.

Chilling story, beautifully told

I LOVED this book and this performance. The only reason I gave the story 4 stars because I thought the ending could have been better. The pace, the internal dialogues, the commentary on society, the characters...It is haunting. The kind of book you can't wait to get back to. And the reader perfectly captured the cadence. Excellent.

Puzzled about chapter “For Sale”

Confusing as it seems unreal , out of chronological order . Read it twice, expecting that its content was just a dream, but other than that loved the character development and uninterrupted suspension . Excellent Narrator

Challenging read.

Had to listen twice to follow story and understand characters. Not recommended for faint of heart .

JCO does it again!

JCO you are deliciously dark! I was not so sure that I was going to like this one because it got off to a tediously slow start… I felt like I was hearing the same 10 sentences over and over and over again fo quite a while… it was however worth the wait… this book is not for everyone appealing to those who find romcoms and Lifetime Christmas movies ridiculous… it was great for me though… I also am a huge fan of Cassandra Campbell and she is perfect in every aspect (except whining children… I never have liked her whining children voice or possibly I don’t like whining children?) how she can pull off all the vastly different accents without sounding corney is an amazing talent… So there you go… a great read for curl up and get cozy winter nights…

Reminiscent of Kafka

A women's need for love creates a mess that keeps getting messier. JC Oates' talent for weird plots, interesting characters, and imagery is at its best. The main reader is fantastic with unique voices for each character and a dramatic flair.

Raw. Beautiful. Emotional reading.

One of the best books I have ever read on a subject that is often very uncomfortable. This book will take you on a roller coaster of emotions.