LiveWorld Transcripts

Borders.com presents

Author Joyce Carol Oates
"Broke Heart Blues"

July 1, 1999

Author Joyce Carol Oates chats about her latest novel, "Broke Heart Blues," about a teenage boy accused of murdering his mother's lover.

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OrCCCa: Welcome to NetCafeLive! Where the stars of stage, screen and literature come to chat! NetCafeLive! is a joint production of Borders.com (tm) and Talk City (tm) Thanks for joining us today. NetCafeLive and Talk City are pleased to welcome you today to chat LIVE with Joyce Carol Oates. Her latest novel, "Broke Heart Blues" is a penetrating look at the burden of celebrity and the making of American myths. Accused of murder at 16, John Reddy Heart is front-page news, celebrated in song, and well on his way to becoming a small town's obsession. Was the handsome young heartthrob protecting his mother from rape, covering up her crime, or is he innocent? The always inventive Joyce Carol Oates has struck upon a truly innovative way to tell this uniquely American story. Without further ado please join us in a BIG welcome to Talk City for our celebrated guest, Joyce Carol Oates. It is a rare privilege to have you with us tonight, Joyce! What is particularly "American" about your new book "Broke Heart Blues"?

Joyce Carol Oates: The focus of the novel is nostalgia, which I think of as a particularly American adolescent emotion. The novel is about a high school class who focus their obsessions on one member of the class, and we stay with their lives, learning about them. Then we see them thirty years later when they return to a high school reunion. I think the preoccupation with high schools is distinctly American. There's also a joyous celebration of being young - it's a celebratory novel, one that celebrates.

Multi: Why did you pick the idea of a "collective" or group to be the voice or narrator in "Broke Heart Blues"?

Joyce Carol Oates: I'm fascinated by the idea of the communal story in which a number of people participate in creating a legend. In the center of the novel is a straightforward narrative in which we learn about the private life of the young man, John Reddy, who everyone has been fantasizing about. It was the first time I had ever tried this technique of collective voice for an entire novel.

Blackie: Did you model the main character, John Reddy Heart, after any one in particular - James Dean, for example?

Joyce Carol Oates: He's an original character, because we get to know him from the inside. When we see him from the outside, he seems like a composite adolescent figure like James Dean or Elvis Presley. I had wanted to give life to this fantasy figure from the inside.

Hippiechld: This book is quite reminiscent of the hippie era, and into the present day. How do you do your research to set the scene so vividly?

Joyce Carol Oates: I lived through this time (laughing) and that had a good deal to do with it. I do research into popular culture, especially popular music. Many of the songs in the novel I invented - they have titles that are invented. I wrote "music" in my head to go with the songs. This is my first novel that's really a comedy with a happy ending - but it's a serious comedy. The last line of the novel is "We love you," something written to the high school class. As the novel comes to an end, it becomes like a newsletter - we get to know the thirty or so characters over the period of years.

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