What I Lived for

This huge, engrossing, compelling and nearly perfect novel was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize and, if it had won, the prize would have been well deserved. This is one of Oates's best novels, ranking up there with the Gravedigger's Daughter. Different territory for Oates. This novel gets inside the head of Corky Corcoran for 600 pages and never lets the reader escape. Small time graft, small time ambitions, passions, and swimming against the current of life in an amazingly upbeat tale for Oates, who usually drags us into the horrific evil of life's determined psychopaths and their victims. Watch Corky struggle against daunting cultural forces in a comedic and serious look at anytown America. Don't miss this incredibly rich novel if you are a Joyce Carol Oates fan. I am.

I have never read an author as versitile as Ms. Oates. She must have been reincarnated millions of times to understand human nature as she does. "What I Lived For" and "Mayra" are my favorite books by her, though they could not be more different. Oates transported me into the body of Corky Corcoran; so whatever my lifespan, tack on the 50 years I spent as Corky and understand that I know what it is to be a man.

I'm a big fan of Joyce Carol Oates, but this book was much better than I thought it would be, and has remained in my thoughts though I read it more than a year ago. Corky Corcoran is a fascinating, tragic character and his story is alternately repulsive and compelling. I loved this book.

Ladies if you have ever wondered what it is like to be a man read this book. This is an amazing potrait of the good and bad in every male. How could she know?

"Corky" Corcoran is not the best of men--a womanizer, not the most honest of politicians or businessmen, and a somewhat failing father and nephew--but as Oates develops Corky you begin to actually like him. You definitely will never love his character but you breathe with him, live with him, and feel his pain and his ecstacy over a non-stop Memorial Day weekend. Corky is always moving and sweet-talking in his expensive Caddy, in his expensive clothing, with a glass of Red Label whiskey in his hand. To tell of Corky's plight that drives him all over town during this Memorial Day weekend would be to ruin the reader's enjoyment of the book. Be warned though that Oates' prose is raw and uninhibited and speaks through Corky's male perspective. Her prose can be disconcerting at times with graphic expletives galore but get past that and you will find an excellent and engrossing novel that delves into Corky's psyche