The Tattooed Girl Book

I really must get going on J. C. O. She's arguably the best woman writer we have. Joyce Carol Oates is simply... JUICY!

I have previously only read "Zombie" and fell in love with her anarchistic style of writing.... makes Chuck Palahniuk look the fraud he is. There is some of that here, intermingled with almost young-adult reader-friendliness. This is a dark tale, on the same scale as Stephen King's "Apt Pupil".

There is The Jew Seigl, a strong character that reeks of academia, and then his twisted two-fold shifty nemesis: Punk and Doomed Princess/Tattooed Girl, in one sturdy battle lasting a good 200+ pages. Seigl is a sad character as is his foe. This duality inspires many thoughts in an otherwise oblivious reader. There is something underneath. There are touches of masterful horror here, as well as an undercurrent of severe sadness. The characters... well, they kind of don't make it all in one piece at the end. There is something sickly morbid and Diane Arbus-like in almost anything Carol Oates sets her brain to. Must get hands on some more!!