High Lonesome

High Lonesome: Stories 1966-2006 | Joyce Carol Oates

My #ThorsDayRec this week is a 700 page collection that I finished at the end of January this year after starting it the beginning of Dec last year. There are numerous memorable stories collected in this retrospective, the title story itself is one of the greatest pieces of American 20th C noir fiction. When JC Oates is on point, she is right up there with Shirley Jackson & Patricia Highsmith IMO. Absolutely fantastic.

tpixie Intrigued! Great review! 3mo

Ruthiella I recently found out that the movie Smooth Talk with Laura Dern is based on the Oates‘ short story “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been”. It‘s a good, but uncomfortable, film. 3mo

vivastory @tpixie Thanks! There were so many fantastic stories in here. It would usually take me awhile to get through a retrospective this big, but I have always found Oates short stories very compelling (strangely enough although I have read several books of her short fiction I have yet to read one of her novels). 3mo

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vivastory @Ruthiella It's funny you mention that; one of my streaming services is Criterion & while I was reading this CC had a Laura Dern retrospective including that movie. That felt like a cross between Shirley Jackson & Flannery O'Connor (edited) 3mo

tpixie @vivastory despite her being a famous author I never have read her. I need to fix that! 3mo

TheBookHippie Guess I‘ll move this up the list. 3mo

vivastory @tpixie @TheBookHippie I think that this is a good volume to check out from your library if possible. If it is available, I recommend just reading where you want to. I had no intentions whatsoever of reading this beginning-to-end when I checked it out, it just worked out that way! 3mo

tpixie @vivastory thanks for the tip! 3mo

Branwen I feel really guilty for this admission, but JCO is an author that I really WISH I loved! 😭 I have tried to read so many different of her works, and each one has left me feeling disappointed. 😔 Do you have a favorite work by her? Maybe I could try that and see if it changes my mind? 3mo

vivastory @Branwen I've only read her short works. I really liked Evil Eye. Also, her story Doll-Master is worth reading. It's one of the most unsettling things I've ever read. 3mo

Branwen @vivastory Okay, maybe I'll give one of her shorter works a try! 🥰 Thanks, Scott! 3mo

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