We Were the Mulvaneys

We Were the Mulvaneys is a novel by American writer Joyce Carol Oates, originally published in the US in 1996. Set largely in the rural Northeastern United States in the 1970s, this story deals with the myth of the ideal American family and the ruinous effects it can have when real-life events threaten the appearance of familial unity. After having been featured as an Oprah Book Club selection in January 2001, the novel became a Number 1 Bestseller, and a New York Times Notable Book. It also became an Emmy-nominated Lifetime Television movie in 2002.

Joyce Carol Oates (1938- ) is one of the pre-eminent American writers, adept at prose, poetry, drama, and nonfiction. Since 1963 she has published more than 65 novels, as well as numerous short story collections, known for experimentation in style and content, controversial subject matters and technical mastery. She has won numerous awards, including a National Book Award, two O. Henry Awards (for short fiction), a National Humanities Medal, and the Pen/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Art of the Short Story. She has been shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize five times, nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature, and is widely translated.