We Were the Mulvaneys

By: Joyce Carol Oates

Narrated by: Scott Shina

Length: 22 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Author of 27 novels, Joyce Carol Oates has won a National Book Award and the PEN/Malamud Award. She has been nominated for the PEN/Faulkner Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Readers around the world marvel at her ability to trace the subtle dynamics at work in the modern American family.

Judd is the youngest of the four Mulvaney children - three boys and a girl - on their parents’ lush farm in upstate New York. In his childhood, Judd is swept along by the sheer energy of the Mulvaneys and their wealth of beloved family stories. But now, 30 years old, Judd looks back through his memories to tell the secrets that eventually ripped apart the fabric of his storybook family.

Reminiscent of the works of Jane Smiley and Anne Tyler, Oates’ novel tells a tale that could be tragic, but is, instead, a ringing affirmation. Narrator Scott Shina’s performance perfectly captures the complex relationships within the Mulvaney clan.

©1996 The Ontario Review, Inc. (P)2001 Recorded Books, LLC

Too Many Tangents

If I have to answer yes or no to the question “did you like the book” I would answer yes, however I felt like there were too many tangents and not enough plot.

The book is about how a family essentially disintegrates following the date-rape of the daughter… yet I’m not so convinced that they would have remained “a happy nuclear family” had the sad events not occurred.

It felt like I was reading a bunch of short stories about a dysfunctional family and there was no point. The tangent about Muffin The Cat was so particularly pointless, it did nothing to advance the story - aside from making me sad about losing my own cat one day.

Overall - not bad, not great… I finished feeling rather neutral.

As for the production, I laughed out loud when suddenly I was told I was on cassette 5! HA! A bit of shotty editing there!

Forgot how amazing this book is!

I read this before, maybe 10 years ago, but forgot what a powerful story it is. So glad to have listened to it!

Great Book

You get to know the characters very well, emotions are brought to the surface. It will make you cry & laugh!

WE WERE THE DYSFUNCTIONALS

Twenty-two hours of nothing. This is a story of a superficial family, growing up in a small town and constantly worrying about appearances. Mrs. Mulvaney was moving about with her head in the clouds. She seemed more concerned about the farm animals than she was about her husband and children. She chose to hide behind her faith in God with the expectation that her family would take care of themselves. Not having parents to guide her, the daughter was left floundering and on her own. The father was no better with parenting skills. He focused on having a successful business and living a superficial life, even to the point of joining a country club where he was only tolerated. One act of violence, eventually forced this family to realize that they had no foundation to keep them strong.

Joyce Carol Oates - a master storyteller

Don't delay! Download this book right away. I kept passing over this book for one reason or another, and finally decided to use a credit and listen. I wish I had done it sooner. This is added to my all time favorites list.

Excellent narration.
Touching story.

This Guy

This is an excellent book, but the narrator, omg. He pauses at all the wrong times, and always puts the emphasis on the wrong word in the sentence. His pronunciation is poor also; most notably, Mrs. Mulvaney’s name is Corinne, not Corrine! I noticed too late that another version is available…hopefully with better narration.

This was really written by Joyce Carol Oates?

I don't like to write many reviews - usually only to help other listeners find gems or avoid books that I think are just overall bad (but not because they just don't meet my taste in books). This the latter. Fortunately, I got it when was a low price, so that didn't hurt so much.

I was maybe a third into the book when I wanted to immediately call Carol Joyce Oats and let her know that some untalented teenager was using her name on a book titled We Were The Mulvaneys.

This is a very character driven book, but they are amazingly one dimensional. In the book synopsis, these excerpts: "… Judd looks back through his memories to tell the secrets that eventually ripped apart the fabric of his storybook family." and "….Oates’ novel tells a tale that could be tragic, but is, instead, a ringing affirmation." OK, so going in we know that there will be some event or events that are bad and hidden and that things turn out alright in some way. And that is what we get, but it's like seeing it on TV, except with little drama and no humor.

There is absolutely no introspection of either the writer (Judd) or any of the other characters for why people are doing what they are doing. We just see them do it. This could have been about how the family members and others felt about what happened, their perceptions and perspective on events and why they made the good or poor choices in their lives. The Judd character is just writing an article where other members of the family have apparently told him the events but not why they did anything they did or what they thought to themselves. And the affirmation ending is just as one dimensional as the rest of the book. There is no catharsis or reflection by any of the characters. We just see them going about their lives. To me, this is a very flimsy story. I expected more from this author.

Oh, and to add to the poor experience, the reader is quite bad on this book. Too often, it's clear he's reading a book he's not that familiar with, pausing in inappropriate places, like he thought that was the end of the sentence, but oh wait, here it continues on the next page.

Worst writing ever!

I have listened to over 350 books, and this is the worst writing I've ever tried to endure. I often yelled, "Shut the ___ up!" at the recording and fast forwarded. Oates never uses one word when 6 will do. I will avoid her writings like the plague from now on.

Not worth my time

I listened to this all the way through AND the author’s interview. JCO thinks highly of herself. Arrogant and lofty.

Boreing

This book wasn’t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

Needs action and a different writer perhaps

What was most disappointing about Joyce Carol Oates’s story?

The story was so very boring, I went in and steam cleaned my bedrooms, came out and couldn't see that I had missed anything with the time I has been out of the room.

What didn’t you like about Scott Shina’s performance?

His performance was the only shinning light of the book. It was okay.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

None that I could fine

Any additional comments?

This is definitely a book to return.