Dis Mem Ber and Other Stories of Mystery and Suspense
by Joyce Carol Oates
The Mysterious Press: 6/6/17
eBook review copy; 256 pages
ISBN-13:
9780802126528
Dis Mem Ber by Joyce Carol Oates is a highly recommended collection of seven dark, carefully crafted short stories.
Contents:
Dis mem ber: Eleven year-old Jill is captivated but a little frightened of Rowan Billiet, an older relative.
The Crawl Space: A widow keeps driving by the house she lived in for over two decades.
Heartbreak: The rivalry between two sisters intensifies when an attractive male step-cousin visits.
The Drowned Girl: A university student becomes increasingly obsessed with the drowning of another girl.
The
Situations: A father cruelly shows his children that he is the one in charge.
Great Blue Heron: A recent widow recalls watching a Great Blue Heron with her husband and begins to identify with the bird.
Welcome to Friendly Skies!: "Welcome aboard our North American Airways Boeing 878 Classic Aircraft!
This is North American Airways Flight 443 to Amchitka,
Alaska - Birdwatchers and Environmental Activists Special!"
All of the writing is superb in this collection of stories published in
2016. While I tentatively agree that there could have been more stories
added to this collection, I liked the theme these stories presented,
with the last story being an exception. Each of the other six stories
had a psychologically vulnerable female protagonist. Each of the women
(or girls) had an obsession that would result in some unexpected action,
or is the result of a precarious situation. They are all in some kind
of danger. The last story adds a comedic touch that also takes a dark
turn.
Disclosure:
My review copy was courtesy of The Mysterious Press.
No comments:
Post a Comment