Babysitter
A novel
by Joyce Carol Oates
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Pub Date Aug 23 2022 | Archive Date Oct 07 2022
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Description
"Hannah’s unreliable, elliptical narrative is seductive and compelling, like following someone into a fever dream ... [Oates] is in no hurry to trigger the action, dropping tiny morsels of foreshadowing to keep us on our toes." —The New York Times Book Review
“Unsettling, mysterious, deft, sinister, eerily plausible.” —Margaret Atwood, best-selling author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Testaments, via Twitter
In the waning days of the turbulent 1970s, in the wake of unsolved child-killings that have shocked Detroit, the lives of several residents are drawn together with tragic consequences.
There is Hannah, wife of a prominent local businessman, who has begun an affair with a darkly charismatic stranger whose identity remains elusive; Mikey, a canny street hustler who finds himself on a chilling mission to rectify injustice; and the serial killer known as Babysitter, an enigmatic and terrifying figure at the periphery of elite Detroit. As Babysitter continues his rampage of abductions and killings, these individuals intersect with one another in startling and unexpected ways.
Suspenseful, brilliantly orchestrated, and engrossing, Babysitter is a starkly narrated exploration of the riskiness of pursuing alternate lives, calling into question how far we are willing to go to protect those whom we cherish most. In its scathing indictment of corrupt politics, unexamined racism, and the enabling of sexual predation in America, Babysitter is a thrilling work of contemporary fiction.
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780593535172 |
| PRICE | $30.00 (USD) |
| PAGES | 448 |
Featured Reviews
Andrea D, Reviewer
Any Joyce Carol Oates book is a great book in my opinion.! She is a VERY prolific author and writes in several styles and I have read about 80 % of all of them :)
The majority of her most recent books are based on a historical event that has been fictionalized. This novel is about a serial killer from the 70's, you can check her twitter to learn more.
The setting is Detroit in the 70's where the daily news features stories on a serial killer preying upon children. Much of the novel, however, is dedicated to Hannah, a socialite who has entangled herself in an affair. She is a very typical JCO female character in that her inner voice is illustrated over many chapters, and that inner voice lacks confidence and even can veer to paranoia. JCO females will articulate contemporary feminist issues. Additional chapters depict Mikey, a street hustler who interacts with all of the characters, including the Babysitter himself.
I love the fast chapters, the quick changing POV and of course the inner monologue of the characters. If you have an interest in serial killers, love a JCO book or just want to try a new style of thriller, the Babysitter is for you!
#Knopf #Netgalley #Babysitter
Readers who liked this book also liked:
James Patterson; Brian Sitts
General Fiction (Adult), Mystery & Thrillers, Women's Fiction
