Black Water

Black Water was my first Joyce Carol Oats book - and my first book for the only challenge I'm hosting, the New Classics Challenge. I can definitely see why this book ended up on that list.

The story is told through flashes of past and present and I was surprised that in the end I had a complete picture of what happened and of the characters involved. What happens involves a Senator, a young naive girl and a car accident.

But it's not really what happens that makes this worth reading - it's the language, the way it's written. The author jumps from using very long, stream-of-consciousness-like sentences to pointed, short, effective ones. When they are alternated like that they really make an impression.

And the way thougths and feelings and memories are described... I've never read anything quite like it. Plus, how Oats managed to at the same time comment on society and politics is beyond me.

This was a short book, a quick read, and I'm looking forward to discovering more of this author's work.

Challenges: New Classics Challenge