Esta afirmación se podría decir que define perfectamente lo que suponía ser un Mulvaney, sobre todo en el primer tercio de la novela, justo hasta que ocurre la tragedia que lo desbarata todo. La familia Mulvaney formada por el padre y la madre, Mike y Corinne, y por sus cuatro hijos, viviendo en una granja idílica rodeados de animales, caballos, perros, gatos y por una naturaleza medio salvaje (los ciervos son un simbolo asociados con la brevedad del momento que aparecen en dos momentos cruciales de la novela), parecían ser el paradigma del sueño americano. Mike Mulvaney, un hombre hecho a sí mismo, exitoso empresario, y Corinne su siempre optimista esposa, un espiritú libre y ferviente creyente, construyen una especie de paraíso en la tierra en High Point Farm, una granja que es un lugar no solo idílico, sino perfecto para que crezcan unos niños. Son una familia respetada, sus hijos son populares y se podría considerar que nada sería capaz de desbaratar este paradigma de felicidad.

The author also has an annoying habit of repeating phrases in italics, supposedly to suggest subconscious thoughts but too often feeling like a lazy shorthand saying, “Look, look, this is significant!”

Una de las virtudes del estilo de Joyce Carol Oates en mi opinión es que deja muchos detalles del argumento, y de algunas situaciones a la imaginación del lector. Te presenta los hechos, te da los datos, pero se vuelve ambigua a la hora de explicarlo todo taxativamente, de esta manera, consigue que el lector se comprometa con los personajes y que desarrolle en su imaginación lo que ella te ha dejado intuir. Puedes adorar u odiar a ciertos personajes, sus decisiones, pero realmente consigue que lector participe activa y emocionalmente en el desarrollo de la historia. Al final esta novela no es más que la narración por parte de Joyce Carol de la historia de una familia, la construye y la desconstruye paso a paso para que la conozcamos, sin juzgarlos, pero a través de su infelicidad y de muchos de sus momentos emocionalmente muy fuertes, consigue transmitirnos lo dificil que es sobrevivir a los palos de la vida.

When the Mulvaneys’ fall comes, it happens so fast. One day they’re riding high and the next they’re in the gutter —the American gutter of violence, homelessness, paranoia, law suits. Was there any way they could have averted their family tragedy? If you are also looking for a book with easily identifiable heroes and villans to relate to, cheer for and boo and hiss at, then again, this is not a book for you. The characters Oates' draws are human, with all their flaws and weaknesses. Every single one of them is unpredictable, at time unfathomable, at times loveable, and at time detestable. Just like life itself.As readers journey alongside the Mulvaneys through their triumphs and tribulations, they are reminded that life's challenges can transform individuals and families, highlighting the resilience and capacity for growth within each person. Oates masterfully crafts a narrative that resonates with the shared human experience, leaving a lasting impact on those who engage with the novel's powerful themes and evocative storytelling.

How did this book touch your life? Can you relate to it on any level? What do you believe is the message the author is trying to convey to the reader? It was also interesting how the whole family, the parents especially, believed their own hype of being this picture perfect unit, the embodiment of the American dream, whereas to this reader they didn’t seem that special to begin with, therefore their downfall wasn’t as surprising as it was to them. When the reality started contradicting their own image they built in their heads, well, that’s too bad for reality. We never actually see the family through any outsider’s eyes, so we have no idea if their opinion of themselves is shared by their neighbours or if it’s just some group delusion. This is life, generations following generations. The destructive father is gone, and will be remembered, ironically, with affection. Old wounds are forgotten in the excitement and enthusiasm of the future. To be true to life, a novel must have an ending that is inevitable given the specific personalities of the characters involved. The novelist must not impose an ending upon them. What might have been a tragedy in We Were the Mulvaneys becomes something quite different, yet to my mind this bittersweet ending is inevitable. But rewarding because I found the structure of the story, though it reads smoothly, is exciting, and is quite frankly a wonderful sort of book for “Oprah’s Book Club”, is at the same time disconcertingly and unexpectedly complex. (To me, at any rate.) Finally Michael. Not at the reunion because deceased. So in the end he Michael is the only one of these characters that does not find himself, or if he does, and realizes that he has found himself, it is not an uplifting affair at all, since he in most respects has neither found his own salvation nor helped the family his family to find theirs, at least not except perhaps in one thing, but that thing no different in kind and very much less in quantity that Corinne’s contribution to their children finding their way, but nevertheless for all that still important, and all that Michael could grasp; that thing being that after all the years of all of them searching for themselves, they (including Corinne) are able to find that for which they searched in part because of those twenty years that Michael gave to them all (including Corinne) when he did help, as did Corinne to an even greater extent, to bring his children up well. And it was that upbringing that Michael did in fact contribute to (before his own flaw caused him to stop contributing), which enabled all of them, after years of searching to come to that self knowledge and self acceptance and their own version of Truth and thus at long last find against the odds perhaps that they, the (remaining) Mulvaney’s, despite losing him, became again and were again that family whose name he contributed – the Mulvaney’s.Michael Sr. goes to the Mt. Ephraim Country Club one afternoon and notices a group of his former friends sitting together, laughing. Drunk, he pours a glass of beer on the head of a district judge, which leads to his arrest for assault and a newspaper article about the incident. The results are further erosion in Mulvaney Roofing and more attorney bills. Extraño: que cuando una luz se apaga, inmediatamente después es como si nunca hubiera existido. La oscuridad lo llena todo de nuevo, por completo. The Mulvaney family's idyllic life on their farm is characterized by innocence and unity. However, a tragic event disrupts this innocence, sending ripples through the family's dynamics. The theme of innocence is central as the characters grapple with the loss of their innocence and the unraveling of their tightly-knit relationships.

It was just too much for me to believe the dad's unexplained refusal to have anything to do with his daughter after the rape, and the mom's role in casting the daughter out into the world on dad's behalf, as if the rape was their daughter's fault. I didn't get any indication (despite how much Oates seems to go on and on and on) that the parents believed their daughter was not credible or that she was "asking for" the rape, no matter how illogical such a belief would be.Joyce Carol Oates nos ofrece un relato detallado de cómo una familia perfecta se precipita a los infiernos a raíz de un incidente de abusos sexuales. Es un tema frecuente en la literatura, de cómo el sueño americano puede convertirse en pesadilla a raíz de un imprevisto que altera el curso natural de las cosas y desata una serie de reacciones individuales y sociales que hacen que algunas personas – y especialmente las relaciones familiares – entren en una espiral destructiva.