|
''Them'' (styled as ''them'') is a novel by Joyce Carol Oates, the third in the ''Wonderland Quartet'' she inaugurated with ''A Garden of Earthly Delights''. It was first published by Vanguard in 1969 and it won the U.S. National Book Award for Fiction in 1970.〔 ("National Book Awards – 1970" ). National Book Foundation (NBF). Retrieved 2012-04-13. (With acceptance speech by Oates and essay by Harold Augenbraum from the Awards 60-year anniversary blog.)〕 Many years and many awards later, Oates surmised that ''them'' and ''Blonde'' (2000) were the works she will most be remembered for, and would most want a new reader to select, though she added that "I could as easily have chosen a number of titles."〔 ("Off the Page: Joyce Carol Oates" ). Transcript of interview by Carol Burns. ''The Washington Post'', October 24, 2003. Retrieved on 2012-04-14.〕 ==Genesis== In the foreword to the book, Oates states that for the most part, ''them'' is based upon a real family. "Maureen Wendall" contacted Oates by mail after she had failed a college course she took, and these letters are, presumably, recreated verbatim in the novel about two-thirds through the text. Stating that "the novel practically wrote itself," Oates organized and fictionalized the story, but at certain points revised the text to relay "Maureen Wendall's" words verbatim. Oates also noted that, rather than sensationalizing the story of the Wendalls to make slum life more lurid, she actually softened some sections so that it would not overwhelm the reader. She commented that the confessional aspect was, at least temporarily, extremely therapeutic to "Maureen Wendall" and that all the family members were still living. In an addendum to the afterword, Oates clarifies that this "realist" element was a literary device: all characters and events are entirely fictional. Maureen's letters were written by Oates, and the "Miss Oates" to whom the letters are written is also a fictional character. At the time (1962-1967), Oates went by Joyce Smith. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Them (novel)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|