Joyce Carol Oates is brilliant, and this novel portrays the full depth of her writing talent. It begins with a boy, Jesse, witnessing the aftermath of his father's killing spree on his own family and then committing suicide. He is shuffled from one place to another, abandoned by his strange grandfather and an even stranger adoptive family. Somehow he manages to finish medical school with honors, marries, has two daughters and is an acclaimed surgeon. The tragedies in his life are myriad and the ending is horrific. It couldn't have ended any differently and remained true to the essence of Jesse's life. It is beautifully written as only JCO can write.

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