Mudwoman

By: Joyce Carol Oates

Narrated by: Susan Ericksen

“Oates is just a fearless writer…with her brave heart and her impossibly lush and dead-on imaginative powers.”
—Los Angeles Times

“[An] extraordinarily intense, racking, and resonant novel.”
—Booklist (starred review)

One of the most acclaimed writers in the world today, the inimitable Joyce Carol Oates follows up her searing, New York Times bestselling memoir, A Widow’s Story, with an extraordinary new work of fiction. Mudwoman is a riveting psychological thriller, taut with dark suspense, that explores the high price of repression in the life of a respected university president teetering on the precipice of a nervous breakdown. Like Daphne DuMaurier’s gothic masterwork, Rebecca, and the classic ghost story, The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James, Oates’s Mudwoman is a chilling page-turner that hinges on the power of the imagination and the blurry lines between the real and the invented—and it stands tall among the author’s most powerful and beloved works, including The Falls, The Gravedigger’s Daughter, and We Were the Mulvaneys.

I Couldn't Have Been More Disappointed

This book wasn???t for you, but who do you think might enjoy it more?

The only people who might enjoy it is if they are a big Oates fan.

Has Mudwoman turned you off from other books in this genre?

I have learned to read all of the reviews before buying a book after being totally disappointed in this book.

Any additional comments?

As a great lover of mysteries, I decided to take a break, and read a different genre. I thought it would be nice to read a female author. Oates has left me frustrated with Mudwoman. I kept thinking that M R would get her act together, but, unlike her intellectual level, her emotional level is that of a 20 year old. I found the story a bit confusing and it seemed to go in circle, rather than resolving matters. There are too many wonderful books to be read, but this is not one of them.

Overly Detailed

What would have made Mudwoman better?

It was just too detailed with very little substance. I found it a difficult listen and could not get into the story. I gave up after about 8 chapters, I felt like I wasted my money on this one. I think the author just tried too hard to explain every little detail, it just didn't work for me.

Would you be willing to try another book from Joyce Carol Oates? Why or why not?

I'm not sure.

What didn’t you like about Susan Ericksen’s performance?

I'm not sure there was that much bad about her performance, I think it was just the material she had to work with that made her performance boring.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

It made me sleepy, every time I tried to listen to it I wanted to go to sleep.

Any additional comments?

Very disappointing.

brilliant writing but disappointed

What did you like best about Mudwoman? What did you like least?

this author is gifted...her vocabulary and use of language is unparallelled. the reader was animated and easy to listen to. you could see the characters thru her

Would you ever listen to anything by Joyce Carol Oates again?

yes. usually very insightful

What about Susan Ericksen’s performance did you like?

her enthusiasm and use of accents and animation

Do you think Mudwoman needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

definetly hope there is one because i hated the ending... thought i forgot to download a part.

Any additional comments?

very abrupt ending... makes me think i missed something... something important. other than a victory of sorts for the main character, i didn't feel like she was strong enough to avoid the demons that haunted her going foward.

Difficult to listen to a broken life

I found it sad and difficult to listen to Mudgirl/Mudwoman lurking, unhealed, throughout the book. I wanted so much for her to take more responsibility for her life and attempt to truly address the psychological darkness that eroded her personal happiness. Joyce Carol Oates is clearly a talented author and the book was well read.

Vivid and engrossing

Although the narrator was a bit more dramatic than I thought was needed, this is a beautifully written, vivid story.