It's the Fourth of July, a hot and heady time. Fireworks spark as a town vents its everyday frustration in celebration of the bloody fight for Independence.
Teena Maguire and her daughter decide to head home, the party's going strong but Bethie's sleepy from too much sun and barbeque. They leave the heat of the crowd and take the cooling walk home through the park, mother and daughter. But instead of a soothing stroll alongside a moonlit lagoon Teena finds herself feeling uneasy. The water is scummy, the boathouse dilapidated and a group of boys have just caught sight of the pair from across the lake. The boys scent blood. They tease Teena, chase her and corner her in front of her daughter.
'Rape' begins with what is almost unspeakable and tells of the brutality and cowardice that overtakes a small town in the aftermath of the attack. Joyce Carol Oates compels us to follow the fate of those involved in a diamond-hard dissection of modern mores.
