Broke Heart Blues (Magill’s Literary Annual 1991-2005)
At a glance:
- Author: Joyce Carol Oates
- First Published: 1999
- Type of Work: Novel
- Time of Work: Approximately 1965-1995
- Setting: Upstate New York
- Principal Characters: John Reddy Heart, Dahlia Heart, Aaron Leander Heart, Shirleen, Farley, Mel Riggs, Nora Leavey, Veronica Myers, Ritchie Eickhorn, Art Lutz, Kate Olmsted
- Genres: Long fiction
- Subjects: Culture, 1960’s, 1970’s, United States or Americans, Murder or homicide, 1980’s, Carpentry or carpenters, Jesus Christ, 1990’s, Christ figures or saviors, High schools or high school students, Sacrifice
- Locales: New York
Joyce Carol Oates has been taking X rays of American life for more than three decades, and her novels and stories not only tell readers what is wrong with American culture but also provide a healing prescription for its recovery. Broke Heart Blues follows that formula in a story that is unevenly comic and tragic.
The story opens with John Reddy Heart driving into Willowsville, New York, a sleepy Buffalo suburb with a population of 5,640. By the thirtieth reunion of his high school class in the 1990’s, all the residents have been changed forever by his life. When John...
[The entire page is 1842 words long]
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