I never mind a book with "unlikeable" characters, and in fact, I often relate to them. That was the case with Cressida, whose diagnosis of autism was never completely confirmed, only offered as a possibility during her childhood. But she is definitely written with many autistic traits. There were many passages from Cressida's point of view that reminded me of myself (I am autistic). I think this novel was written beautifully, and Oates is one of my very favorite prose stylists. It is a slow novel, though, and I understand why others disliked it. I rarely mind a slow pace without much plot, as long as the characters are interesting, and most of these characters intrigued me. ( )

A richly rewarding novel that grips from the outset. It's not one of her more difficult works in terms of style. She uses multiple narratives and several stylistic tricks but the novel flows seamlessly throughout. I'm not sure why readers are put off by the characters not being 'likeable'. Most of them are still relatable and personally I find her characters in general to be as realistic and multifaceted as real life, albeit that several of them are murderers and such! Cressida is not wholly sympathetic but I'm surprised more bookworms wouldn't find her 'outsider' personality fascinating. The novel keep readers on their toe when the reader is lulled into a particular narrative only to have the rug pulled. It's also quite provocative in its themes of war and incarceration. Although realistic it also has Gothic elements and I think those new to Oates couldn't find many better places to start in terms of her style and concerns. ( )

I am struggling to want to finish this novel, Cartage. I felt this was too wordy. Using stream of consciousness in some places, and a narrative voice in others, this novel is told in many different voices. Which is usually fine by me, but this novel made it seem like there was way too much going on, under the surface. It annoyed me too much to finish it. From what little I've gotten through, there seems to be there's no growth, there's too little depth for any of the characters.

Certain points of the novel are reasonably interesting, yet as I search my mind to find something that stood out to me as particularly good, I come up with nothing. I could not connect to any of the characters, because despite the highly emotional content of the story, they all felt flat, cold, almost like caricatures of people in their situation, dulled down and made inaccessible. the most interesting part of the story was not at all handled, and the rest of it was an incredible boring build up to it. I am slightly embarrassed to admit that I've never before read a Joyce Carol Oates book, and maybe her writing style is consistent throughout her works so those already familiar with her, and that like her, will not be bothered by it. I never felt that I could get into a rhythm while reading.
The characters, especially Cressida, are wholly unlikeable. I don't mind a good anti-hero or conflicted protagonist, but I honestly wanted to throw Cressida in the damn river myself. The fact that Cressida was so self-absorbed, so completely unable to comprehend the feelings of anyone other than herself, & so downright cruel to her "friends" and her sister and her parents and mankind in general because she thought herself so special and so different made me not care one iota about her. The fact that she would take the actions she did because people don't love her enough (in her own estimation) made me just hate her. All of this resulted in suffering through the book about her.
Oates also repeats the same information over and over, especially during the first 250 pages or so. I desperately wanted the story to move forward, but I was subjected to reading the same. exact. information. for what felt like an eternity before anything happened again in the story. I just don't think I can bring myself to finish the novel, even though I'm not even halfway through.

Overall, I was very disappointed in this book, and it's possible this has turned me off to Oates as an author. Some people obviously love her and have nothing but high praise for this book, but this one is just not my cup of tea.

*Edit: I finally finished this novel, 4 hours after writing this review. I admit, I skimmed the repetitive parts very quickly, and only read he parts I found interesting....I am somewhat glad about the ending, and yet not. I still dislike Cressida intensely, regardless of how repentant she feels. The storyline went back and forth, from boring to semi-interesting. I'm still not sure if I will ever read another novel by J.c.o., unless her style and storyline are vastly different. I still don't understand all the 5 star reviews, either. I think I only finished the novel out of a complete boredom, and an even stronger, perverse desire to see if Cressida learned anything from her mistakes, and realized all the lives she's ruined or not. Somehow, I truly doubt it.

2.5 stars ( )

En liten by, en familie, en forlovelse, en terrorhandling og en krig. Så rammer ulykkene suksessivt der liv tar nye og ulike veier. Vi følger vekst og fall, frykt og kjærlighet, bitterhet og rådløshet. Det er Amerika etter 22.juli, etter Irak-krigen, Det er Amerika etter at vi ikke har sett hverandre, etter at frykten har besatt våre hjerter. Det er også fortellingen om annerledesheten idet den truer oss, vi kjenner jo ikke dette som vi tror vi ser. Hva kan et menneske tåle, hvor snur vi oss for å få hjelp, hvem er jeg nå? Ikke minst er det fortellingen om glemselens teppe som sikter mot å beskytte oss.

This novel was a bit of a muddle for me, at times so, so good and at others, painfully labored. It's about a missing girl and the effect of her disappearance on her family and the accused perpetrator. That's the surface story anyway. Deeper, it's an exploration of alienation and misperception, and about the dark currents often flowing just below placid surfaces. Oates' characters are both sympathetic and infuriating, their actions and motivations perfectly understandable at times and completely inscrutable at others. It's this kind of complexity that I loved, despite my struggle with some parts of the book. ( )