Them: Amazon.ca: Joyce Carol Oates: Books

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First Sentence
One warm evening in August 1937 a girl in love stood before a mirror. Read the first page

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Concordance

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Customer Reviews

15 Reviews

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.5 out of 5 stars (15 customer reviews)

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5.0 out of 5 stars 5 star book, 5 star edition!, Oct 14 2003

By

David Vidaurre "Bibliomaniac" (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: them (Hardcover)

Before I read 'them' all that I had read by Mrs. Oates was 'We Were The Mulvaneys' which did not impress me all that much. Hearing all the hype about Oates being such a great writer, I thought that I should give her another chance. So I picked 'them' because it won the National Book Award.
I was amazed. With this work Oates proves that her writing stands well next to works by Doestoevsky, Hesse, Mann and most other great writers. This is definetly one of the top ten books written in the twentieth century, and perhaps the best book written post-war twenteith century.
Many times American's ask themselves, "what does it really mean to be an American?" One thing that this book does is answer that question in a very harsh way.
Are the characters in this novel hero's, or are they villans? Are there any hero's in the world? What is a hero, is a hero defined by one act of goodness, or is a hero defined by an unatural perfection? All of these questions arise in your mind as you read this incredible thought provoking novel.
The novel is very true to life, it is about a lower-class family in Detroit. Life for them is a struggle, a long obstacle leading to the comfort which is death.
The book is not one that will lift your spirits; it is very depressing. But sometimes a book like this is nessesary.

I highly reccomend buying the Modern Library Edition to anyone who is planning to buy the book. It is only a few dollars more and it has a lot to offer. It is the new revised edition and it has a very nice afterward by the authour. The Afterward is excellent! I'm not sure the Paperback edition has the extras that the Modern Library Edition has. But just buy the book in whatever edition.

Now I will rate the book from a scale of A-F in some certain catagories as I do in my book reviews:

Character Devolpment: A
Plot: B+
Thought Provoking: A+
Suspense: A-

With an overall grade of an A, you can see that this has become one of my favorite books.

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5.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorites!, Dec 6 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Them (Mass Market Paperback)

When I read this book it takes a hold of me and doesn't let me go. I've read it twice and both times I couldn't put it down. Makes for late nights when I have to get up early for work the next morning, but well worth it. Joyce Carol Oates is my favorite author, everytime I pick up a new book of hers I'm so thankful that I found her. Her style of writting is a joy to read. The world of literature is a much better place with her in it.

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5.0 out of 5 stars My Favorite Novel, Sep 20 2002

By

Nan (East Coast,USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Them (Mass Market Paperback)

I first read Them in the mid '80's and was drawn to read it again in the mid '90's.I have just read it again in the year 2002. I can't seem to forget these charactors.They haunt me.This is my all time favorite American novel and I would encourage everyone to read it at least once.

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Most recent customer reviews

2.0 out of 5 stars Them
I was assigned to read this book for my English Honors class. It was very painful. I have never read anything by Oates before. Read more

Published on April 5 2004 by Karen Brady

5.0 out of 5 stars A Work Of Excellence
This is one of Ms. Oates' earlier works set in Detroit.
It is a book of excellence as one generation is rolled into the other. Read more

Published on Mar 2 2002 by Heather Marshall Negahdar