My Life as a Rat

A Novel

By: Joyce Carol Oates

Narrated by: Sadie Alexandru

“A painful truth of family life: the most tender emotions can change in an instant. You think your parents love you but is it you they love, or the child who is theirs?” --Joyce Carol Oates, My Life as a Rat

Which should prevail: loyalty to family or loyalty to the truth? Is telling the truth ever a mistake and is lying for one’s family ever justified? Can one do the right thing, but bitterly regret it?

My Life as a Rat follows Violet Rue Kerrigan, a young woman who looks back upon her life in exile from her family following her testimony, at age twelve, concerning what she knew to be the racist murder of an African-American boy by her older brothers. In a succession of vividly recalled episodes Violet contemplates the circumstances of her life as the initially beloved youngest child of seven Kerrigan children who inadvertently “informs” on her brothers, setting into motion their arrests and convictions and her own long estrangement.

Arresting and poignant, My Life as a Rat traces a life of banishment from a family—banishment from parents, siblings, and the Church—that forces Violet to discover her own identity, to break the powerful spell of family, and to emerge from her long exile as a “rat” into a transformed life.

Excellent!

Excellent, tragic. Superb writing. The only criticism I have is the ending was strangely abrupt. It ruined the novel for me. That's why I deducted a star. Yet, very much worth the read about racism, family dynamics, and sexual violence.

Obsessively Man-Hatting

This is is a shallow and mean story which I had to push myself to finish. Reader is adequate but for some mispronounced words.

Absolutely absorbing

One of the best voice performances I've heard. Excellent, engrossing story. No chapter lagged for me, though many were difficult to listen to because of the subject matter. JCO's ability to humanize and makeup relatable even the most traumatic events is profound. A beautiful story.

GOOD READ

As always, well well-written and difficult to put down. The narrator was fabulous! I wished the ending could have been more profound and meaningful. But if you're looking for a good read, this is an option!

Disturbing story about racism

Story is well written and well narrated, but the topic is a disturbing look at racism and how truthfulness is treated when people have things to hide. I felt so sorry for all the things that happened to Violet Rue when she is abandoned by her family for simply telling the truth. And, I was furious at all the men who took advantage of her. Although the story is a disturbing look at our society, it is one of those stories you need to read to be reminded of all the hate and racism toward people of color and women that still exists.