'The Accursed' by Joyce Carol Oates

The Accursed, Joyce Carol Oates (3.0)

This book was a bit of a roller coaster for me: didn’t like it, liked it, and didn’t like it. Since it’s over 600 pages, it was a long ride and annoying as it ended with a ‘didn’t like it’. The thing I like most about it (let’s start on a good note) was the setting – turn of the century (~1905) around Princeton University in New Jersey. The cast of characters who lived there at the time was memorable. They include Upton Sinclair, Woodrow Wilson and ex-President Grover Cleveland. That brings me to one of my complaints. Each of these real-life characters is written as quite unlikable. The behavior of Woodrow Wilson in this book (and he’s a main character as the University President) is quite shocking and, if true, completely disqualifies him to be a president of the country. He is described as weak, both mentally and physically, disliked and generally not socially aware. The book describes a few years surrounding a ‘Curse’ of one of the main families of Princeton. It hints at the impetus of the curse as it reveals the hideous effects on the family and other families of the area. The fantastical nature of the curse aside, the writing was creative and able to conceive a dreamy time and place. I recognize the skill of the writer, but I surmise this book is just not written for readers like me –who like more concrete structures in their historical fiction. Overall it reminded me of a woman with the vapors.