First Love

First Love by Joyce Carol Oates
1997
Weight: 1. 6 oz
Method of Disposal: Donating

Enjoyable to read in that it is short, small, and even has pictures.  You can read it in one sitting, even if you only have an hour.  Not so enjoyable to read in that sexual violence is eroticized to no point and without any real payoff.  The characters are not developed at all, and I felt nothing for any of them.  Ah well, I am sure someone else will enjoy it.

Rape: A Love Story

Rape: A Love Story by Joyce Carol Oates

2004

Weight: 6 oz

Method of Disposal:  Not sure?

I admit it.  I gave into the name.  I wanted to resist.  I knew I was being played—and easily—but I could not stop myself from walking right into the trap.  I saw it on a table next to other books.  I wondered, can the story possibly live up to that title?  I thought about being told never to write about rape in fiction.  Maybe Oates could pull it off or maybe she is why none of us should.  I thought about being raped and being loved.  I read it right away, and though I was not surprised, I was disappointed.  The book felt rushed and incomplete.  I think I have felt that way about Oates’ novels several times.  So sad.

I think I will write my own Rape: A Love Story just to see if it can be done.  I will have to call it something else of course.  Perhaps I will share it here when I am done.