The Gravedigger's Daughter: A Novel (P.S.) | 
 enlarge | Author: Joyce Carol Oates
Publisher: Harper Perennial
Category: Book
List Price: $15.95
Buy Used: $3.25
You Save: $12.70 (80%)
New (35) from $8.00
Avg. Customer Rating:  49 reviews
Sales Rank: 16635
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 624
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.2
ISBN: 0061236837
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780061236839
ASIN: 0061236837
Publication Date: April 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: A little shelf wear on corners.
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Product Description
Fleeing Nazi Germany in 1936, the Schwarts immigrate to a small town in upstate New York. Here the father—a former high school teacher—is demeaned by the only job he can get: gravedigger and cemetery caretaker. When local prejudice and the family's own emotional frailty give rise to an unthinkable tragedy, the gravedigger's daughter, Rebecca heads out into America. Embarking upon an extraordinary odyssey of erotic risk and ingenious self-invention, she seeks renewal, redemption, and peace—on the road to a bittersweet and distinctly “American” triumph.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 44 more reviews...
 So glad to be done with it! August 18, 2008
I finished it tonight and am so glad I'm done! I would have stopped sooner but I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt. I agree with other reviewers that have mentioned repetitive words and metaphors. Yeah, her hair is long; yep, his groin is like a goiter. We get it- cutting her hair is representative, but do you have to beat us over the head with it?? Also, the switch between characters was very choppy. And I'm okay with endings that don't tie up all lose ends, but this one made no sense at all, and I tried to read the letters between her and the cousin and then got tired of it all. I did enjoy the first 1/3 of the book- the sections when she was Rebecca living in the stone house. There seemed to be a story and somewhat of a plot, but it got lost somewhere. Others might like it, I didn't. Read all the reviews, and don't lose sleep over a $14 book.
boring August 17, 2008
I took the book on vacation because the reviews had been good and Amazon indicated it was like other books I've like in the past. Immediately, I found that I didn't care for Oates' style of writing and the storyline wasn't engaging (i.e., it was painful to slog through). I made it about 50 pages in and jumped ship. If you want to take the risk, go for it. Otherwise, I'd say look elsewhere for a good summer read.
 Hard to put down July 29, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I've read a lot of Oates' books and this is one of my favorites. It's pretty dark, but the plot is intricate and for the most part it keeps moving. Like some others have said the end gets a little bogged down and slow, but I did have a hard time putting it down. Others have summarized the plot, so I won't do that, but the descriptions of small-town life and upstate New York are very vivid. It reminded me a lot of my grandmother talking about her hardscrabble youth in Ohio during the 30s and 40s; I don't think Rebecca's experience, even though she was the daughter of immigrants, was unique - I think it was the experience of a lot of uneducated (not dumb) and poor women during that time. It's a great exploration of a life and definitely one worth reading - beautiful prose and a good plot.
 In the mood or not? July 24, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
First I must say that this is the first book I have ever read by Joyce Carol Oates. This book is easy to get into, but once strapped in, be ready for the bumpy ride! There is no question (at least to me) about Ms. Oate's genius. I found myself reading passages repeatedly just to appreciate the complexity of word use and the fascinating mirror on humanity that Ms. Oate's holds up again and again in her story. There is a lot of violence in this book, however, I found its use necessary to the story. The story is about a strong woman's survival against incredible odds. I say that the book is a bumpy ride simply because the author flashes backwards and forwards in reality. When the book ended I felt somewhat dissafisfied and didn't know exactly why. However, I find myself thinking of the story and reflecting on the characters. So I think I am dissatisfied because I wanted the book to continue. In any case I recommend this book, however, this is not your "vacation" book. Be in the mood for heavy themes and startling insights into human nature.
Oates explores impact of childhood abuse on development of woman's identity July 6, 2008
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
In "The Gravedigger's Daughter," Joyce Carol Oates explores the impact of childhood abuse on the development of a woman's identity. Her intricately designed and compelling novel details the brutal early life of Rebbeca Schwart and follows her into adulthood, one in which the grown woman casts off previous sufferings but never escapes their cruel shadow. The youngest child of an impoverished German Jewish immigrant family, Rebecca endures a barren early life that includes being subjected to an ill-tempered, violent father, the slow and tortured descent of her mother into mental illness and the callous disregard of her two insensitive older brothers.
Unable to endure the moral and spiritual poverty of their graveyard surroundings, Rebecca's brothers flee the wrath of their father and the hopelessness of their condition. Eventually, Rebecca witnesses the murder/suicide of her mother and father, an event whose impact reverberates throughout her life. Abandoned, traumatized and directionless, Rebecca must reinvent herself, first as a ward of the court, then as a wife and mother. It is Oates' brilliant depiction of a woman struggling to create a new self while simultaneously attempting to submerge her previous identity that gives "The Gravedigger's Daughter" its emotional impact. Rebecca's cryptic personae permit her to survive but never grant her existential peace.
What solace she savors derives from her brilliant but tormented son, he the product of one of the most nefarious characters of contemporary literature. Beguiled and then beaten by Niles Tignor, Rebecca re-experiences the controlling, violent outbursts that characterized her father. Her act of personal liberation, her reinvention of identity and her commitment to her child's wellbeing exemplify a quiet, implacable will to live. Always wary of being discovered, perpetually cautious and suspicious, Rebecca refuses to give herself away to any man or idea. She lives to survive.
Written with excruciating detail, "The Gravedigger's Daughter" is much more than an exploration of one woman's consciousness. Joyce Carol Oates has crafted a work that explicitly describes violence, directly confronts social injustice and sensitively describes how a thwarted human spirit heals itself. This is a novel that will unsettle and upset, but it is also a cautionary tale of how identity, however shattered, will undergo reformation and reinvention.
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