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Joyce Carol Oates

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Assassins Mass Market Paperback – November 12, 1981

by Joyce Carol Oates (Author)

3.2 9 ratings

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1981

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Fawcett; 0 edition (November 12, 1981)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 544 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0449230007
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0449230008
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9 ounces

Best Sellers Rank: #4,955,875 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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3.2 9 ratings

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Joyce Carol Oates

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Joyce Carol Oates is the author of more than 70 books, including novels, short story collections, poetry volumes, plays, essays, and criticism, including the national bestsellers We Were the Mulvaneys and Blonde. Among her many honors are the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction and the National Book Award. Oates is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, and has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.

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Mike Emery

Her best novel.

Reviewed in the United States on November 17, 2019

Published in 1975, The Assassins was generally misunderstood. It was a bestseller and a book club selection, but the sullen reaction of critics to her work was underway. Her novels were long, dense, and heavy. They gave no happy view of American life, which she portrayed as deeply troubled. Oates always depicted her characters that way, but this novel took it to a new level. It follows the widow and the two brothers of a right-wing demagogue who committed suicide before the novel starts. His followers spread the rumor that he was assassinated to avoid hurting his political message. The book is in three sections, one devoted to each of the three who survive him. The first section is narrated from an insane asylum (in stream of consciousness) by the brother who is insane; however, like Don Quixote, his madness helps him see some things clearly. The second section concerns the dead man's wife, who is completely shut down emotionally. This section comes closest to the author's earlier novels, like Do With Me What You Will. The end of this section is tricky, as it involves a self-destructive fantasy by her that appears to happen but doesn't. The third section is devoted to the second brother, who is slowly coming out of religious mania. Oates's dark vision of life is undiluted in this novel. I recommend it to serious readers familiar with her fiction.

2 people found this helpful

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JRBZ

Deceptive and misleading product description. DO NOT trust this seller

Reviewed in the United States on March 23, 2021

Verified Purchase

Nothing more infuriating than a deceptive product description. Had it been noted like it should have been that this a “book club edition” I’d have never purchased this item. Very misleading of the seller to leave out that one crucial detail. Not happy at all.

Reviewed in the United States on January 24, 2024

I have read nd reviewed thousands of books. This is one of the worst books I have ever written. It's language usage for a writer who is supposed to be one of the best in the nation, is frankly, pathetic. It is filled with passive verb usage, and constant use of adverbs, indicating to me she spurned good writing in this book. It is almost impossible to read because it dwells for so long on personality traits, explaining the them on and on until they become boring and nauseous. I give it two stars only because she tried, she wrote the content. I never have trolled a book like this before. Almost every book read I start as a five star effort. This one, within the first chapter, was a one star.

Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2014

Why is the description of this book about a completely different book???

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Jack Ridley

Not One Of Her Good Novels

Reviewed in the United States on August 31, 2007

Joyce Carol Oates was born in 1938 in upstate New York State and is a distinguished Professor of Humanities at Princeton. She gained fame with her first novel With Shuddering Fall in 1964. Now four decades later, she is the author of scores of novels and other works. If you have read some of her novels and not been terribly impressed, then read some of her short stories. They are impressive. Her novels are mixed, some are great and some are just so so. I have read many of her fine works, and like her work.

The present comes from 1975, early in her career and it is not good. There is a lot of prose wasted on three not very interesting characters, and even worse it is a slow and sometimes boring read, taking ages to read with little reward. The story involves the assassination - very briefly - of a young and ambitious politician, and then it presents three portraits of three different family members including the widow. The characters are not that interesting and Oates write on and on, when less would have been far better.

Oates is known for her emotional and dramatic stories, often with women caught in stressful situations, and often set in her native upstate New York. That is missing here and frankly you can skip this book and mark it up to Oates learning her craft. It deserves less but I gave it 4 stars.

One person found this helpful

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Chadwick H. Saxelid

An odd, disturbing book

Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2000

This novel studies the traumatic effect of the assassination of a prominent conservative senator on those closest to him, namely his two disturbed brothers and his current, and equally disturbed, wife. Dark, unsettling, and difficult to understand at times, it is still a recommended reading experience.

One person found this helpful

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Sunnye Tiedemann

The wide swath of the assassin's sword

Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2002

The murder of Andrew Petrie, ex-United States senator, changes the lives of his wife, Yvonne, and two brothers, artist Hugh and the mystic Stephen. Here's a brilliant analysis of relationships that miss, of introspection and misunderstanding, and of repercussions. It's another example of Joyce Carol Oates's amazing range of interests and depths of insight into the human condition.
Anything by Oates will challenge and entertain the reader. She's a masterful storyteller who crafts characters so real the book fairly vibrates with their breath. Oates doesn't write shallow, mind-candy books. Each of hers (and she has written an impressive number) can be read on a number of levels. When you sit down with Oates, you're in fine company.

2 people found this helpful

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