A Book a Day: Joyce Carol Oates: Beasts

Gillian, a student at a women’s university, falls in love with Andre, the professor who teaches her an elitist poetry workshop, and falls into the networks of him and his wife, the artist Dorcas.

This is the premise of Beastsa novel by the prolific Joyce Carol Oates that can be read in one sitting thanks to its length of just 150 pages, the brevity of its chapters and the addictiveness of its plot. It is probably not among the best works conceived by its author, but that is because the bar is very high, and not because of any lack. Because deficiencies, what are called deficiencies, there are very few in Beasts.

Perhaps his plot is not extremely original or unpredictable, it is true, but Oates prioritizes its development over the shocks he could have delivered. In fact, the author guides the reader with an expert hand at all times through the plot, without being intrusive or obvious; He skillfully sows doubt about whether the narrator is reliable, suggests the outcome in the first pages and subtly deploys the Ovidian subtext.

Furthermore, the density of the novel is surprising. Despite its limited length, it gives Oates the opportunity to delve deeper into what was proposed, profile a wide cast of characters, both main and secondary, and thicken an atmosphere that is as suffocating as it is unhealthy.

The prose is a delight. It exudes expressiveness and is punctuated by a multitude of stylistic resources, but that does not mean it fails to blend in with the narrator’s voice, nor does it hinder immersion in the plot.

The protagonist around whom the story revolves is also very accomplished. Oates accurately captures her unreliability, as well as the obliqueness of her interactions with her parents, her friends, Andre, and Dorcas.

Other authors would have taken the easy route and used the opportunity to openly victimize Gillian, or to shoehorn a plea for sisterhood into the climax. But Oates, more mature and realistic, opts for complex characters, gray thematic management and a catharsis that is not at all reassuring.

Summing up: Beasts It is not among Oates’s best works. Even so, it is an inspired novel, very well written and that knows how to take advantage of all its elements. Without a doubt, it will make you spend a magnificent afternoon reading it, and it will demonstrate that, in literature, quality and entertainment are not at odds.