Joyce Carol Oates’ 40th novel Carthage is one that you’ll either love or hate. This reviewer has been reading Ms. Oates’ novels, plays, short stories and her underappreciated memoir for the past 30 years. There have been very few years where there hasn’t been something published by her. Now some may say this is a good thing but she has also gotten lots of criticism for writing too much.
Carthage is a novel in three parts. The first part of the story is about the tragic death of Cressida Mayfield. She is killed by her sister’s Juliet’s ex-fiance Brett Kincaid, an injured Iraq war vet. After killing her he leaves her body in a ditch. Her family and the town send search teams out to find her body but come up empty-handed. Brett is prosecuted for murder and her family tries to move on. Some members of Cressida’s family try to forgive Brett since he is a war hero. This part of the story is truly a page turner.
The second part of the novel is about a girl who is first referred to as the “intern.” She is has an air of mystery to her until we find out her name is Sabbath McSwain. I quickly figured out who she really was. We find out about how she came to be Sabbath. This part truly shows Oates writing skills in keeping the story moving even though we think we know whom this girl really is.
The third and final part of Carthage is about forgiveness and moving on. Cressida decides to return home and the old line “can one go home again” is asked. For me could I ask Ms. Oates for forgiveness for reading close to 500 pages where I pretty much know what happens after page 186. I found myself compelled to read to see if Oates could keep me interested in the rest of her novel. The good news is yes. Even though the reader knows that Cressida is still alive, Oates brings her coming back to life into a novel about watching what we say and do because every word we utter may lead that person on a path of destruction, bitterness, or fortunately for mankind, forgiveness. Carthage is a perfect book club choice because it will keep the dialogue about whether Cressida truly is a good or bad person for coming back to Carthage going until the next Joyce Carol Oates novel come out.
