I Am No One You Know, by Joyce Carol Oates

I Am No One You Know
Joyce Carol Oates

For years I’ve been ambivalent to Joyce Carol Oates; I recognize her as a good writer, but most of what I’ve read from her over the years was really nothing memorable (with the exception of Zombie, a book that scared the crap out of me) in my mind. Willing to give Oates another try, I picked up two collections of hers. So far, I’ve read I Am No One You Know.

I’m so pleased to find a collection of stories which doesn’t contain a story or two that just lets you down. Usually in a collection of stories, there are about 2 stories (if I’m lucky) that “wow” me, about a lot that “okay” me, and a few that “wtf” me. Blessedly, I found zero wtf stories in this collection, and more than a few that wowed me.

The stories are all disturbing in their own ways. There is something of the grotesque in them, as well as a little something that makes the grotesque appealing. There is beauty in her sparse prose, which illuminates even the most horrifying scenes.

If I were pressed to name a favorite, I’m not sure I could. Of the nearly 20 stories, I found the most memorable to be “Curly Red,” about a sister who tells on her older brothers after they commit a horrific crime; “The Girl with the Blackened Eye,” about a girl who survives being kidnapped and raped; “The Instructor,” about a shy girl who begins to teach college and encounters as a student an ex-con who stalks her; and “Aiding and Abetting,” about a husband, who, fed-up with his emotionally unstable brother-in-law, talks him into suicide. The stories are so memorable to me that I regret only mentioning these stories, and not others. But I simply can’t do justice to them all with a quick summary.

In a nutshell: The writing is good; the stories are better. Or are the stories good and the writing better? It doesn't matter--even the most disappointing story wasn’t disappointing at all. Each makes you feel you are getting something new.

Bibliolatry Scale: 5.5 out of 6 stars