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You must remember this
556 pages
An intense, probing exploration of a working-class family tearing through the stifling conformity of the 1950s to pursue forbidden passions.
What it feels like
Reading this epic family saga feels like peeling back the pristine veneer of 1950s American conformity to reveal the gritty, pulsing reality beneath. The narrative unfolds at a steady, deliberate pace, immersing the reader in the oppressive atmosphere of an industrial, working-class town. It is a deeply probing and intense experience, contrasting the mundane frustrations of ordinary domestic life with the dangerous, secret places of the human heart. The prose is observant and unflinching, carefully charting the emotional fallout when individuals break societal conventions in their desperate search for fulfillment. It will deeply satisfy readers who crave dark, transgressive character studies and sweeping domestic dramas that refuse to shy away from the forbidden and the obsessive.
- Mood
- gritty
- secretive
- oppressive
- passionate
- Tone
- probing
- intense
- observant
- serious
- Pace
- steady
- Themes
- forbidden desires · family secrets · stifling conformity · search for meaning · working-class life
- The writing
- Epic and probing, carefully detailing the gritty reality of industrial life alongside the tender, secret places of the heart.
- The arc
- Moves from the stifling constraints of ordinary domesticity into the intense, dangerous territory of forbidden passions and broken conventions.
- Who it's for
- Readers who appreciate sweeping, intense family sagas that explore the dark, transgressive underbelly of mid-century American conformity.
Content notes
- underage relationship
- incestuous themes
- age gap
- marital frustration
About the book
Joyce Carol Oates's epic novel of an American family in the 1950's probes the tender division between the permissible and the forbidden, between ordinary life and the secret places of the heart. Set in an industrial, working-class town in upstate New York, this book chronicles the frustrating marriage of parents Lyle and Hannah; the idealistic political journey of son Warren, and the passionate, obsessive relationship that develops between 15-year-old Enid Maria and her uncle Felix, a professional boxer twice her age. While brilliantly re-creating a decade that worshipped conformity, You Must Remember This presents the lives of family members that break every convention in the search for meaning and fulfillment.
Description from Open Library.
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