The Barrens

Although this novel has some Oates-ian touches, this is not a typical Joyce Carol Oates novel, which is presumably where the "Writing as Rosamund Smith" tagline comes into play. The basic plot is pretty much what you'd expect from an Oates novel: Matt McBride, a thirty-six year old man haunted by the abduction and murder of a young girl that occured when he was fifteen, becomes obsessed with the disappreance of a young woman who lives nearby. Matt sinks further into obsession at the cost of his marriage and career, but he won't rest until he finds out exactly what has happened to Duana Zwolle.Oates also takes us tinto the mind of the killer, Name Unknown. Name Unknown has an obsession of his own -- ridding the world of impure, vulgar women. The passages written from Name Unknown's point of view are somewhat reminiscent of the narrative voice of Quentin P___ from Oates's earlier novel, Zombie. However, while Name Unknown's thoughts and actions are disturbing, they are nowhere near as frightening as the things Quentin does.The Barrens also has a more satisfying conclusion -- almost a happy ending -- than many of Oates's novels. I'm reluctant to call this novel "Joyce Carol Oates Lite" because that sounds demeaning. However, while this book is dark, it doesn't get nearly as dark as the aforementioned Zombie, or Foxfire, or a number of other Oates novels. It's a book to be kept in reserve for those times when you want a compelling thriller, but not necessarily one that's going to make you think too hard about what Oates is trying to say.

The Barrens puts other novels that masquerade as "compelling psycho-dramas" (think anything sold at the grocery store or on the mass paperback table at chain bookstores) to literary shame. For nearly two decades, JCO has been one of a handful of writers whose works I purchase in hardcover the day they become available. So, make no mistake, by any measure against other writers' work, this is a five-star read: suspenseful, harrowing, "true."But when I think about the body of work Oates has penned under the pseudonym "Rosamond Smith," I find that The Barrens falls short of the excellence she has achieved in this genre in, for example, Nemesis and Lives of the Twins.Also (and now perhaps I am being unfair by comparing her Smith work to her Oates work), I think JCO presents readers with a far more memorable psychopath in the groundbreaking (and chillingly realistic) Zombie, a slim volume that reminds us that serial killers are people, too.

As a 25 year intensive Oates reader, I found "The Barrens" particularly interesting and engaging. In this book, Joyce continues her investigatory writing on two main themes that are ubiquitous in her "Rosamond Smith" books. These two themes being: The Mental Processes Of Serial Killers AND Identical TwinsJoyce is fascinated by the telepathic interactions of identical twins. This has been heavily documented, both scientifically and empirically and Joyce interweaves the concept into her plot with great aplomb in this book. Additionally, the book is reminiscent of "Zombie", but in a more ordered and mass market style of writing. While this seems to have been Joyce's original intent writing under this Nom De Plume, this minor charade seems now to have been all but abandoned as the first edition now lists the author as Joyce Carol Oates writing as Rosamund Smith. Marketing wins in the end.Nonetheless, the book represented an elevation of literary style when writing under her "Rosamond Smith Cloak" now that it has been exposed to reveal below, 'The Invisible Writer' hiding behind the "Wizard of Oz's Curtain." Perhaps this shall herald a new area for Joyce to develop yet another literary expertise. I would highly recommend the book to any suspense novel enthusiasts, and of course, to all Joyce Carol Oates readers around the world.

A "novel of suspense" from page one! This novel has a definite visual and surreal quality that the previous Smith psycho-thrillers do not have. I could easily see this translating to film in the near future. This is a must-read for Oates afficionados!!

The best of the Rosamond Smith / Oates mysteries. It strikes me as amazing that a writer as good (and exponentially prolific) as Oates can get better, but she does. Her recent forays, including The Barrens and Blonde, are so deliciously subtle in their presentation of characters' thought patterns and multiple levels of motives, that it leaves me staggering with respect for her skills. In her biography, some light is shed on her writing process. Oates seems to eat and breathe writing. She will pick up her manuscript in a taxi and continue scribbling exactly where she left off. The command she exerts over her craft shows in this book. She has mastered the form of paranoid mystery. Her characters ooze their deviant personalities. Even her hero in this book has a deep streak of manic perversity. If you want to know what goes through the mind of serial killers, read The Barrens and her previous book in this Smith series, Starbright will be with you soon. If you enjoy accessible literary excellence and riveted to your seat bones fiction, you can't go wrong with JCO.