I lock my Door upon Myself by Joyce Carol Oates

I lock my Door upon Myself by Joyce Carol Oates

This is a short book (less than 100 pages) but my does it pack a powerful punch.  I loved this book from start to finish…quirky, different and beautifully written and I’m still not sure if I should feel sorry for or be emboldened by the main character.

It’s the story of Calla, the flame-haired, willful, free spirit who gets married off to a coarse local man and goes and lives in his home with his family.  Calla’s unusual ways put her at odds with her in-laws further exacerbated by her inability to ‘mother’ her own children.

Calla’s chance meeting with an ‘itinerant black water-dowser’ leads to an obsessive and passionate love affair that ends in disaster, a disaster that leaves Calla’s body broken and her mind frail as she withdraws into herself and the house of her husband and his family.

I loved this book and would definitely read it again in a couple of month’s time.  I give this book FIVE COFFEE CUPS ☕☕☕☕☕ and highly recommend it.