The Sacrifice : A Novel
Author(s): Joyce Carol Oates
When a teenage girl is the alleged victim of an act of racial violence, the incident shocks and galvanizes her community, exacerbating the racial tension that has been simmering in this New Jersey town for decades. In this magisterial work of fiction, Joyce Carol Oates explores the uneasy fault lines in a racially troubled society and reveals that there must always be a sacrifice—of innocence, truth, trust, and, ultimately, of lives.
Unfolding in a succession of multiracial voices, in a community transfixed by this alleged crime and the spectacle unfolding around it, this profound novel exposes what—and who—the "sacrifice" actually is, and what consequences these kinds of events hold for us all. The Sacrifice is a chilling exploration of the enduring trauma of the past, modern racial and class tensions, the power of secrets, and the primal decisions we all make to protect those we love.
Review(s):
Joyce Carol Oates […] is simply the most consistently inventive, brilliant, curious and creative writer going, as far as I’m concerned.
“Oates fully intends to make readers squirm. But for all its headline brashness, visceral magnification, and societal melodrama, The Sacrifice is laced with striking psychological subtleties, painful ironies, and flashes of tenderness and wit. A sure-fire catalyst for meaningful discussion.
“A fictional account of the infamous Tawana Brawley case… [Oates] uses fiction as an opportunity to interrogate the circumstances that made Brawley’s story a sensation and gave it meaning.”
“[A] tale of race, community, and pride… complex and multifaceted.”
“In this provocative novel, Oates barges her way into territory where not many white writers have dared to tread - and produced a raw and earnest mix of fiery drama and the bone-cold truths of race as we live it today.”
“If you enjoy historical fiction, there’s a wide range of it coming up. In January, the tireless Joyce Carol Oates publishes The Sacrifice, a tense novel based on the notorious Tawana Brawley rape case in 1987.”
“Prize-winning author Joyce Carol Oates recreates the notorious Tawana Brawley case - with an Al Sharpton-like character fanning the flames of fraud - in her explosive new novel The Sacrifice.”
“The tireless Joyce Carol Oates publishes The Sacrifice, a tense novel based on the notorious Tawana Brawley rape case in 1987.”
“Based largely on the infamous Tawana Brawley hoax of the late-1980s, Joyce Carol Oates’ latest novel, The Sacrifice is a savage satire on race relations and the culture of sensationalism...The Sacrifice ranks among Joyce Carol Oates’s best novels.”
“Without a doubt this book is timely...If there was ever a moment that called for insight into the scourge of racist policing, this is it....Oates has a sophisticated grasp of racial complexities…”
ISBN: 9780062391698