Mudwoman

In Joyce Carol Oates's intriguing novel, two compelling stories intertwine—one of Mudgirl, a child abandoned and later adopted by a Quaker family, and the other of M.R. Neukirchen, the first woman president of an Ivy League university facing political and personal upheaval. As their worlds collide during a trip upstate, the narrative explores themes of memory, identity, and healing. Blending elements of ghost story and psychological portrait, the novel delves into the enduring power of the past and the resilience required to confront and overcome it.