Joyce Carol Oates's selected early stories. Oates has chosen twenty-seven of her early stories, many of them O. Henry Award and/or Best American Short Story selections, for this volume, the only collection of her early stories available.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
In her 17th collection of short fiction, Oates ( With Shuddering Fall ) retrieves stories from her first six, as well as two stories not previously published in book form. And while the volume includes some of her best-known work ("Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?"), the chance to savor "The Molesters," never reprinted before though eventually included in her novel, Expensive People , and "How I Contemplated the World from the Detroit House of Correction and Began My Life Over Again" is momentous. For in stories such as these, the writer shows early signs of the sinister ingenuity and command of psychological nuance later fulfilled in other ways in other books. The new collection of work, dating from the 1960s and 1970s, reveals a consistency of theme. Oates demonstrates, for instance, that she was, as she is, cool-tempered yet seductive in her canny portrayals of innocence on the verge of defilement--and afterwards. The collection also displays the author's imaginative restlessness, and an apparent search for an anti-self in fiction concerned with molested children and suburban victims of sleaze and angst. Longtime fans will be pleased to be reminded of how Oates began, and first-time readers will find a good place to start.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.
About the Author
Joyce Carol Oates is one of our most important and well known writers—and one of America’s foremost writers of the short story form. She is also a regular contributor of reviews and criticism for the New York Times Book Review, The New York Review of Books, and elsewhere. She also reads and lectures widely throughout the US, at universities and bookstores.
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More About the Author
Joyce Carol Oates is the author of more than 70 books, including novels, short story collections, poetry volumes, plays, essays, and criticism, including the national bestsellers We Were the Mulvaneys and Blonde. Among her many honors are the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction and the National Book Award. Oates is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, and has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
award-winning author for a REASON!,
By Ashley (California) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?: Selected Early Stories (Hardcover)
It bothers me to imagine people who are interested in finding out more about the works of Joyce Carol Oates may not buy this book because there aren't any really in-depth reviews of it. So I'd like to give you my insight into the novel.I first became interested in Oates after reading "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been", the short story, for a college English course. After reading the story, I was instantly hooked. It is EXCELLENT, and so worthy of being read you could buy the book for that reason alone. I went on to write a fairly large essay on it simply because I enjoyed it so much, and I felt the need to analyze it so that I could better understand what is behind the story. If I had not done so, I probably would be in the "I just didn't GET it" category like some of the other more casual readers. "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" is, on the surface, a short story about a 15-year old girl named Connie. Connie is vain and self-involved, full of the sense of superiority that comes from being young and thinking you know everything. She has a strained relationship with her family. Connie believes her mother is jealous of her because the mother's looks have faded with age and children, while Connie is still young and beautiful. Connie's sister June is (in Connie's eyes) "chunky" and "plain". Connie enjoys looking down on other people, especially socially inept or unattractive boys. One day her family is safely away at a barbecue, and a boy Connie has only once seen before while at a drive-through restaurant pulls up at her house accompanied by a male friend. Typically, Connie is at first only conscious of her appearance--does she look nice enough to greet the semi-stranger? She is unaware of any danger at having a strange man/boy show up at her house while she is home alone. The guy--who introduces himself as "Arnold Friend"--invites Connie to go for a ride in his car. Connie first thinks Arnold is around her own age, but as she stares at him longer and longer suspects something strange is going on: "She could see then that he wasn't a kid, he was much older--thirty, maybe more". And indeed, something strange IS going on. I don't want to give away the rest of the story. I think I'd rather leave you wondering what happens to Connie and if her parents show up in time to make Arnold high-tail it out of there. In fact, the story has a rather open-ended conclusion, but that makes it all the more tantalizing. Like most of the stories in the novel, when you first read the short story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" you are probably not going to immediately understand it. There are those who have said they despise Oates, but those are the people who won't like her writing because they don't WORK at it. Yes, you may have to WORK if you want to understand her stories. The best suggestion I can offer you is--READ EACH STORY THROUGH AT LEAST TWICE if you don't understand it the first time around! Don't get frustrated. Be willing to invest a little extra time in this book; you will be rewarded for your patience. I honestly believe it will be worth your while. You may find my suggestion boring and tedious. It's easy to simply give up on a story when you don't understand it right away. I urge you--don't make that mistake with this book. Joyce Carol Oates is widely read for a REASON! The novel contains stories which received O. Henry Awards, in addition to other stories which were previously printed in such places as The American Literary Anthology and The Best American Short Stories. Again, Oates's work may not be the most easily comprehensible. But this is a very good collection of her works, and it will give you a great idea of her writing style. I hope you are as taken with it as I am.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
You'll be charmed by Oates' world,
By Adel Andersen (cherleston,IL USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?: Selected Early Stories (Paperback)
There must be a lot of people, who became Oates'fans after they read "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Typically, Teenagers tend to disobey adults like their parents and teachers and to be self-centered. Heroine Connie is such a girl. Connie's charactor will arouse sympathy from readers. There must be many points that we used to think and behave like her when we were teenagers.
Connie is a self-centered girl. She is not chummy with her family and always resists her mother. She does not go to a church, does not help her mother, is not interested in family matters, and looks down on people. She cares her appearance, hangs out with her friends, likes shopping, and listens to rock'n rolls. She is, so-called, a typical rebellious teenager. One day, a mysterious guy shows up and causes something wired for her. Joyce Carol Oates, the author of this novel, has been recieved many awards. This work was made into the movie, retitled for "Smooth Talk." This book will attract you and is worth reading. I think you will like it.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Somewhat unsettling but very well-written,
By
This review is from: Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?: Selected Early Stories (Paperback)
There is something very unnerving to me about these stories, something that makes me feel exposed and unsettled. Many of the stories deal with awkwardness and youthful vulnerability, and the mood is contagious.Regarding the famous title story "Where Are You Going", my husband suggested that it is a dream sequence about a young girl's decision to lose her virginity, rather than an actual occurrence. This makes it a little less tense ~ but only a little. Every story is very well-written and captivating, though not exactly pleasant. These subjects are hard to look in the eye.
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