absolutely maddening.

i cannot stand ariah, one of the main characters of the falls. she has the in-denial-anti-social mentality of my mother, but worse. she is what i most fear becoming, as an older woman. and not even that much older. 35, maybe, at one point in the plot.

and i want to finish this book before i go back to school. i really do. maybe even start another book. but oates makes it very difficult for me to want to pick up the book at any time other than my lunch break when ariah makes me want to scream, furtively ignoring and morbidly brooding over the wrongs she's suddenly seemed to have been done.

this is what makes for good writing, a good story - those characters you can't stand. but i have about 250 pages to go.