Potty Training in 3 Days: The Step-by-Step Plan for a Clean Break from Dirty Diapers

by Brandi Brucks
Potty Training in 3 Days: The Step-by-Step Plan for a Clean Break from Dirty Diapers cover
Good Books rating 3.67
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  • ID: 3266
  • Added: 2025-10-17
  • Updated: 2025-10-17
  • Reviews: 3
Reviews
reddit.com · Unknown · 2025-10-20
meh 3.00

The book follows the Wendell family through decades, exploring working-class struggles and tragedies. However, readers found the characters unlikable and the writing style lacking emotional depth, making it hard to connect with the story.

Them by Joyce Carol Oates follows the Wendell family from the 1930s to the 1960s, focusing on their struggles with poverty, crime, and the barriers of working-class life. The book is set against the backdrop of the Detroit race riots, and it delves into themes of love, tragedy, and the horrors that arise from difficult circumstances. While the book is well-written and captures the emptiness and hollowness of the characters' lives, readers found it challenging to connect with the characters or feel moved by their stories. The writing style was described as procedural and lacking in emotional depth, which made it difficult for readers to have a compassionate and deep response. The characters, particularly Loretta, Jules, and Maureen, were seen as unlikable and underdeveloped, which further hindered the emotional impact of the story. Despite the book's exploration of important themes, readers felt that it did not live up to its potential and left them feeling indifferent.

Quick quotes

    I want to like her work more than I do. Explorations of independent womanhood, working class barriers and tragedies, academia, etc should all hit me right in the heart- but something about her writing I find a little procedural and lacking in giving ‘heart’ to the characters or story that makes me (who already gets their struggle) have that compassionate and deep response that should be automatic.

    I did not feel that the final product, was a masterpiece. I found Jules obsession with Nadine to be realistic enough but I did not find their journey to Texas to be satisfying and the race riots do capture the tension, despair and ultimate destruction, but the hippy professor and the meaningless intellectual arguments which I guess were supposed to be satire didn't do it for me.

    I have just one word for these characters — unlikeable. Loretta is an unlikeable daughter who becomes an unlikeable mother to you’ve guessed it unlikeable children.

ebay.co.uk · Unknown · 2025-10-20
impressive 4.00

The reviewer praises Joyce Carol Oates' novel 'Them' for its deep social observation and psychological subtlety, comparing it favorably to her earlier work. They highlight the novel's strong narrative flow and the author's ability to create a vivid, albeit grim, world.

The reviewer commends Joyce Carol Oates' novel 'Them' for its vehement and voluminous narrative, which is deeply rooted in social observation. They compare Oates' writing to John Steinbeck's, noting her interest in the lives of drifters and vagrants. The reviewer appreciates the novel's psychological subtlety and structural unpredictability, which keeps the story engaging. They also note the strong flow of verbal and imaginative energy throughout the book. However, they criticize a couple of sections that they feel are not as successful, such as the extended satire on the New Left and a pair of contrived letters. Overall, the reviewer finds 'Them' to be an impressive piece of fictional construction, marking a step forward from Oates' earlier work.

Quick quotes

    The best nightmares are retrospective rearrangements; one sees what one has gotten into only after one is already in it.

    Miss Oates is getting increasingly good at sneaking us into situations the full insanity of which explodes only after we're imaginatively committed to them.

    Nightmare is Miss Oates's vein, then; and nightmare admits few effects of distancing irony, no comforting perspectives.

barnesandnoble.com · Unknown · 2025-10-20
disturbing 4.00

The novel 'them' by Joyce Carol Oates is a powerful and disturbing exploration of a family's struggles in Detroit from the 1930s to the 1967 race riots. The book is praised for its vivid storytelling and unflinching portrayal of urban life, though some characters and plot points may not resonate with all readers.

Joyce Carol Oates' 'them' is a gripping and unsettling novel that delves into the lives of the Wendall family in Detroit, spanning from the 1930s to the 1967 race riots. The story follows Loretta Wendall, a young mother filled with regret, and her children Maureen and Jules as they navigate a world of violence and danger. Oates' writing is praised for its potent imagination and life-gripping narrative, offering a raw and unfiltered look at the struggles of urban life. The novel is not for the faint of heart, as it includes graphic and disturbing events, but it is a compelling read that leaves a lasting impression. Some readers may find certain characters and plot points less engaging, but overall, 'them' is a powerful exploration of love, class, race, and the inhumanity of urban life.

Quick quotes

    The woman is indeed a superb writer.

    It's the sordid and surreal chronicle of a 'white trash' family in Detroit, spanning the years 1937 to 1967.

    The book is disturbing, and it's unforgettable.

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