Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart
First edition (publ. Dutton)
Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart is a 1990 novel by American novelist Joyce Carol Oates.[1] The title is taken from "In the Desert", a poem by Stephen Crane. Oates's novel was nominated for best work of fiction in the 1990 National Book Awards.[2]
Plot summary[]
In Hammond, New York, in the early 1950s, a young white girl named Iris Courtney and her black friend Jinx Fairchild are united by a murder that they commit in self-defense. From this central moment, this novel weaves out the stories of two families that intercross across divisions of race and class.
Critical reaction[]
Entertainment Weekly gave it an A, calling Oates "a storyteller with few peers".[3]
References[]
- ^ Oates, Joyce Carol (1990). Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart. E. P. Dutton. ISBN 9780525248606.
- ^ "National Book Award Nominations Announced : Literature: Nominees include two first-time novelists and an 88-year-old writer". Los Angeles Times. Associated Press. 20 October 1990. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
- ^ Lyons, Gene (27 April 1990). "Because It is Bitter, and Because It is My Heart". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
External links[]
Categories:
- Novels by Joyce Carol Oates
- 1990 American novels
- Fiction set in the 1950s
- Novels set in New York (state)
- Dutton Penguin books
- St. Lawrence County, New York