I gotta say, it took me awhile to get into THE GRAVEDIGGER'S DAUGHTER.  It wasn't because the story isn't interesting, though.  I have so much to read for school for the summer, so it kept being put on the back burner.  It was a little difficult to get into because I wasn't sure if I was "getting" what I was reading, but I decided it didn't matter and I just sat back and "enjoyed" the story--as much as one can "enjoy" a story about physical abuse.  This is a difficult story to read because of the physical abuse as well as emotional abuse that takes place, but it is even more than a story of abuse; it is a story of overcoming abuse and making something of oneself.  Joyce Carol Oates demonstrates in this amazing story not only the power of escaping horrors, but also the fact that one can't escape one's past completely, no matter how hard we try.  Certain things can and do follow us all the days of our lives--and we're all the better for it.  I know that sounds like a contradiction, but if you read this amazing story, you'll understand exactly what I'm trying to say.  Oates certainly isn't afraid to say the unsayable or to write the unwritable.  Her story is one that makes the reader THINK and FEEL.  This is not a story for the faint of heart or if you're looking for a simple summer read.  I promise, though, that if you'll give it a chance, you won't be sorry.