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Title: American Novel 101
Review: Usually, a master of the craft of writing fiction, in We Were the Mulvaneys, Oates has created a textbook with which to teach the elements of fiction. I felt manipulated by this book. All the trite devices were included to jerk the reader's emotional strings. The characters did not really breathe but went through their paces. Like a painter working from photographs, Oates seems to be working from popular media, reworking tried and true images. A dark and usually uncompromising writer, Oates appears to be toying with the traditional family saga. The final chapter was obviously added on to make the book more palatable and marketable. This plot and these characters needed a less cerebral and calculating author. Had Oates more of an emotional investment in this book, she would never have written the final chapter. Fewer books would have sold but at least the book would have had more integrity.
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