Little Bird of Heaven

A Novel

By: Joyce Carol Oates

Narrated by: Karissa Vacker

A searing exploration of the mysterious conjunction of erotic romance and tragic violence in late-20th century America, Little Bird of Heaven returns to the emotional and geographical terrain of acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates's previous best sellers We Were the Mulvaneys and The Gravedigger's Daughter.

When young wife and mother Zoe Kruller is found brutally murdered, the police target two suspects: her estranged husband, Delray Kruller, and her longtime lover, Eddy Diehl. In turn, the Krullers' son, Aaron, and Diehl's daughter, Krista, become obsessed with each other, each believing the other's father guilty. By novel's end, the fated lovers are at last ready to exorcise the ghosts of the past and come to terms with their legacy of guilt, misplaced love, and redemptive yearning.

Told in halves in the very different voices of Krista and Aaron, Little Bird of Heaven is classic Oates - where the lyricism of intense sexual love is intertwined with the anguish of loss, and tenderness is barely distinguishable from cruelty.

©2009 The Ontario Review (P)2020 Tantor

Thought it would never end

This author is so repetitive and the story, while it could've been a great one, was disconnected and jumped about through five years too much. It all the sudden lands 17 years later and wraps up the story. There were just too many antagonists for the story.

Also, if you are triggered by rape, or almost rape don't bother listening. If spousal/lover abuse triggers you, don't bother listening.