In the tradition of We Were the Mulvaneys， a penetrating look at the burden of celebrity and the making of American myths. Brando. Dean. John Reddy Heart is right up there among them--at least in the eyes of the residents of Willowsville， New York. The handsome young heartthrob begins his bad boy career at sixteen， the night that a man is murdered in his mother s house. Was John Reddy protecting her from rape or covering up her crime， or is he actually innocent? It may not matter--the minute the manhunt starts， the second the sensational trial begins， John Reddy Heart is front-page news， celebrated in song， and well on his way to becoming a small town s obsession. The always inventive Oates has struck upon a truly innovative way to tell this uniquely American story. The novel is narrated by a chorus of Willowsville voices， a collective "we" that revels in its obsession with John Reddy Heart. Stretching from the 1960s through the 90s， set in the same America as Oates masterpiece We Were the Mulvaneys， Broke Heart Blues is an epic achievement.