The Babysitter is definitely dark and more than a bit depressing, The writing is good, but not a style that draws me in. This a case where it was not for me, but I can appreciate it in a detached way.

I picked up the book after recognizing it took place in Detroit.

I enjoyed reading of the local places, streets I have been, but unfortunately, that was the only thing I really enjoyed.

Hannah, a housewife in the 70s, having an affair Downtown. And some child murders thrown in? The book shifted back and forth too much, that it was really hard to grasp the action. Not my favorite.

Thoughts? I have so many on this latest Joyce Carol Oates novel. Goodreads shows I’ve only read one other, but I’ve feel like I’ve read a couple before I started my Goodreads account.

Our main character Hannah is a wealthy wife who puts on charity fundraisers. At one she and a mysterious Y.K. get along well, and the novel starts out with her going to his hotel room on the 61st floor for an illicit affair. Set in 1977 Detroit, in the backdrop of this affair is a serial killer nicknamed Babysitter who is killing tweens, bathing them and then displaying them when he wants them found.

This novel, in my opinion, is very memorable. Its writing style is unique, lyrical and choppy. It did take me some time to adapt to that part of the style, but I did get to acceptance on that. The part about the writing style that aggravated me was the over the top punctuation. Yes, I completely know this is a weird complaint, but bear with me as I try to explain the punctuation. It overuses (nearly) every type of “punctuation” continuously! If reading that sentence exasperated you, multiply that by the number of sentences in the book.

Hannah is a not very likable main character. Now I don’t need to like main characters. But they at least need to be interesting. Hannah has some pretty awful daddy issues, and she becomes obsessed with this dude Y.K., who is horribly abusive and cold. Their sex leaves her bruised all over, and she’s still obsessed with him. I can take a character who cheats, but one who is in a horribly abusive extramarital affair and constantly pines for this abusive man? I really don’t get it. She is exceedingly naive. She knows almost nothing of Y.K., but she has perpetual fantasies of leaving her husband Wes for him.

Trigger warnings for rape, child murder, cruelty abound here.

Then let’s discuss the setting: 1977 Detroit. There is no 1977 nor Detroit in here. As an example, Hannah goes to yoga class three times per week. In 1977? Our recent sensibilities are featured here, not 1977 sensibilities (with the exception of car models). There wasn’t any Detroit sense of place in the novel either.

The novel does touch quite a bit on race, police shooting a Black man, black-on-white rape. However, it’s talked about with 2020s sensibilities rather than 1977.

I came for the serial killer angle, and such a small portion of the novel was dedicated to it that I was disappointed.

Overall, a lot about this book annoyed me, but it was written well enough if you can tolerate the writing style and icky (how it makes you feel) plot.

Thank you to NetGalley for the Advance Reader Copy in exchange for an honest review.

The latest novel by Joyce Carol Oates is Babysitter and will be released on August 23, 2022; Knopf Doubleday Publishing provided me an early galley for review.

While our library carries quite a few of Oates' previous novels, I must admit that she was not an author with whose work I was familiar. Thus, this one was my first experience with her writing style and approach. A number of things jumped right out at me from the start.

First, the author went with short phrases or words to title each chapter rather than number them. While not uncommon, it is definitely something I do not see as much in books I tend to read. I like that change of pace. It can be very effective and counter any "chapter-counting" (i.e., "how far do I have left to go") reading approaches.

What attracted me to this story was it being set in Detroit (I've been a northeast Michigan resident for almost a decade) in the later part of the 1970's (I was a child of the 70's). Given that, I expected a lot of familiar touchpoints. However, except for some sprinkling of actual locale names (versus the made-up ones that are also in there) and the continual year reference of 1977 (and very little other topical and cultural details of the decade), I felt this story could have taken place in any major city and any decade. For me, that was two wasted opportunities.

I also struggled with the writing style, especially in the early chapters of the novel. There was a lot of sentences that were not standard noun-verb structure. I was always taught that a prepositional phrase alone does not a sentence make; a few I can ignore but quite a lot comes across as distracting and a reading struggle. It almost felt like being in a perpetual state of extreme intoxication or a dazed cloud of confusion.

Lastly, I could not relate to any of the main characters. That might have been a side effect of the writing style or possibly just the dark nature of the story's subject matter (infidelity and brutal violence).

I am sure Babysitter will find its audience, especially for faithful Joyce Carol Oates readers. I just am not one of them.

I am sure fans of Joyce Carol Oates will enjoy this one. It just was not to my taste as I couldn’t get into the story as I felt the writing style didn’t really work for me. I’m sure other fans will love it and I really hoped I would be one of them as this author is quite prolific.

Babysitter by Joyce Carol Oates
Publish Date: Aug 23, 2022
Well....ummm. Yeah. This one took me ages to get through; however, I kept plugging along because I wanted resolution. The narrative is choppy, like a bad dream. You wake up and think, "What the heck was that?!" Each time I read, it put me to sleep, but not because it was boring... I think it was because my brain was over stimulated. I literally think my brain shut down each time. Here's the crux:
Hannah is a spoiled rich housewife with a lot of daddy pleasing issues whose marriage is more of one for looks than anything else. The passion (if it was ever there) is gone. Then one night at a high class charity fundraiser she is approached by a stranger who sets her heart thrumming. He plays her like a fiddle and she becomes ensnared in an adulterous (abusive) affair. Enter a whole host of skeezy characters that Hannah is too blind (hopeless) to see. In the meantime, as a backstory but marketed as the main event, there is a sick pervert out there who is murdering (white) children which is setting her elite social circle in a tizzy claiming it's a race war. Just who is the Babysitter (as he's been nicknamed) and will one of their children be next? The Babysitter is the mystery I picked up this book for, but that is not even in the story much. Bummer.
While I do appreciate Joyce Carol Oates' writing, I should have known this wouldn't be your typical serial killer thriller. My expectations were more on the "who is the killer and will he be brought to justice" mindset. That's on me.
#netgalley #thebabysitter #joycecaroloates

I can’t recall the last book I read by Joyce Carol Oates, but in the interest of reading some well-written fiction, I was happy to receive a copy of her latest, Babysitter, in exchange for this review. (you know, like taking vitamins – it will be good for me to read something other than mystery/thrillers).

The story takes place in Detroit, in the late 1970s. Here are the main characters: Hannah, the wife of a prominent local businessman, who is having an affair with I’m-not-sure-who. Mikey, a street hustler who finds himself on a mission to achieve justice. And the Babysitter, part of the elite of Detroit. As the Babysitter continues abducting and killing kids, and somehow the main characters intersect with one another.

That may be pretty vague, but TBH I had trouble with time jumping around as well as shifting narratives. Maybe I’m not ready for better quality “literature” (as opposed to the stuff I usually read). It does have suspense, and I enjoyed the exploration of corrupt politics, racism, and sexual predators. I think. I’m going four stars despite my own failing to follow and appreciate. Ms Oates deserves better than three stars, whoever is reading her work.

4.25 stars
I cannot believe this is the first book by Joyce Carol Oates that I’ve ever read. Certainly not the last. I found it to be quite a well written mystery. I found myself thinking about this book any time I couldn’t actually be reading it…ugh lol!

This was a powerful story that got lost in too many changing narratives and too many time jumps. I couldn’t follow the sorry enough to ever get engrossed.

A deeply disturbing thriller the likes of which I have never read. Oats weaves quite the story of intriguing mystery. I absolutely enjoyed this engrossing book.