The Seduction & Other Stories by Joyce Carol Oates
Fawcett Crest Books (paperback), 1975
318 Pages
BLURB FROM THE COVERAN AWARD-WINNING LITERARY CAREER
From the star of her writing career, Joyce Carol Oates has earned high literary awards, among them the Guggenheim Fellowship, the Richard and Hinda Rosenthal Foundation Award of the National Institute of Arts and Letters, and in 1975, the Lotos Club Award of Merit for her novel, Them she won the National Book Award in 1970. Her novel, Do With Me What You Will was a major selection of the Literary Guild of America and The Assassins and Childwold were both Featured Alternates of that book club.
Ms. Oates was a First Prize winner of the O. Henry Awards and her work has been included for many years in the O. Henry Prize Stories. In connection with these awards, she was selected for a Special Award for Continuing Achievement.
Ms. Oates is Professor of English at the University of Windsor.
EXTRACT
Waking, I am overcome with a sense of dread.
AN AMERICAN ADVENTURE
REVIEW
This was my first read through of The Seduction and Other Stories, one of JCO’s earliest collections.
I really enjoyed the stories in The Seduction & Other Stories. I thought every tale was enjoyable, well-written and managed to hold their own. Every story was strong and a pleasure to read. Overall, The Seduction & Other Stories is a great little collection.
My top reads were On the Gulf, Passions and Meditations and Notes on Contributors. I loved the setting JCO uses for On the Gulf and could easily image myself there watching events unfold. Passions and Meditations unsettled me. I liked the fact the narrator was unstable and the story had a stalker-feel I liked. I was reminded of Stan by Eminem. You’ll need to listen to the song and read the story to see what I mean. JCO uses an unusual style in Notes on Contributors and offers a dark crime story with a difference.
RATING
