Perhaps the strangest thing that I can think to say, after having read this particular book, is that I never really seriously tried to read anything by Joyce Carol Oates before.
Indeed, it seems strange to me now, because the opportunities were there. I picked up a couple of her books in the used sections of bookstores, and once started to read one. But it did not go beyond the first few pages, I think, because the story did not grab me, at least at the time.
Yet, she intrigued me. I had seen her back in 2006, when I attended "An Evening With Our Favorite Writers" in Hartford, Connecticut. She was impressive during that talk. Those were difficult, turbulent and polarized times in this country, politically speaking, much as now. It was difficult not to agree with her well-reasoned positions.
I remember thinking to myself that I should go and pick up some of her books and give her a read. See if her writing would also be something which I could relate to.
Somehow, though, I never did quite get around to it.
At least, not until now.
One thing which I had done was pick up a few copies of some of her books. But I found this particular book last year at some point. It was at a local library, and they were almost giving it away. I think it was going for 50 cents.
Obviously, I went ahead and picked it up.
And I am now quite glad that I did. This proved to be a very good book. Sure enough, I got into it, and her writing style, pretty much right away.
This book is a series of stories, and each of them proves engaging. The title story is about a young woman conducting an interview with iconic New England poet Robert Frost. At first, she feels overwhelmed by the occasion, and Frost seems in his element. However, all of that begins to change as the interview goes along. Admittedly, this short story was kind of a revelation to me, having known relatively little of Frost beforehand. Mostly, I had known his most famous poem, about stopping by the woods before going on. You know the one, about the woods being "lovely, dark, and deep," and then having to go on because there are "miles to go before I sleep." The story was quite fascinating, and made me feel much differently about Frost than I had before.
Yet, that is only one of the stories in this collection. And it comes close to the end, at that. In fact, there is very good variety between these stories. In the first story, "Mastiff," we meet a woman who is no longer strictly young and increasingly feeling the weight of her age. She meets a man quite a few years older than her, and they begin seeing one another, although she still has reservations. Then, something happens while they are hiking together that makes her look at him very differently, to look past her doubts. Only by then, things might have changed, and it may be too late.
Another story coming relatively early in the book, and which is almost eerily engaging, is “Sex with Camel.” We find a frankly very odd couple, as we learn about just how a 16-year-old boy feels about his grandmother. It grows particularly fascinating as the boy is left to himself after dropping his grandmother in a hospital room, and then wanders the hall to explore the new hospital for himself.
“A Book of Martyrs” is a revealing look at another odd couple - this one an actual romantic couple - who are on a voyage to somewhere we don't quite know, at least to begin with. Yet it becomes clear that the woman is pregnant, although she is not entirely sure she wants to be. Mostly, this is because her lover seems not to want a child, having had his family already. So she is about to get an abortion, and we discover that this is where they are heading. But the whole thing proves even more traumatic than it already would be. She is suspicious and worries about his level of commitment to her, and so she tests this in a couple of ways. We find out the results at the end. This story was quite fascinating, just for taking us into the shoes of a woman who goes to an abortion clinic and then endures the procedure, as well as other things that she had not quite counted on in the process.
"The Hunter" is yet another story with a strange, unorthodox couple. A woman poet falls for a powerful man who holds a powerful position at a college located near a historical landmark associated with the Underground Railroad. In this story, she finds herself constantly drawn - almost against her will, really - to this man, who is the "hunter." Meanwhile, she is going through her own personal issues, with an ailing father whom she has had a difficult relationship with, but whom she feels a need to go visit before he passes. In the end, the strain of the situation between her and these two men proves to be a bit too much.
"Forked River Roadside Shrine, South Jersey" is from the point of view of a teenaged boy who just recently was killed in an automobile accident. He had been the driver, and the mistake that he made in causing the accident is only one of a number of regrets which he expresses. He watches many people, from family to close friends to teachers at his local school to even some kids whom he does not even recognize, come to his makeshift memorial at the site where he lost control of the vehicle, and ultimately lost his life. Morbid as it may seem, this story particularly drew me in, as it reminded me a bit of my own high school experiences, where it seemed like tragedies in my graduating class (of '92) were astonishingly commonplace.
There are stories that deal with aging, such as "The Disappearing." This story also partially takes place in a hospital, which seems to be a recurring theme in a number of these short stories. An aging woman reflects on her relationship with her husband over the course of many decades. They are both flawed people, yet this is what makes them very human, and thus relatable. He keeps her at arm's length, and she begins to grow suspicious. So at some point, she decides to follow him. Yet, she does so out of an extreme sense of vulnerability that it is impossible not to feel sympathy for, as well as some worries about how much we might be able to relate. As it turns out, the results of her spying, if you will, prove to be mysterious and surprising.
The final story in this collection is likely the longest. It is called "Patricide," and it goes in surprising directions. The main narrator - the daughter of a famous and aging writer - herself expresses surprise at the direction the story takes. She reveals much about her relationship with her famous father, with his actual writings, with how people treat him so reverentially. We see her seemingly guarding her father jealously, almost possessively, towards other people, especially young women taken by the famous author. In fact, we see her go to some surprising lengths to keep one of them, in particular, away. Yet, everything is not quite what it may seem. Her aging father is smaller and frailer than she perhaps recognizes or can bring herself to admit. Nor is she getting any younger. The end of the story brings a complete change in direction, but Oates makes this work.
Again, this is a solid book. A compilation of short stories, and each of them are enjoyable and engaging. I enjoyed this book quite a bit, enough to look to the works of Joyce Carol Oates for further reading material in the not too distant future, surely.
Highly recommended!
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