Joyce Carol Oates is een productieve auteur wiens werken zich vaak verdiepen in de donkerdere aspecten van het Amerikaanse leven. Haar schrijven staat bekend om zijn intensiteit en zijn indringende verkenning van de menselijke psyche. Door haar verhalen onderzoekt ze onvermoeibaar thema's als geweld, identiteit en de complexiteit van menselijke relaties. Oates onderscheidt zich door haar vermogen om de rauwe realiteit en emotionele diepte van haar personages vast te leggen.
Focusing on the moral decline of a once-powerful individual, the narrative delves into the complexities of ambition and the consequences of unchecked desires. Through vivid character development and intricate storytelling, it explores themes of corruption, guilt, and the fragility of human integrity. The protagonist's journey serves as a cautionary tale about the seductive nature of power and the inevitable fallout of one's choices.
On a February morning in 2008, Joyce Carol Oates drove her ailing husband, Raymond Smith, to the emergency room where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. Both Joyce and Ray expected him to be released in a day or two. But in less than a week, Ray was dead from a hospital-acquired virulent infection, and Joyce was suddenly faced with the stunning reality of a life absent of the partnership that had sustained her for nearly half a century.
Set in the Great Lakes region of upstate New York, this dark and romantic tale weaves a captivating narrative that explores complex themes and relationships. Joyce Carol Oates draws readers into a story filled with emotional depth, reminiscent of her previous bestseller, The Gravedigger's Daughter. The rich setting enhances the unfolding drama, inviting readers to experience the intricate dynamics of the characters' lives.
Set in 1965, the narrative follows neuroscientist Margot Sharpe as she encounters Elihu Hoopes, an amnesiac known as the "man without a shadow." Struggling with a severe infection, Elihu's memory is limited to just the last seventy seconds, making him a unique subject for study. Their interactions delve into the complexities of memory and identity, exploring the profound impact of amnesia on both Elihu's life and Margot's research.
This collection features a selection of Joyce Carol Oates' finest short stories, showcasing her signature style and thematic depth. Alongside the established favorites, it introduces nine new stories that further explore her exploration of the human experience. Readers can expect a rich tapestry of narratives that delve into complex characters and poignant themes, making it a must-read for fans and newcomers alike.
I Am No One You Know contains nineteen startling stories that bear witness to the remarkably varied lives of Americans of our time. In "Fire," a troubled young wife discovers a rare, radiant happiness in an adulterous relationship. In "Curly Red," a girl makes a decision to reveal a family secret, and changes her life irrevocably. In "The Girl with the Blackened Eye," selected for The Best American Mystery Stories 2001, a girl pushed to an even greater extreme of courage and desperation manages to survive her abduction by a serial killer. And in "Three Girls," two adventuresome NYU undergraduates seal their secret love by following, and protecting, Marilyn Monroe in disguise at Strand Used Books on a snowy evening in 1956. These vividly rendered portraits of women, men, and children testify to Oates's compassion for the mysterious and luminous resources of the human spirit.
For this singular collection, Joyce Carol Oates selected fifty-five unforgettable essays by the finest American writers of the twentieth century. Here is a sampling -- twelve unabridged essays -- featuring a wide variety of contemporary writers reading classics of the genre, along with authors reading their own work. Nothing less than a political, spiritual, and intensely personal record of America's tumultuous modern age, THE BEST AMERICAN ESSAYS OF THE CENTURY is "an outstanding, galvanic collection" (Entertainment Weekly).
Looks at the lives of the men and women of a prestigious upstate college, including Albert St. Dennis, Professor of Poetry, and the people he meets-Brigit, a divorcee, and Alexis, a pianist and composer
A wealthy and notorious clan, the Bellefleurs live in a region not unlike the Adirondacks, in an enormous mansion on the shores of mythic Lake Noir. They own vast lands and profitable businesses, they employ their neighbors, and they influence the government. A prolific and eccentric group, they include several millionaires, a mass murderer, a spiritual seeker who climbs into the mountains looking for God, a wealthy noctambulist who dies of a chicken scratch. Bellefleur traces the lives of several generations of this unusual family. At its center is Gideon Bellefleur and his imperious, somewhat psychic, very beautiful wife, Leah, their three children (one with frightening psychic abilities), and the servants and relatives, living and dead, who inhabit the mansion and its environs. Their story offers a profound look at the world's changeableness, time and eternity, space and soul, pride and physicality versus love. Bellefleur is an allegory of caritas versus cupiditas, love and selflessness versus pride and selfishness. It is a novel of change, baffling complexity, mystery. Written with a voluptuousness and startling immediacy that transcends Joyce Carol Oates's early works, Bellefleur is widely regarded as a masterwork—a feat of literary genius.
This volume offers a survey of American short fiction in 59 tales that combine classic works with 'different, unexpected gems', which invite readers to explore a wealth of important pieces by women and minority writers. Authors include: Amy Tan, Alice Adams, David Leavitt and Tim O'Brien.
