My Heart Laid Bare

by Joyce Carol Oates

Book Overview

Chronicles the endeavors of the Licht family--a clan of cheats, murderers, and con men--from the late eighteenth century through the 1930s, and details the moral consequences of their crimes and transgressions.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0452280060
• ISBN13: 9780452280069
• Release Date: July 1999
• Publisher: Plume Books
• Length: 531 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.2" x 5.3" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

it is worth the wait.

when i initially began the book, i almost gave up. it didn't seem to make that much sense...the sentence structure was a bit unconventional. who are these people? it didn't make sense. after the first chapter the entire scene changes and the characters are completely different. Then we are let into the secret of the Licht family. from then on it kept me reading to see what was going to be their next exploit. it was quite a long read for me but worth it. i grew attached to the characters because of their flaws. the Licht family developed a culture all their own.

Original and consuming

This was a quick yet detailed and, most importantly, FUN book to read. Take the Brady Bunch, make them top-notch con artists, throw 'em back another 100 years and you've got Licht family. What a strange crew, but it's such fun to read how each sibling slowly distances him/herself in his/her own unique way from Father and 'The Game'. Forget the romancy title and cover, this is not a Fabio book. Great character development. A must read!

Magical! Transports you to another time and place.

A book to be savored, this work struck a rare chord with me, the dilemma between not wanting it to end, yet being unable to put it down. Oates brings these characters to life. The language is lyrical and melodious, a savory delight of armchair escapism, yet so much more. I was engrossed in this book from the opening line and riveted to the very end. The ultimate dysfunctional family, run by a tyrannical and corrupt patriarch during the Gilded Age with just enough supernatural twists to make it the perfect candlelight read for snuggling under the covers while the wicked winds blow under ominous skies!

Oates does it again!

I am an avid fan of Joyce Carol Oates. Though she excels at tales of the macabre, I enjoy her delves into history most. The Licht family was amazing and the story was magnificently woven in typical Oates fashion. I keep collecting her books and can't decide which to read next.

The thinking reader's adventure.

With "My Heart Laid Bare," Joyce Carol Oates builds on her reputation as one of the most inventive and alluring writers at work today. This time, she's in her historical mode, covering the nefarious doings of the Licht clan, whose elaborate con schemes stretch back to Colonial days when an ancestress was transported to America during a shady career that included similar activities. Lead by patriarch Abraham, the early 20th century Lichts appear be masters of the carefully-planned, high-stakes swindle when an act of violence begins the unraveling of not only the way of life they call The Game, but of the family itself. The disintegration of a family is a theme Oates has explored before ("We Were the Mullvaneys") but this new book is full of surprises. She draws the reader into an alluring tale, full of adventure, romance, and creative schemes, with the underpinnings of great sadness. The reader is left disturbed and unsure whether "My Heart Laid Bare" is a romp or something more serious trying to trick us, Licht-style, into not paying the attention we should. The book gets off to a tangled start, but readers are advised to stick with it. You'll get the picture soon enough, and join the Lichts on their compelling and unsettling path.