The Strange Man (Teenage Blues Book 24)

He has worked as a journalist, a lawyer, a banker and a university lecturer. Over seventy of his books are for children, but his Teenage Blues series specifically address the problem of pre-marital sex and are meant for adolescents and young adults only - not children. Kindle Edition File Size: Monarch Books 5 September Sold by: Share your thoughts with other customers. Write a product review. Get to Know Us. Not Enabled Word Wise: Enabled Average Customer Review: Be the first to review this item Would you like to tell us about a lower price?

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The Strange Man : Philip Begho :

Return to Book Page. From that day on, as John, his seductive mother, addled grandfather, and younger siblings settled into one of the town's most beautiful homes, John Reddy Heart would become legendary as a rebel, a heartthrob, and an John Reddy Heart came to Willowsville, New York, driving a salmon-colored Cadillac Bel Air and sitting on three Las Vegas phone books; he was eleven years old. From that day on, as John, his seductive mother, addled grandfather, and younger siblings settled into one of the town's most beautiful homes, John Reddy Heart would become legendary as a rebel, a heartthrob, and an outlaw.

In this uproarious epic novel from one of our most gifted contemporary storytellers, the ballad of John Reddy Heart -- his rise, fall, and second ascent into the realm of myth -- is sung by a chorus of Willowsville voices who find in him their savior, scapegoat, dream lover, and confessor. Paperback , pages. Published May 1st by Plume first published To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

To ask other readers questions about Broke Heart Blues , please sign up. Lists with This Book. May 05, Wallflower rated it it was amazing Recommends it for: This book got on my nerves. At first, I liked the strange POV, the "we" that switched between characters but always meant the collective, the "Circle. The person speaking changed at random, was never identified by anything other than gender, and repeated everything again and again and again.

Also, the "we" were a little pathetic. Their obsession with John Reddy Heart really? Most people realize their teenage obsessions were crazy and This book got on my nerves. Most people realize their teenage obsessions were crazy and stupid and get over it and maybe have a laugh at their former melodramatic selves. It's irritating and not endearing.

And I had to spend pages with these people, reading the same 10 stories over and over again.

Broke Heart Blues

At the end, I still couldn't keep all the characters straight, I never knew who was talking, and I didn't care. I just wanted it to be over. The middle of the book started to get interesting but then Joyce Carol Oates decided we couldn't have that. She left the only character with any likability factor and returned to the "we. Sure, I get that's the point.

People are obsessive drama whores. The things that happen in high school stay with us. We tell the same stupid stories whenever we meet until the end of time. Thing is, it's annoying even when those stories involve me in some way. When they don't and they are as ludicrous and pathetic as the ones in this book?

Unfortunately, that never happens. I've read two books by Joyce Carol Oates and I've hated them both. Time to accept this author isn't for me and move on.

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Dec 18, Jim rated it liked it. A typical Oates novel in which you find more details about the people involved than you really want to know. This one starts before a year-old male shoots a naked man manhandling his mother in bed and then describes not only how his life evolved but the feelings of all his peers throughout all the years until a 30th year high school reunion. He had been exhonerated for the killing and many of the teenage girls who had been attracted to him never were able to rid themselves of the obsession.

T A typical Oates novel in which you find more details about the people involved than you really want to know. The text moves back and forth during all of this carrying-on, and I found myself turning pages quickly at times - trying to get on with what was happening. Some reviewers would say that Oates has again succeeded in describing life as it existed at that time for she certainly doesn't leave out any details, but as one who lived during much of that time, I feel the account could have used some editing.

Apr 23, James Lundy added it Recommends it for: First of all, let me say that I have loved everything I've ever read by Joyce Carol Oates -- until now. If I ever hear that name again I think I'm going to I found myself looking ahead time and time again to see how many more pages the chapter would last. Seldom did I keep that promise,though. Save your money and read a cereal First of all, let me say that I have loved everything I've ever read by Joyce Carol Oates -- until now.

Save your money and read a cereal box instead. It's a lot more engaging than this loaf of a book. How in the world did they find 3 pages of positive quotes from reviewers to include in the opening pages? Why isn't there a way of leaving less than zero stars? Jun 17, Tami rated it it was ok. How many times can one phrase be repeated within a single book?

• Broke Heart Blues by Joyce Carol Oates.
• Follow the Author;
• ?
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• Self Matters: Creating Your Life from the Inside Out.

Anyone who had read a Joyce Carol Oates book knows that the answer is too scary to consider. The concept is interesting, but I almost stopped reading so many times out of annoyance with the repetition and constant babbling tone of the first two sections of the book.

Dec 04, Marie rated it liked it. I know I read this book a few years back, and I remember it being a bear because of all of the details. Maybe Joyce and Stephen King should date - then they could write a whole book of descriptive adjectives about downtown store fronts.

Dec 01, Ashley rated it really liked it.

I was also suprised to see how much everyone else disliked this book. Definately not her best, but soooo good all the same. I thouroughly enjoyed this book. Sep 25, Roberta rated it really liked it Shelves: Come sempre comunque la Oates scava mirabilmente nella psicologia dei personaggi. Attraverso questo romanzo ho imparato a conoscere, non solo la Oates, ma anche il protagonista.

Conosciamo John dalle voci, dalle testimonianze di amici, di compagni di scuola e abitanti della cittadina.

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Non lo so dire con esattezza, ma sicuramente personaggi come John ammaliano il lettore con la loro vicinanza e presenza, anche grazie alla penna di Joyce Carol Oates che descrive con dovizia di particolari e dettagli una storia che ci invita a riflettere sulla figura dell'eroe, di quanto abbiamo bisogno di eroi e su chi siano gli eroi di oggi.

Apr 11, Alison Bergblom Johnson rated it it was amazing Shelves: I can't remember a collective 1st person narrator the we in any novel or short story let alone a successful one. This book's apparent subject is a crime. But it's deeper subject is the more interesting one, which is the mythology of high school, particularly the mythology of high school as "the best years of your life. I also liked how those moments of unreliability show I can't remember a collective 1st person narrator the we in any novel or short story let alone a successful one. I also liked how those moments of unreliability showed the ways gossip distorts reality.

Sep 21, minnie rated it did not like it Shelves: I have read a few Joyce Carol Oates books and loved them all, this one I found hard going and it took me months to read. The only section I liked was the one written from the point of view of John Reddy Heart,I found the hysterical obsessive voices of the high school girls difficult to take and I was glad to be finished it.

Aug 07, Eschaaf2 rated it it was amazing. This novel has made me think about the characters frequently.

• Mastering Your Life With Lupus.
• Codename: Cipher (Grant Sommers Book 1)!
• The Strange Man : Teenage Blues Series?

It's reminiscent of something, I can't put my finger on it, but it makes you feel like the story is a part of your own history. Typical Joyce Carol Oates, though: But that's part of what makes it so fabulous. Sep 30, David rated it really liked it. This is an interesting one for Oates. I really liked the dual-sided nature of the text. That was an interesting technique and made the book much more complex than it would have otherwise been.

It's still not my favorite Oates, but that would be a pretty big request to make at this point. Jan 12, Lynn Vannucci added it. Great reviews, for its comedy; I enjoyed it a great deal but not as much as most of her books. Aug 21, Beverly rated it did not like it. I confess, it was so repetitious that I skimmed many pages. It was as if someone said to the author write a book with pages and we don't care what the content is. Feb 15, Susan rated it it was ok. The only Oates' book I didn't really appreciate. It was about pages too long- she made her point about 30 pages in. Sembra che tutto ruoti attorno a JRH, ma in pagine di onanistica celebrazione di quello stato di esaltazione permanente che contraddistingue gli americani usa, of course quando parlano o scrivono del college.

La storia, in sintesi: Ma mentre la prima sfrutta abbondantemente la cosa, il secondo sembra caparbiamente impermeabile a qualsiasi contatto, nonostante i suoi successi sportivi e lo sdilinquimento che provoca nelle suddette femmine. E poi succede il disastro: