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Book Review By fran laniado
Black Water by Joyce Carol Oates

One Fourth of July, Kelly Keheller, a recent college graduate, is invited to a barbacue where she meets a senator whom she has always admired. The senator is attracted to the young Kelly and he offers her a ride home. Though Kelly suspects that he might have been drinking, she accepts. However, the car goes off a cliff, and in the final moments of her life, Kelly flashes back and remembers her life, her family, past lovers, and her ambiguous relationship with the senator who is in the car with her. She tries to reconcile the figure that she had liked with the man who abandons her, and trapped in a car in the water, because of his own political career.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - thoughtful
Time/era of story - 1980's-1999
Romance/Romance Problems Yes
Kind of romance:
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - 20's-30's
Ethnicity/Nationality

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 3 ()
United States Yes
The US: - Northeast

Writing Style
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only
Amount of dialog - significantly more descript than dialog
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