This is the fourth Oates novel I’ve read that deals directly with themes of domestic violence, battered or slighted women, and bigotry (the others being “The Falls”, “Blonde” and “The Tattooed Girl”). Oates’ dark currency is in these bleak subjects, and through inherent talent and simple prolificness she has become adroit at weaving them into the corners of page-turners.”The Gravedigger’s Daughter” isn’t a perfect work. It has its self-indulgences and its dead ends. But it is several things: complete, readable, and moving. Oates’ mastery of rhythmic cadence pushes her works into semi-poetic dirges, and this is no exception. The grim (though ultimately uplifting) plot pushes you through the mid-20th-century life of Rebecca, an abused, tragic daughter of immigrants (her father the eponymous digger of graves). Through a series of flashbacks and longer, chronological segments, Rebecca’s life is framed by world wars, shame, bigotry, violence and Oates’ well-crafted settings throughout New York state. At times hard to watch, Rebecca’s life is difficult to put down, and the 600 pages slide by mostly with ease.

What is so rewarding about this, like other Oates novels, is that it’s both entertaining and meaningful. I’ve found her works to be good escape or vacation reads (if one doesn’t mind the dark subject matter–generally her endings soften the impact, anyway). “The Gravedigger’s Daughter” swerves strangely in its final stretches, but leaves me, overall, satisfied. ( )