The Pursuit is a very dark and disturbing look at domestic violence, sexual assault and mental illness, and the effects they have on those involved and those that follow. Oates gives readers another excellent character driven novella that is so intense, I had to pause now and then to look away from the darkness. Even so, I was soon drawn back to find out whether Abby intentionally stepped in front of a bus the day after her wedding, or if it was an accident that happened because she was lost in the dark thoughts precipitated by a childhood so horrid she could not escape it even when she should be at her happiest. Either way, darkness rules in this book.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Mysterious Press for allowing me to read an ARC of this book in exchange for an unbiased review. The book is to be published 10/1/19.

This was more like a short story. It was very interesting but I have to admit I did not quite get the ending.

Joyce Carol Oates is back (though she never left) with a short novel of dark suspense that explores the life and inner psychology of Abby, a young newlywed. The morning after her wedding she steps in front of a bus, landing herself in the intensive care unit. Why would she do such a thing? And why is she haunted by a dream of discovering two skeletons in a field of tall grass?

For the first tenth or so of this long novella I wasn’t sure if I’d like it, for the characters took some time to grow on me and I was waiting for the trademark JCO menace. Sometimes her stories take a little time to work their way under the skin, and boy, once this got going I couldn’t stop reading.

After over six decades of publishing JCO could easily rest on her laurels—hell, she could decide to retire and not publish at all. Instead, she continues to churn out wholly original, involving works like this: stories that spike the reader’s blood pressure while examining the darkest, most honest aspects of humanity. Some passages of <i>The Pursuit</i> actually turned my stomach, and I wanted to quit reading ... but I couldn’t. And, of course, by the story’s end I felt drained, spent—which is how I always feel after reading a work by Oates, arguably the finest living storyteller.

<i>The Pursuit</i> is out on October 1, and it is perfect for Halloween reading! It perfectly combines elements of suspense and horror, making it another fine addition to the JCO catalogue. My thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

<b>Read for the ‘favorite author’ square in Halloween Bingo.</b>

4 ☆ This might be a short book but it packed a whole lot of punch. It explores main character Abby’s life, starting with a nightmarish dream of skeletons in a field the night before her wedding, leading up to her horrific accident the day after the wedding, questioning was it “accidental or purposeful.” The story is then told in alternating storylines of her family history and childhood, disturbing and intense I had to step away from reading several times. The different POV of the mother, father, aunt, and husband all weave together to create a dark, thought-provoking journey for the reader.

Caution for domestic violence, sexual assault, PTSD and its consequences.

*An Arc was provided by Mysterious Press via NetGalley for an honest review*

Boy, I'm just not sure what to say about this book. I was never sure if the story that was being told was a dream/nightmare or if it was reality. It wasn't until the final sentence of the final page that I knew.

This book does not have much joy in it. Actually, I don't think that there is any joy. It is just a sad sad story about living with the effects of PTSD and domestic violence.

My thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release in October 2019.

I love Joyce Carol Oates and I think this is a perfect novella. It's dark and somehow unsettling.
The style of writing and the character development are perfect.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

This was a very odd and sad story. Told in varying POV, you have the father, mother, daughter and new husband. Each POV has a different story to tell and they are all woven together in sad and horrible ways. But the story never fully blossomed for me. It was poetic and sing-songy when you have the main Daughter POV. Her thoughts were scattered and odd, most times without complete sentences.
The new husband was weird too. His hopeful thoughts and his stay through the hospital. The father and mother POV were almost afterthoughts, so you know the ultimate outcome of all the ideas.
I wish this story had been flushed out.

I love Joyce Carol Oates and was really looking forward to this book. It's a very interesting and intense journey for sure as it alternates between Abby's past life and her nightmares of skeletons and handcuffs, to the present when she has just married Willem and is keeping these secrets to herself. But when she steps off a bus and into traffic sending her into a coma, the question arises, "Was it deliberate or an accident?" As she recovers, we as the readers relive her past as she struggles to come to terms with what she remembers as a young child. What is real and what is imagined? This is a dark ride as we witness a drug-addled, controlling father and a mother determined to save her young daughter from harm. Of course Oates doesn't disappoint as we are drawn into the story from the first page!

The only positive thing I can say about this book is that it's short, a novella. It's a dark story that's just weird and unsettling. Not for me.

JCO is at her best in this incredible novella. So much is packed into so few pages. The narrative is non-linear, moving from the present with Abbey recovering in hospital from a car accident soon after getting married, flashbacks to the violent, disturbing dreams that plagued her as a child and flashbacks to her childhood and life with a drunken, abusive father and a terrified mother. As Abbey slowly recovers and is tended to by her devoted husband, she starts to unravel the truth about her dreams and a shocking secret from her childhood that she has never told anyone. Towards the end of the book, the POV shifts from Abbey to that of her mother when she learns the true extent of her ex-husband’s rage and jealousy. I found these scenes heart-breaking as well as the scenes when Abbey tells her husband what she remembers. A truly incredible piece of writing.

Joyce Carol Oates is my favorite author, and she never fails to deliver. This novel is much shorter than usual, but it is just long enough to accomplish what it sets out to do! The undercurrent of creepiness, the character development, all just PERFECT. Oates is a MASTER.

Pursuit is a short book, but an intense one. Young, conservative Abby is haunted by nightmares. The day after she marries Willem, she runs out of a bus and into traffic. The question the doctors have--and the one that haunts Willem--is whether this was on purpose. Willem is naive, the product of a regimented upbringing by a strict and self-righteous fundamentalist Christian family that says no to everything remotely fun, and has no idea what Abby is hiding.

As Abby heals slowly, in fits and starts, the story unspools. Perspectives change throughout Pursuit. There are reasons why Abby's family wasn't involved with her wedding. They will become obvious.

This is a story of horrific events and flawed people. This is also a story of learning who to trust, of opening up, and of healing. A good read for any Joyce Carol Oates fan.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I really wanted to love this book. It was definitely gripping, haunting, and kept me guessing. In the end, it was a little lacking in substance, a little too scattered - even for Oates' style of writing - and I wasn't convinced by Willem and Abby's marriage enough to buy into all the back story. I love books that evoke imagery and emotion, and this one left me a little haunted which can sometimes be a good thing as it resonates within and makes me think. Pursuit, however, just left me a little empty.

Joyce Carol Oates has done it again. “The Pursuit” is a masterfully written novel, told from the point of view of each of the three main characters. The novel explores themes like love and jealousy. It is dark and painful, but it ends with a note of hope in the shape of a blue opal ring.

On the morning of her wedding day, Abby wakes to a long ago dream of finding skeletons. The return of the dream panics her - and on her first day of married life, she again panics on the bus route to work, exits a stop early and steps in front of the bus. Her new husband Willem, stays by her side through recovery and questions what she sees when she dreams, what upsets her so much. Through <i>Pursuit, </i>by Joyce Carol Oates, the story of Abby's troubled early years emerges in chapters told in her own voice, and those of Willem and also her parents.

A quick and disturbing read, Oates uses language beautifully and effectively to investigate dreams, memory, and family distress. Although a short novel, there is much to think about and discuss here!

Oh my gosh did i ever love this book. It was a story, a deep intricate story that was so well written. It didnt have a ton of action going on but it was a creepy tale that keep me turning page after page. I adored the characters, the past and present story line changes intertwined perfectly. I cant say enough about this book, it genuinely creeped me out right till the very end.

Unfortunately, the choppy writing style was too much for me here. I just couldn’t find the cadence of this narrative and, ultimately, did not finish this one.

In this unsettling suspense novel, a newlywed woman steps into oncoming traffic in a horrific accident. Her husband rushes to her side and the novel now begins in earnest. In alternating storylines we learn about the history of the girl’s family that unfolds in a surprising way—Lyrical, haunting and spare.

Haunting, disturbing, and seriously bleak.

I wanted to like this more (but it’s hard to enjoy a book that deals with this kind of cruelty). The story of Abby is not necessarily engaging. I could not get behind her or Willem and their relationship. It was weird to me. She’s so meek and mild, and he’s such a neurotic, cloying child... it came off odd. I was curious to know more of Abby’s history, as well as the reason behind her “accident”, but the whole of it was not handled coherently.

Joyce Carol Oates employs a stream-of-consciousness technique here, and though it makes the story more intense and nightmarish, still ended up boring me. And this is not a long book (144 pages!); it’s closer to a novella in length. The details regarding that of Abby’s mother and father were hard to get through. I was disturbed throughout. But I found it all entirely implausible. I won’t go into spoilers, but there is a long stretch of time between a certain crime and Abby’s present circumstances. No questions raised? No investigations? Aunt Traci? Dominique? NO ONE?!? Totally unrealistic.

I’m a reader who reviews based having on emotions, and this one has me empty and nauseated. Honestly, it left a real bad taste in my mouth come the conclusion, and I am dismayed.

Thank you NetGalley and Grove Atlantic for providing me this copy, in exchange for an honest review.

This is a dark mystery, not just in its plot but in the characterisation of some deeply vulnerable and disturbed people. Most of the time I wasn't sure who to believe with four different POVs competing for the underlying truth. I stopped trying to resolve this mystery and just had to go with the flow. This was the antithesis of a page turner, I didn't really want to know what happened next, but of course, it is human nature to keep reading. In the end it wasn't as bad as my imagined fears, but it was still brutal and gross.

With thanks to Grove Atlantic and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.