Joyce Carol Oates Does It Again

Joyce Carol Oates, esteemed writer of terrific fiction like Blonde and What I Lived For, is one of those timeless authors you must pay attention to.  Her fiction has won many awards, such as the O.Henry Award, National Book Award, and the National Humanities Medal.  She has also been nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.  Not a bad career!

Her latest, Evil Eye, is a collection of four novellas about the dangers of love.  In the first work, we meet Mariana, who is the fourth wife to an esteemed college professor.  The first wife, with whom the husband has a polite friendship, comes to visit and Mariana learns a secret through this encounter that rocks the foundation of her marriage.  A shy, awkward teenager meets a young man who shows an immediate interest in her in the second work.  She soon learns that his interest in her goes beyond typical teenage love, towards something far more sinister.  The third work, The Execution, follows young Bart Hansen through a vicious and unthinkable crime.  The results, thanks to the love of his mother, is not what the reader will be expecting.  Finally, the last work follows Cecelia as she tries to deal with the horrible events of her childhood that threaten to ruin her first true love.

Oates creates such atmospheric pieces in these short works of fiction.  The dread and inner turmoil each character deals with through his or her journey comes right off the page, creating a believable look at love gone wrong.  It really is nothing short of amazing.

Chris May- Adult Services Manager