In this robust, relentless, inquisitive, and astutely balanced novel of social conflict, Oates portrays with unfailing nuance two troubled men on the opposite sides of the ever-fraught abortion-rights debate” — Booklist (starred review)
“The most relevant book of Oates’s half-century-long career, a powerful reminder that fiction can be as timely as this morning’s tweets but infinitely more illuminating.” — Washington Post
“Successful because [Oates] refuses to satirize or dehumanize anyone, even murderous foes of abortion...With its wrath and violence, A Book of American Martyrs offers this teaspoon of warmth in these troubled times: that it is possible to be wrong without surrendering your humanity.” — Los Angeles Times
“Oates’ American saga captivates because it exists within an actual drama playing out across the country...Martyrs is a graceful and excruciating story of two families who do not live very far apart, but exist in different realities. ” —USA Today, 4-star review — USA Today
“Oates reminds of an uncomfortable truth: The issue of abortion is so divisive and keenly felt precisely because of its messy moral and emotional questions.” — New York Times Book Review
Oates’ American saga captivates because it exists within an actual drama playing out across the country...Martyrs is a graceful and excruciating story of two families who do not live very far apart, but exist in different realities. ” —USA Today, 4-star review
Successful because [Oates] refuses to satirize or dehumanize anyone, even murderous foes of abortion...With its wrath and violence, A Book of American Martyrs offers this teaspoon of warmth in these troubled times: that it is possible to be wrong without surrendering your humanity.
Oates reminds of an uncomfortable truth: The issue of abortion is so divisive and keenly felt precisely because of its messy moral and emotional questions.
New York Times Book Review
The most relevant book of Oates’s half-century-long career, a powerful reminder that fiction can be as timely as this morning’s tweets but infinitely more illuminating.
In this robust, relentless, inquisitive, and astutely balanced novel of social conflict, Oates portrays with unfailing nuance two troubled men on the opposite sides of the ever-fraught abortion-rights debate
Booklist (starred review)
The most relevant book of Oates’s half-century-long career, a powerful reminder that fiction can be as timely as this morning’s tweets but infinitely more illuminating.
Oates’ American saga captivates because it exists within an actual drama playing out across the country...Martyrs is a graceful and excruciating story of two families who do not live very far apart, but exist in different realities. ” —USA Today, 4-star review
Oates’s novel gives listeners a well-timed and insightful look at the mental state of a zealous evangelical who kills a doctor who performs abortions. In this moving attempt to tell the story in an all-encompassing and objective way, narrators Neil Hellegers, Tavia Gilbert, and Kirsten Potter portray intertwined families as they cope with the assassination. A remorseful tone permeates the ensemble narration, especially in the portrayals of both main characters, whose fervent belief in their missions is frightening. Empathetically depicted as heartfelt warriors, they personify one of our nation’s most polarizing issues. R.O. © AudioFile 2017, Portland, Maine
FEBRUARY 2017 - AudioFile
