Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: Although this novel has some Oates-ian touches, this is not a typical Joyce Carol Oates novel, which is presumably where the "Writing as Rosamund Smith" tagline comes into play. The basic plot is pretty much what you'd expect from an Oates novel: Matt McBride, a thirty-six year old man haunted by the abduction and murder of a young girl that occured when he was fifteen, becomes obsessed with the disappreance of a young woman who lives nearby. Matt sinks further into obsession at the cost of his marriage and career, but he won't rest until he finds out exactly what has happened to Duana Zwolle.Oates also takes us tinto the mind of the killer, Name Unknown. Name Unknown has an obsession of his own -- ridding the world of impure, vulgar women. The passages written from Name Unknown's point of view are somewhat reminiscent of the narrative voice of Quentin P___ from Oates's earlier novel, Zombie. However, while Name Unknown's thoughts and actions are disturbing, they are nowhere near as frightening as the things Quentin does. The Barrens also has a more satisfying conclusion -- almost a happy ending -- than many of Oates's novels. I'm reluctant to call this novel "Joyce Carol Oates Lite" because that sounds demeaning. However, while this book is dark, it doesn't get nearly as dark as the aforementioned Zombie, or Foxfire, or a number of other Oates novels. It's a book to be kept in reserve for those times when you want a compelling thriller, but not necessarily one that's going to make you think too hard about what Oates is trying to say.
Rating: 
Summary: Anything BUT Barren
Review: As a 25 year intensive Oates reader, I found "The Barrens" particularly interesting and engaging. In this book, Joyce continues her investigatory writing on two main themes that are ubiquitous in her "Rosamond Smith" books. These two themes being: The Mental Processes Of Serial Killers AND Identical Twins Joyce is fascinated by the telepathic interactions of identical twins. This has been heavily documented, both scientifically and empirically and Joyce interweaves the concept into her plot with great aplomb in this book. Additionally, the book is reminiscent of "Zombie", but in a more ordered and mass market style of writing. While this seems to have been Joyce's original intent writing under this Nom De Plume, this minor charade seems now to have been all but abandoned as the first edition now lists the author as Joyce Carol Oates writing as Rosamund Smith. Marketing wins in the end. Nonetheless, the book represented an elevation of literary style when writing under her "Rosamond Smith Cloak" now that it has been exposed to reveal below, 'The Invisible Writer' hiding behind the "Wizard of Oz's Curtain." Perhaps this shall herald a new area for Joyce to develop yet another literary expertise. I would highly recommend the book to any suspense novel enthusiasts, and of course, to all Joyce Carol Oates readers around the world.
Rating:
Summary: Anything BUT Barren
Review: As a 25 year intensive Oates reader, I found "The Barrens" particularly interesting and engaging. In this book, Joyce continues her investigatory writing on two main themes that are ubiquitous in her "Rosamond Smith" books. These two themes being: The Mental Processes Of Serial Killers AND Identical Twins Joyce is fascinated by the telepathic interactions of identical twins. This has been heavily documented, both scientifically and empirically and Joyce interweaves the concept into her plot with great aplomb in this book. Additionally, the book is reminiscent of "Zombie", but in a more ordered and mass market style of writing. While this seems to have been Joyce's original intent writing under this Nom De Plume, this minor charade seems now to have been all but abandoned as the first edition now lists the author as Joyce Carol Oates writing as Rosamund Smith. Marketing wins in the end. Nonetheless, the book represented an elevation of literary style when writing under her "Rosamond Smith Cloak" now that it has been exposed to reveal below, 'The Invisible Writer' hiding behind the "Wizard of Oz's Curtain." Perhaps this shall herald a new area for Joyce to develop yet another literary expertise. I would highly recommend the book to any suspense novel enthusiasts, and of course, to all Joyce Carol Oates readers around the world.
Rating: 
Summary: Skip the italics!
Review: As a one-time admirer of JCO and Rosamond Smith, I found this book to be below her (their) usual standards. Particularly annoying are the italics throughout, supposedly there to represent the characters' thoughts, but for me they only served to confuse. The ending was too quickly wrapped up; no real suspense was evident, and the main character seems to be moving in a dreamlike state. I did like the description of the meeting between Matt and a computer nerd who collects facts about serial killings..it rang true. "The Internet: the insomniac's solace." The writing shows connections to "Silence of the Lambs," with the killer using body parts to make works of art. Not my favorite work by Rosamund Smith!
Rating:
Summary: Real Trash
Review: I did not expect great literature from this book, but even for its so called "genre" it is a failure. It is a psycho-thriller that has no pschcological depth and no suspense. You know who the killer is from the beginning, and the main character, Matt, is written in an unconvincing and shallow way. The other characters, such as his wife, are given even worse treatment, if such a thing is possible. Frankly, I just couldn't suumon up enough interest to go on reading...I forced myself to read it through, hoping that it would improve at some point, but it was boring and poorly written to the very end. The tirades of the serial killer are difficult to read through. The description of bodily mutilation is just disgusting.
Why would anyone choose to write such stuff, and why would anyone want to read it?
Why does this stuff sell?
Rating:
Summary: Real Trash
Review: I did not expect great literature from this book, but even for its so called "genre" it is a failure. It is a psycho-thriller that has no pschcological depth and no suspense. You know who the killer is from the beginning, and the main character, Matt, is written in an unconvincing and shallow way. The other characters, such as his wife, are given even worse treatment, if such a thing is possible. Frankly, I just couldn't suumon up enough interest to go on reading...I forced myself to read it through, hoping that it would improve at some point, but it was boring and poorly written to the very end. The tirades of the serial killer are difficult to read through. The description of bodily mutilation is just disgusting.
Why would anyone choose to write such stuff, and why would anyone want to read it?
Why does this stuff sell?
Rating:
Summary: Wierd, not sure what to say
Review: In this world ceated by Joyce Carol Oates, the dreamlike atmosphere tends to soften the violence. It it a tale of obsession to the point of madness. The serial killer novel is given the Oates treatment and the results are quite interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: Not Quite
Review: Not quite, those are the two words which best sum up The Barrens. It's not quite a good suspense novel, the reader has to slog through a little too much for the suspense to hold. It's not quite a good study on twins. In fact, all you get on this is a little bit of ranting on the living twin's part near the end of the book (by which time you have done so much 'slogging' through that you no longer care). It's not quite a good study on relationships and the facades of society. Possibly this was the best part of the book, but it still ends up too thin. The Barrens had lots of potential. It could have been a great suspense novel or a great book about the psychology of twins or a great book about relationships, but the Joyce Carol Oates seemed to have wanted it to be all of these things. The result is that it ends up being none of these things. I was not convinced by the main character's motivation for being obessesed with solving crimes that involved victims that he didn't even know. I was bored to tears with the killer's nutty rants punishing women. They don't contribute anything to the book and as a result end up bloating it further. I was somewhat interested in how Matt's marriage to a social climbing wife was falling apart as a result of this obession, but this isn't well developed. Over all, The Barrens offers little to most readers, because none will be fully satisfied with any part of this book. I slogged through this book in two days, but only because I wanted to hurry up and get it over with (because I detest leaving a book unfinished and I kept hoping that it would redeem itself at some point).
Rating:
Summary: Not Quite
Review: Not quite, those are the two words which best sum up The Barrens. It's not quite a good suspense novel, the reader has to slog through a little too much for the suspense to hold. It's not quite a good study on twins. In fact, all you get on this is a little bit of ranting on the living twin's part near the end of the book (by which time you have done so much 'slogging' through that you no longer care). It's not quite a good study on relationships and the facades of society. Possibly this was the best part of the book, but it still ends up too thin. The Barrens had lots of potential. It could have been a great suspense novel or a great book about the psychology of twins or a great book about relationships, but the Joyce Carol Oates seemed to have wanted it to be all of these things. The result is that it ends up being none of these things. I was not convinced by the main character's motivation for being obessesed with solving crimes that involved victims that he didn't even know. I was bored to tears with the killer's nutty rants punishing women. They don't contribute anything to the book and as a result end up bloating it further. I was somewhat interested in how Matt's marriage to a social climbing wife was falling apart as a result of this obession, but this isn't well developed. Over all, The Barrens offers little to most readers, because none will be fully satisfied with any part of this book. I slogged through this book in two days, but only because I wanted to hurry up and get it over with (because I detest leaving a book unfinished and I kept hoping that it would redeem itself at some point).
Rating:
Summary: A good book from an author who usually delivers great books
Review: The Barrens puts other novels that masquerade as "compelling psycho-dramas" (think anything sold at the grocery store or on the mass paperback table at chain bookstores) to literary shame. For nearly two decades, JCO has been one of a handful of writers whose works I purchase in hardcover the day they become available. So, make no mistake, by any measure against other writers' work, this is a five-star read: suspenseful, harrowing, "true." But when I think about the body of work Oates has penned under the pseudonym "Rosamond Smith," I find that The Barrens falls short of the excellence she has achieved in this genre in, for example, Nemesis and Lives of the Twins. Also (and now perhaps I am being unfair by comparing her Smith work to her Oates work), I think JCO presents readers with a far more memorable psychopath in the groundbreaking (and chillingly realistic) Zombie, a slim volume that reminds us that serial killers are people, too.
| 
