Book Review of “The Accursed” By Joyce Carol Oates

This novel is primarily about a curse that is inflicted upon members of the Slade family (immediate and extended) in the environs of Princeton New Jersey during the years 1905-06. As with a sickness, the curse begins to have very small effects, and gradually grows to a climactic point and then is finally removed by the end of the novel. The reader is left wondering throughout the novel what might be the cause of the strange goings on in this time period.

The narrator of the story, a historian Pierce Van Dyck, shares the fruits of his historical labor with his reader. He apparently has access to primary sources such as diaries, letters and the like. It lends a kind of credulity, even though we as readers know that this whole story is created for us out of the fertile imagination of Mrs. Oates. By the way, Mrs. Oates’ writing style in this tale is superb. It is what you would expect from a first class author who has refined her craft over decades.

Gothic novels have a tendency to sprawl. This is the case here. We get small glimpses of families and individuals told in fine detail almost to the point of pedantry, but not quite. The detail feels necessary to the story. The prose is refined. For example, in some chapters we read entries from a coded diary (of Mrs. Adelaide Burr) that gives us insight into the mind and feelings of the Mrs. Burr. As I read, I was impressed by the language of the diary, which seemed to reflect accurately the manners and customs of the early 20^thcentury New Jersey privileged class.

Mrs. Oates keeps the reader guessing until the end. Who or what is to blame for the curse? She holds the reader’s attention fairly well. I think though that in our day, many will not have the patience to wade through this one. This is both the strength and weakness of this book. That is, it is not fast food fiction. The impact of this novel is heightened by the pace at which one reads it. If the reader savors each page and does not hurry through the narrative, they will be left shocked and thrilled by the end.