The Frenzy: Stories

by Joyce Carol Oates

A gripping collection of propulsive, psychologically suspenseful stories by the legendary Joyce Carol Oates “who is surely on any shortlist of America’s greatest living writers” (The New York Times Magazine)

“A genius in the truest sense of the word.”—Rebecca Makkai
“One of the greatest writers among us today.”—Gillian Flynn

A LIT HUB MOST ANTICIPATED BOOK OF THE YEAR

Frenzy (noun): a temporary madness; a violent mental or emotional agitation; intense usually wild and often disorderly compulsive or agitated activity

Joyce Carol Oates is a master of the short story and one of the legends of the form. Her collections of short fiction have twice been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize and have won numerous awards, including the O. Henry Award and the PEN/Malamud Award for Excellence in the Art of the Short Story. In The Stories, Oates plunges us into the lives of her characters at moments of crisis and confusion, when much of what they understand about themselves and those they love comes undone.

A young woman on a supposedly romantic weekend trip to Cape May, New Jersey, turns the tables on her older, married lover. A freak bicycle accident on a bridge haunts one family for decades. A girl jealous of her popular cousin discovers she is the lucky one. A widow waits at her riverside house for her dead husband's return. A young man hiking in the woods comes upon a couple in a heated, possibly violent argument—should he intervene?

Suspenseful and psychologically astute, Oates's short stories enthrall and captivate as they dissect her character's deepest fears—revealing our own in turn. "Literature is a texture of words," says Oates of her short fiction, "evoking life in the most vivid ways—psychologically, physically." These new stories blazingly evoke life at its most vivid and perilous, when fate and free will intersect, and one ominous encounter or bad choice can be the difference between an ordinary day and the point of no return.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Literary Fiction, Suspense

Kindle Edition

Expected publication June 16, 2026

About the author

Joyce Carol Oates is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels Black Water (1992), What I Lived For (1994), and Blonde (2000), and her short story collections The Wheel of Love (1970) and Lovely, Dark, Deep: Stories (2014) were each finalists for the Pulitzer Prize. She has won many awards for her writing, including the National Book Award, for her novel Them (1969), two O. Henry Awards, the National Humanities Medal, and the Jerusalem Prize (2019).
Oates taught at Princeton University from 1978 to 2014, and is the Roger S. Berlind '52 Professor Emerita in the Humanities with the Program in Creative Writing. From 2016 to 2020, she was a visiting professor at the University of California, Berkeley, where she taught short fiction in the spring semesters. She now teaches at Rutgers University, New Brunswick.
Oates was elected to the American Philosophical Society in 2016.
Pseudonyms: Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly.

Reviews

[Liana Gold]

Short psychologically suspenseful stories!

Frenzy: temporary madness, a violent mental or emotional agitation, a compulsive or agitated activity

Oo this sounds really good!



Many thanks to NetGalley, Random House/Hogarth and the author, Joyce Carol Oates for an early copy.

Publication date: June 16, 2026

[Ten Cats Reading]

Preread: I love Joyce Carol Oates and I though her recent novel, FOX, was one of her best. Couldn't pass up the chance to read these short stories!

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the arc!📚

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oates is a pretty new-to-me author but Fox was one of my favorite books last year so i knew i wanted to dive into more of her stuff. This was a really solid story collection manly focused on dark, psychological character studies - as with any, i liked some more than others. The Bicycle Accident, Night Fishing at Antibes, & the title story were the standouts for me.

[Diane Merritt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Several shorter stories, definitely different than anything I've read. They were intriguing and interesting and weird but good. Not something I would usually read but glad I did.


Thanks to the author the publisher and Netgalley for a early release of this book

[Shannon Cilento · Rating 5 out of 5]

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 5/5

JCO just keeps pumping out the hits. In The Frenzy, the legend once again proves why she remains one of the most enduring voices in contemporary literature. This short story collection feels remarkably cohesive, with each piece building on a shared sense of unease, obsession, and psychological intensity that runs throughout the book.

Oates has a way of finding the unsettling edges of ordinary life, and every story here carries that signature tension she is known for. Even across different characters and situations, the collection feels intentional and unified rather than scattered, a true testament to her skill as both a storyteller and a craftsman of the short form.

A fantastic, haunting collection from a true literary legend.

[Michelle]

This was my first book by JCO, and I'm mad at myself for not diving into her works earlier. This collection of short stories is really great. Themes throughout of loss, grief, and various interpersonal relationships, with rich character development. Each story surprised me in some way, and most were darker than I expected, but feel very real and true to life. I particularly liked the first three stories, and the last story, and loved how it ended.

[Constantine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Genre: Short Stories + Literary Fiction

The Freny by Joyce Carol Oates is a collection of short stories that focuses on the haunting exploration of the boundaries between reality, memory, and grief. The book is divided into three sections, with each section having three stories.

With these stories, Oates shows off her unique ability to transform domestic anxieties into something profound—more like on the gothic side; at least this is how the stories were vividly imagined in my mind as I was reading.

The first section has the title story with a middle-aged man who is in an affair with a much younger mistress. This one turns for him into a nightmare of abandonment and vulnerability. I see middle-aged women laughing at him and enjoying what happens to him. “The Fear” is more about living in the shadow of another person and the result of such a thing. This one felt very relevant on many fronts.

In the second section, “The Call” was my favorite, in which a woman receives a call to find out that her entire adult life was just a dream, masking a reality she could never escape from. The final section must have been my least favorite in the book. The stories were more about our contemporary era. If I had to choose one of them, then it would be the last one due to its absurdity on the surface, yet depth from within.

The good thing about the author’s narrative style is how she utilizes the interior monologues of these characters, which draws the reader directly into their vulnerabilities and experiences. What I noticed was that several stories in this collection were focusing on widowhood and domestic abuse themes. Yes, this can feel repetitive at times, but I believe Oates handled them very well, with much care, and the different shades of darkness of the stories helped in shaping the stories’ uniqueness.

If you appreciate psychological fiction that isn’t afraid to take you on a trip into the abyss, then this collection would work very well. Each story ends with characters reaching a point of hysterical release—making this collection live up to its title.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC of this book.

https://constantinebooks.blogspot.com...

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book Review: The Frenzy: Stories by Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates explores ordinary people pushed to the edge, showing how quickly their sense of control and identity can fracture after a destabilizing event.

The title story follows a middle-aged adulterer who takes his much younger lover on a winter trip, imagining himself rejuvenated and dominant, only to be abruptly abandoned and exposed. Other stories include a family permanently altered by a freak bicycle accident, a girl whose envy of her cousin gives way to a harsher understanding of both their lives, a widow who cannot relinquish the belief that her dead husband might return, and a hiker who hesitates when confronted with a possibly dangerous couple in the woods.

Across the collection, Oates focuses less on external action than on psychological rupture: the moment when a character’s narrative about themselves fails. Obsession curdles into humiliation, jealousy into misrecognition, grief into denial, and moral self-image into paralysis. Power dynamics often reverse quietly, revealing that perceived authority or desirability was illusory.

The stories end without conventional resolution, stopping instead at the point of recognition, when characters are forced to see themselves or their circumstances without the sustaining fictions they relied on. The effect is clinical and unsentimental, emphasizing how easily identity can be destabilized by chance events, desire, or loss.

Overall, The Frenzy is unified by its interest in the fragility of self-understanding and the thin line between control and self-deception. I’m giving it four stars because, while the collection can feel unsettling and occasionally uneven, Oates’s insight into human psychology and the quiet power of her character-driven stories is consistently impressive.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[Stephie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advance copy of The Frenzy by Joyce Carol Oates.

I happened to read this collection while on vacation—currently on a cruise—and admit the mood of these stories are very different from what one might typically choose for a vacation read. That said, readers familiar with Oates know her work has never shied away from probing the darker corners of the human psyche.

In The Frenzy, Oates explores themes of loss, memory, and the passage of time. Across the stories, characters grapple with something they have lost—or something they fear losing—and the narrative often follows how that absence reshapes their inner lives. There is a quiet but persistent meditation on how people evolve over time as a result of grief, change, and the inevitability of life moving forward.

As with most short story collections, some entries resonated more deeply with me than others. A few stories lingered long after I finished them, while others felt more distant—perhaps because they centered on stages of life I have not yet experienced, particularly those involving long-term partners/spouses.

Stories that focused on younger characters—childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood—were ones that resonated most. Oates has an extraordinary ability to craft interiority. The inner monologues of her characters feel strikingly authentic, capturing quiet anxieties, observations, and emotional undercurrents that shape human behavior.

It’s this precision that reminds readers why Joyce Carol Oates is an enduring force in American literature. Even when the subject matter is uncomfortable or unsettling, her prose invites us to look closely at what it means to be human.

The Frenzy may not be the lightest reading choice, but it is thoughtful, probing, and unmistakably the work of a literary master.

[Beth Gordon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 ⭐️

These contemporary short stories by prolific author Joyce Carol Oates have a sense of foreboding, and most of them involve loss and the after-effects. With many short story collections, a few rise to the surface, a few sink and most float along. With THIS collection, I found it solid all-around. That said, I wondered if I was missing something because a few (or more than a few?) short stories involved bridges and redwoods, but I couldn’t connect the stories other than that.

The Frenzy - The title story, if I had to pick, would be my favorite. Cassidy is having an affair with young Brianna, and they go to New Jersey for a getaway and she gives him a surprise.

The Fear - Two close-in-age girl cousins - one was always considered “better” until she is the one who gets cancer.

The Bicycle Accident - There is implied abuse between young Evie and her “uncle” Rob that had lifelong effects on Evie and her relationships with her family.

The Call - Main character S. looks back when she lost her dad in a factory accident.

The Return - Maude visits her old friend Audra, who describes that her deceased husband is back. The gravel driveway might be a minor character.

The Redwoods - A man recalls meeting a young woman in the Redwoods named Lise and can’t ever get her out of his mind, even after his death.

Small Veins - Leukemia patient gets her blood drawn and meets with her oncologist.

Refuge - Lorene’s husband has been missing over a month, and she goes to a monastery to find him.

Night Fishing at Antibes - Two women who were married to professors connect after their deaths.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hogarth for an Advance Reader Copy. My review is completely my own.

It publishes June 16, 2026.

[Hope Stewart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Frenzy by Joyce Carol Oates is one of those collections that sticks with you long after you finish it. These stories don’t just tell you what happens, they show how a single moment or relationship can quietly shape an entire life.
What really stands out is how Oates writes about relationships. Not just romantic ones, but family ties, brief encounters, and even the way people relate to their own past. A small decision, a misunderstanding, or a loss can completely shift someone’s path. You see characters realizing, sometimes too late, how much that one moment mattered.

There is also a strong thread of life and death running through the collection. It is not always literal death. Sometimes it is the end of a relationship, a loss of identity, or the moment when someone realizes things will never go back to how they were. Those endings don’t feel clean or simple. They linger and reshape everything that comes after.

What makes these stories hit so hard is how focused they are on those turning points. Nothing feels overly dramatic or forced. Instead, Oates zooms in on the exact second when something changes and a person cannot go back. It feels real in a way that is a little unsettling.

The writing itself is sharp and immersive. Oates gets deep into her characters’ thoughts and emotions, showing their fears, contradictions, and vulnerabilities. Even when the stories are dark, they feel honest and human.

This is not a light or easy read, but it is a powerful one. It really drives home the idea that relationships and small moments can echo through a lifetime. Frenzy is thoughtful, intense, and absolutely worth reading.

[Diane Dachota · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong collection of short stories with Oates trademark suspense and sense of dread. These stories are not as violent or horror adjacent as her at previous collections but they still cause the reader to feel a sense of dread and feelings of hopelessness in the characters. The characters in this collection feel grief, and loss of self as well as regret and fear. The first story "The Frenzy" is about an older, married man who realizes he has no power in his relationship with a young woman he takes on a trip. Other stories deal with women who have lost their husbands and are not prepared for how to navigate life as a widow.

Oates is a more mature writer now and these stories reflect that point of view. Characters face health problems or the health problems of a loved one, women who have tied their identities to their husbands find themselves struggling when their husband dies. One of the stories deals with a personality change a teenage girl seemed to have after a bicycle accident, but was there more to it than the accident? Another story finds a man haunted by his failure to protect a young woman who may have been abused at a hiking trail in a National Park. These stories make you think and wonder how you would fare if you were in the same circumstance as the characters. The stories aren't written in a sentimental way and the resolutions aren't always happy but the stories still satisfy in what they are trying to portray. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC of this book for review.

[Roslyn Bell · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of The Frenzy from NetGalley, and as a long‑time reader of Joyce Carol Oates, I already knew I was in for something sharp, unsettling, and psychologically fearless. She’s the master of the short story for a reason, and this collection is another reminder of how effortlessly she can drop you into a character’s life at the exact moment everything tilts.
These stories revolve around crisis points those split seconds where fate, fear, and bad choices collide. My favorite is about, a romantic weekend that curdles into something darker! Another one, is about a freak bicycle accident that echoes through a family for decade. There's one that tackles a jealous girl who discovers the truth about luck, a widow waiting for a husband who will never return is a good one as well. Also, a hiker stumbling into a moment that could turn violent is one not to be missed and will linger with you days after you read it. What I loved most is how the author captures emotional agitation, the “frenzy” beneath ordinary life. The characters are flawed, frightened, impulsive, and painfully human. Even the shortest pieces feel textured and alive, full of that signature Oates blend of dread and empathy. She has a way of revealing her characters’ deepest fears while quietly nudging you to confront your own. This collection is suspenseful, psychologically astute, and beautifully written. Not every story hits with the same force, but the ones that do will linger with you long after you close the book. #NETGALLEY #THEFRENZY

[alyssa · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a privilege to receive Joyce Carol Oates' most recent short story collection, The Frenzy, as an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review. Like her novels and short stories before, many of the short stories in The Frenzy are unnerving. Psychologically stressful, filled with moments where her characters are devastated by profound grief, and at times tinged with dry humor. Though some stories begin slow, others plunge us directly into the defining moment of the main characters' life, the loss of a spouse, an accident, and the confusion caused by the crisis as the world as they knew it comes undone.

Admittedly, I almost put this down after the first story. My last Oates' read was The Fox, which I found to be disturbing beyond belief, and the first story here, also the title story, has tinges of The Fox at first glance. Yet the story takes a theatrical turn mid-way through that made me glad I had not given up, as the protagonist is served poetic justice in the final act of the story. I did not find each of the other stories in The Frenzy quite as humorous, but still appreciated Oates' prose throughout. It's miraculous really what she's able to do with words to usher readers in to the psychological state of each story's protagonist. This was not always a 'fun' read, but it was moving to say the least.

Thank you to Joyce Carol Oates, Random House Hogarth, and NetGalley for an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Kristyn Dayton · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded up to 4

“The Frenzy: Stories” was my first experience reading Joyce Carol Oates. This collection is made up of short stories that were previously published in other formats, so I went in not entirely sure what to expect.

Overall, I enjoyed the stories, but they were missing a certain something that would have pushed this into 5-star territory for me. Each story was intriguing in its own way (mysterious, haunting, and deeply atmospheric) with endings that often felt deliberately ambiguous.

The collection features a wide range of characters and situations: a young woman on a weekend getaway with her older, married lover; a young man hiking in the woods who stumbles upon a couple in a heated argument and feels compelled to intervene; two widows who form an unlikely friendship; and a vulnerable woman grappling with her abusive husband after his return from a Buddhist monastery.

Every story feels distinct and self-contained, yet they all share a subtle undercurrent of unease that lingers after you finish reading. While not every story landed perfectly for me, it was still a fascinating and memorable collection. I’d definitely be interested in reading more from this author in the future.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC! The Frenzy: Stories releases June 16, 2026

[Noah Benner · Rating 5 out of 5]

As expected, the new short story collection from Joyce Carol Oates is full of unsettling glimpses into the minds of characters in crisis. Most of these stories explore troubled relationships, whether romantic, parental, or platonic.

JCO is equally skilled at evoking the fearful mind of a woman under the control of a stoic and abusive partner and the frenzied, obsessive thoughts of a lecherous middle-aged man.

Most of the stories end bleakly, but a few have a glimmer of hope, or even a somewhat happy conclusion. I was thrilled by the two that concluded with the struggling female protagonist managing to defeat and distance themselves from their delusional partners.

Widowhood and mortality have obviously been on JCO's mind as both topics come up in several stories. Some of these tales border on ghost stories, with the lingering presence of the deceased functioning as both a reminder of what's been lost and a suggestion that the departed had a darker, more oppressive side as well. Also recurring is the way that memory and fantasy can blend into a confused and contradictory reality.

For me, the standouts were "The Frenzy," "The Fear," "Refuge," and "Night Fishing at Antibes."

Thank you to Hogarth/Random House for providing an ARC for review consideration via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

[RavenCantRead · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Frenzy
4⭐️

Once again, Joyce Carol Oates has successfully creeped me tf out! Well done!

The Frenzy is a collection of short stories, each one haunting in its own way. Each story so real, so completely feasible and realistic that my skin was crawling at even the most benign ones. Because while these stories are creepy, some of them are also just very mundane. Things that are the reality for some people. And that’s scariest of all.

Oates manages to evoke a sense of dread quickly, her prose crafted *just so* that her characters don’t have to necessarily *do* anything egregious for you to feel the claustrophobia and terror before the other shoe does finally drop.

In The Bicycle Accident I felt my stomach turning before anything at all happened.

The Call was short, nothing happened, and yet the weight of it still lingers.

If you enjoy atmospheric, creepy writing and don’t mind a short story collection - this is for you!

Thanks NetGalley and Random House / Hogarth for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although she's passed the 80 year mark, Joyce Carol Oates has not slowed down. I've mentioned in earlier opinions how much I admire her energy in approach to writing fiction, writing as if she was aiming for recognition not enjoying her past reputation. Somehow she manages to find ways in which to examine the human condition in original and meaty prose. These stories reminded me of those I read over 50 years ago, upon first discovering her and her take on the world, but now she's had much more life experience to draw from. And she uses it to incredible advantage. If the stories in this collection had a recurring theme, it could be found in the Me Too movement. Even the widows visited by their ghostly partners from beyond the shade have had questionable relationships, and their reunions are not all pleasant. Several of them made me laugh out loud, but she's deadly serious about her subject.

[Joanna DiCioccio · Rating 4 out of 5]

First off, The Frenzy has heavy subject matter throughout. Not your sunny beach read, if you get my meaning - and that’s fine, everything has its place. Just prepare/guard yourself for some potential “moodiness”.

Strong undercurrents of feminine rage, and the ways relationships suffer — or completely sever — when daughters are not properly protected. The stories dig deeply into parent-child relationships, grief, death, and the lingering ways loss reshapes the people left behind.

There’s also an examination of how vulnerable and accommodating women are often expected to be in relationships, and how socially accepted that dynamic is.

I enjoyed it, but it’s definitely not a “feel-good” read. It’s the kind of book that sits with you afterward and invites some pretty heavy introspection.

3.5 rounded up to 4

[Jonathan Brown · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced reader copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review on my Goodreads page. This collection of short stories—originally published separately in various venues—will be released on June 16, 2026.

The Frenzy fully earns its title. Each story arrives with its own sense of unease, suspense, and emotional intensity, populated by vividly drawn characters and sharply rendered settings. There is no wasted space here; Oates moves quickly and deliberately, pulling the reader into moments that feel both intimate and unsettling. Even when a story unfolds quietly, there is always an undercurrent of tension humming just beneath the surface. I, of course, enjoyed some stories more than others, with The Bicycle Accident being my favorite!

Joyce Carol Oates is, of course, a master of psychological complexity, and that strength is on full display throughout this collection. Each story carries her unmistakable touch—an awareness of human fragility, obsession, and moral uncertainty—that makes the act of reading feel slightly dangerous in the best possible way. You sense early on that something is off, and the pleasure lies in following that feeling all the way to each story’s conclusion.

Fans of short fiction and longtime admirers of Joyce Carol Oates will absolutely want to add The Frenzy to their collections when it releases this summer. It’s a compelling, often haunting set of stories that lingers well after the final page.

[Rachel (rachelinchapters) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short story collections don't always work for me, but I figured if anyone could sway me it would be the queen of the short story, JCO.

Joyce Carol Oates is truly a master of her craft - her writing is sophisticated, lyrical and transportive, and her stories stick with you long after you're finished.

Overall, this collection examines grief, loss, fate, the human condition, and the line between life and death. While not all of the stories were my favorite, most of them made me think about life in a different way. A few standouts were: The Redwoods, The Bicycle Incident, and Night Fishing at Antibes.

I've really enjoyed my time with this collection and will definitely be going back to more of her works in the future!

[Lauren (sharonoldsfanclub) · Rating 4 out of 5]

(ARC - out 06/16/26 via Hogarth) I’m never going to be impartial when it comes to Joyce Carol Oates because I have loved her writing for a long time. I also think her short fiction is when I most vibe with her. “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Is one of my favorite short stories. And I loved this collection, as well. Her writing is just so sinister and uneasy. She writes about people with a sharpness that reads as nearly unbearable intensity. Her characters are complicated, frequently bad, nearly always morally grey. And character is the most important part of her stories, I think. Like with any story collection, I found myself drawn to certain stories and reading others with more detachment. That’s not a fault of JCO, just a truth of any short story collection.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this author for the first time last year and was so impressed with the writing. I know she is known for her short stories so I was excited to get this copy from NetGalley. These stories were masterful and vivid…and unsettling. There seemed to be something in each story that just kind of made me shiver. I’m not sure how much I will read from Joyce Carol Oates in the future because her stories are a little dark for me, but they are well written. It’s just the subject matter that distresses me. But that’s not her fault. As short stories go, these were fantastic. Just not quite what I’m looking for in this stage of my life.

Thank you to NetGalley for the advanced reader copy. This review is my own.

[Jamie Cheval · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC in exchange for my review.

Joyce Carol Oates is a master storyteller, and this collection of short stories is a standout. I haven’t been this excited or enthralled by a collection of short stories since I was in high school devouring Ray Bradbury’s works.

The Frenzy is a cohesive and intentional collection of stories that are uncomfortable to read. Each story evokes feelings of unease and tension. Best of all, they make you think. For me, the standouts were “Night Fishing at Antibes,” “The Bicycle Accident,” and “The Return.” I liked some stories more than others, but there were none I disliked.

I will be absolutely be reading more of JCO in the near future. I rate The Frenzy 4.5 stars.

[Regan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got to read this book before release via Netgalley. A collection of short stories centered mostly around wives and daughters dealing with the darkest parts of grieving and family. Some stories stuck with me while others fell on the wayside, "The Bicycling Accident" stood out particularly. While reading this, I was stuck on how difficult it would be to get into the headspace to write so candidly and empathize so thoroughly with some of these character's stories. Invokes a lot of emotion, the characters' experiences and feelings are palpable. A sense of anticipation is weaved into every story and keeps it engaging.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates is a master class in the short story form. These stories slip into moments of crisis and unease, where lives quietly fracture and nothing is as simple as it first appears. They’re psychologically sharp, often unsettling, and deeply human, capturing how a single choice or encounter can alter everything. Oates makes the ordinary feel dangerous, and the effect lingers long after the last page.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hogarth for providing an eARC prior to publication in exchange for an honest review.

[Carlos · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to receive an ARC from the publisher to review, and, boy, was this an absolute pleasure to read.

Oates is true to form in this short story collection, and many of her frequent themes are present, including the heartbreak and loss of self of widowhood, the suffocating nature of codependence, and sense of powerlessness that sickness can bring. As an avid reader of Oates, it was more than welcome to see a master of their craft present a collection that does not hold back in quality or intensity.

[Andy Krahling · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars, rounded down to 4 stars.

80% of this was 5 star-worthy. The story "The Frenzy" kicked things off, and was wonderfully done. I lost some traction about 3/4 in, but the last story brought up the level again.

These are just human tales, tales of suspense and psychological menace, and I loved them. I could identify and relate, and felt immersed.

Will I read more from the author? Heck, yeah.

I received a complimentary copy of the book from the publisher and NetGalley, and my review is being left freely.

[DW · Rating 4 out of 5]

*Advanced Review Copy provided by NetGalley*

A dark psychological collection that is varied thematically. My favorite of the collection is “The Call,” followed closely by “The Bicycle Accident.”

The former is a relatively short, heady paranoiac tale about the disorienting nature of trauma. The second is a sort of psychological horror family drama that has some interesting turns. None of the stories reach the heights of her classic, canonical “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” but this is a great collection overall.

[Jen Mederos Lyons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates is one of my favorite writers, so I was thrilled to read this collection of short stories. The writing is intense and immersive, with a dreamlike, immersive quality that pulls you in to each story. In each story, Oates explores themes of desire and power.

If you are a fan of Oates or if you enjoy dark, introspective fiction, I would highly recommend this collection. Overall, it is beautiful, haunting, and thought-provoking.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC!