Faithless: Tales of Transgression

by Joyce Carol Oates

In this collection of twenty-one unforgettable stories, Joyce Carol Oates explores the mysterious private lives of men and women with vivid, unsparing precision and sympathy. By turns interlocutor and interpreter, magician and realist, she dissects the psyches of ordinary people and their potential for good and evil with chilling understatement and lasting power.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Mystery, Fantasy, Anthologies, Horror, Literary Fiction

386 pages, Paperback

First published March 1, 2001

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

[Nikki "The Crazie Betty" V. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An emotional and somewhat depraved read, I've had an exceptionally difficult time putting my feelings about this anthology into words. I've done my best to try and come back to this review all articulate and concise. But...I...just can't!!

There are a lot of stories in this collection and they reach all the way into the deepest recesses of our minds to pull and tweak those dark thoughts that we all have. I felt angry, depressed, uncomfortable, sad, disgusted and completely wrecked throghout this anthology. which is why it took me sooo long to read it. It just wasn't something I could keep plowing through without feeling like I was giving up part of my soul in the process. Then again, Joyce Carol Oates has a knack for doing that. She very much reminds me of something that Clive Barker said in an interview I watched, I can't remember the EXACT wording, but it's essentially something along these lines:

"People wonder what kind of sick depraved person I have to be to be able to come up with some of the ideas I've had. The thing is that we're all sick and depraved and we need to express that in some way. It's the people that never express it, that stay quiet, that you really need to worry about."

That kept coming to mind over and over again as I read this anthology because, I realized, that this is exactly what Oates did. She accepted not only that part of her psyche, but also accepted the fact that it's in every person's psyche. Whether they acknowledge it or not. Unfortunately there is just no way for me to review the individual stories in here. I just wouldn't know where to begin. But I would definitely recommend this anthology, as well as anything by Oates, to those that can take a dive into the dark and deep side of their mind and still be able to come out the other side not completely messed up.

Just....Wow...

[Mariano Hortal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Publicado en http://lecturaylocura.com/nobel-a-mun...

Me gustaría subrayar las consecuencias del Nobel a Alice Munro; no son pocas y tienen bastante importancia en el mundo literario:
La primera de ellas es, evidentemente, lo romántica que resulta esta elección; supone la exaltación, la entronización del cuento como género literario como obra magna; no olvidemos que si algo caracteriza a Munro es la creación de cuentos; de hecho, solamente podemos hablar de una novela oficial, e incluso podríamos clasificarla como un ciclo de cuentos con un hilo conductor.
Lo segundo: es una autora que va a intentar descubrir muchísima gente, sus obras son mainstream a nivel mundial, fáciles de encontrar; muchos intentarán descubrirla por curiosidad y les llevará a un mundo diferente con salvedades; no todo el mundo será capaz de apreciar su genialidad por un hecho esencial: el cuento es lo más cercano al poema, una aproximación de una intensidad tremendamente lírica que no suele ser del gusto general, mientras unos cuantos huirán despavoridos, otros disfrutarán de lo lindo.
Lo tercero: esta entrega supone la condenación eterna (¡qué dramático!) para las grandísimas e hipercompletas Atwood y Oates; sí, esto es una consecuencia negativa, porque no todo puede ser positivo, y más en este caso en que se va a producir unanimidad en la crítica internacional. Munro es buenísima, no nos engañemos; pero no quiero olvidar el hecho de que estas dos no lo van a recibir y han llegado a lo sublime en varias ocasiones, variando entre géneros y estilos.
Lo cuarto: las personas que descubran a Munro y les guste querrán descubrir obras contemporáneas del estilo. En ese caso no me cansaré de recomendar a Amy Hempel, tenemos sus “Cuentos completos” publicados; o a la grandísima Lorrie Moore, que con “Pájaros de América” se acerca poderosamente a la canadiense; tampoco debemos olvidarnos de su compatriota Atwood, “Chicas bailarinas” es un ejemplo que atestigua su buen hacer; y, naturalmente, el que quiera seguir profundizando más, tiene a la simpar Joyce Carol Oates, que con este “Infiel. Historias de transgresión.” llega a lo sublime en tantas ocasiones que casi se convierte en una costumbre.
Y es que, aunque “Infiel” (Faithless) sea el título de uno de sus cuentos, no refleja lo que nos podemos encontrar en él. Es el subtítulo, “Historias de transgresión” lo que define esta increíble recopilación de historias.
Es curiosísimo estar en redes sociales de libros como Goodreads en particular, porque cada libro posee una valoración y, en ocasiones, reseñas de los lectores; en el caso de esta obra no tiene nota muy alta así que me dediqué a indagar; el caso es que en una mayoría muy amplia los que calificaban mal esta obra ,lo hacían porque la mayoría de los cuentos acaban mal. En efecto, esto es así.
Me he dado cuenta de dos motivaciones que tienen los lectores:
-La primera y primordial, la mayoría leen para encontrar algo distinto de sus vidas. Es por ello que buscan que las historias acaben bien por encima de todo, eso hace que un libro sea redondo para ellas.
-La otra gran motivación es la necesidad de una catarsis, que ya hablé en esta crítica; leer sobre desgracias de los demás relativiza tus problemas y hace que sean más llevables.
Pues bien, este libro será perfecto para el segundo tipo de lector; en cuanto al primero, quizá deberíamos discutir sobre el hecho de si una obra de arte es mejor o peor si acaba bien o mal, en mi caso es claro que es independiente, ya que deberíamos más bien discutir sobre cómo está hecha; pero soy consciente de lo estéril de esta disquisición en la mayoría de las personas, incapaces de ninguna apreciación artística más allá de esta superficialidad. Por lo tanto no me voy a poner a discutir sobre ello.
En estas “Historias de transgresión” nos podemos encontrar, sin más ni más, con una de las recopilaciones de cuentos más brutales y violentas disponibles; cada uno de ellos es una bomba de relojería emocional; un encuentro con los abismos del ser humano; una dolorosa experiencia de la que no te puedes olvidar al terminarlo. Joyce escribe con el corazón, con el alma, y desgarrador se convierte en una palabra demasiado leve para lo que presenciamos. Nadie ha reflejado la oscuridad del ser humano como Oates; esos recovecos de ambigüedad y malestar que no te dejan a medias, no hay medias tintas; es tal el dolor que se transmite que es difícil no quedar demolido ante tanta adversidad:
En “Au sable” presenciamos un suicidio programado; desde la primera persona de un hombre; Oates no necesita centrarse en una mujer, cualquier narrador es válido.
En “Fea” se refleja con toda la acritud posible el trauma que supone su fealdad a la protagonista:
“Él también era un feo. Un feo raro. Pero la fealdad en un hombre no importa demasiado. La fealdad es una mujer se convierte en su vida”
“Amante” supone la venganza de una amante despechada a la que no le importan los daños colaterales que pueda causar:
“A alta velocidad la tristeza no es una posibilidad seria.
Él no la había amado lo suficiente como para morir con ella: ahora lo pagaría. Y otros pagarían también.”
El personaje femenino de “Preguntas” no duda en meterse cocaína para sobrevivir a lo que siente:
“Le duelen los senos y no quiere recordar el motivo. También le duelen los muslos. Gruesas protuberancias carnosas en la curva de sus caderas que no soporta contemplar o tocar, y sin embargo le dicen que es hermosa, un grano de uva madura y suculenta de Concord. La cabeza se le aclara rápidamente debido a la avalancha de la preciosa nieve y puede ver las cosas con una lucidez extraordinaria. La metadrina le resulta útil si no se siente precisamente bien los días de clases; necesita esa ventaja diabólica, esa energía blanca candente durante cincuenta minutos, no para pasar el rato como los chicos, sino por motivos terapéuticos, para volver a ser la Ali Einhorn más parecida a sí misma, no una vaca hija de puta, triste y rezagada.”
La madre de “Amor por las armas” tiene “suerte” de no haber sido asesinada:
“Nuestra familia tiene suerte, solía decir mi padre. Quizá estuviera siendo irónico, pero de hecho es así. Como cuando tiraron al suelo a mi madre, le robaron y fue sometida a una violación anal, y no la asesinaron. ¿Ves?”
“Infiel” supone una subversión de todo lo que estás suponiendo en un final transgresor como pocos y que cambia cualquier perspectiva halagüeña:
“Poco después de la desaparición de Gretel Nissenbaum surgieron, de numerosas fuentes, desde todos los puntos de la brújula, ciertas historias sobre la mujer. […] Una mala esposa. Una madre antinatural. Se decía que había abandonado a su esposo y a sus hijas en el pasado, que había regresado con su familia. […] Claro que tenía un novio, un amante. Claro que era una adúltera.”
En “Idilio en Manhattan” asistimos a un suicidio demoledor (por si alguna vez no lo fuera..):
“-¡Sí! Así es – y papá me besó en la mejilla y dijo- ¡Adiós, princesa! –en voz alta y alegre; y me apartó de él, y papá se metió el cañón de la pistola en la boca. Y apretó el gatillo.”
La violencia de género es la protagonista de “La Vigilia”, ¿cómo podría quedarse lejos en este catálogo de perversiones?
“Por favor, no hagas lo que sea que estás haciendo no me hagas conseguir una orden judicial, no, por favor pensé que estabas de acuerdo, pensé por qué tú esta no es la clase de hombre que yo creía que eras ¿Verdad?
Lo implícito se mezcla con lo explícito según el cuento; Oates es capaz de cambiar de narrador y narración para mostrarnos toda la crudeza de su percepción de la realidad vivida.
Todavía tengo alguno de los relatos en mi cabeza; como un germen que no puedo olvidar; tanto dolor, tanta brutalidad insana; Oates es excelsa, te remueve las entrañas como nadie y te hace reflexionar sobre el género humano, ese hombre que es “un lobo para el hombre”; ¿hasta dónde puede llegar la perversidad humana? Con ella nos acercamos bastante a alguno de los límites.
Solo hay que ver el relato del disfuncional “Tusk”
“Pasa la navaja por la arteria que ha ubicado bajo su mandíbula, una sensación aguda y abrasadora y comienza a sangrar de inmediato, pero el corte no es lo bastante profundo así que lo intenta de nuevo, sosteniendo firme su mano derecha con la izquierda y apretando con todas las fuerzas que le quedan, de rodillas, tambaleándose, jadeando, ahogándose por algo caliente y líquido. Mierda, se le ha caído la navaja, no la encuentra, tantea entre los periódicos mojados que hay en la acera, envoltorios arrugados amarillos de Doritos, pero allí está la navaja, la navaja reluciente por la sangre que es su único consuelo, la coge y la aprieta en su puño y lo intenta otra vez.”
Joyce Carol Oates no ganará nunca el Nobel, pero para mí está en lo más alto de ese escalafón. Cuánta excelencia. Lo sublime está indisolublemente unido a su encomiable labor literaria. No me cansaré nunca de recomendarla.

[Andy · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading a handful of Oates short story comps I can honestly say this is the best one I've read so far, but how well can you know a writer whose career has spanned sixty decades? The stories in Faithless are the most satisfying and accomplished of all her shorts collections.

I admired the daring she exhibited in tackling popular tabloid news subjects and writing them in the noir style. I can see why Otto Penzler is so taken with her; everything is written in the noir style.

Faithless is largely about dysfunctional people doing what they do best, and that's doing dysfunctional things. So you have a waitress who's deceived herself into thinking she's inferior in spite of the fact that she's vain and self-centered; an injured man becomes obsessed with his physical therapist; a corrupt government official's last visitation as told from the eyes of his four-year-old daughter; the art groupie gone berserk, chewing up a dying artist's legacy, home and entire existence; and many lonely teenage boys driven to rape, violence and death.

There's a lot of dark humor in here, too, like the story of the 13-year old student practically abducted by a glamorous stripper on a Greyhound bus, or the jaded Death Row reporter who decides to perk up an execution by voluntarily ordering a Cordon Bleu gourmet dinner as a trailer trash killer's last meal.

If you like noir in the Highsmith mode then this will make you very happy. And someone should fix the typo on Nan Goldin's name in the credits. Shame shame shame!

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Deep. Dark. Disturbing. Heavy.
An intense exploration into the heart, mind and soul of the human condition.
My first time reading this author's work.
It won't be the last.
BUT I'll read her work again after some time has passed.
Reading small doses at a time is advisable because it can be quite 'suffocating'...
The reader needs to 'come up for air' after having read Oates' work.
You'll appreciate these stories if you're a realist.

[Eliza · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel a little too mature. This book is serious. The cover looks serious. I feel like I'm like 25 and some whitty english graduate from Yale who has a house in the Hamptons already. Yes, I drink tea. No, I don't wear Marc Jacobs.

[Shane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another smorgasbord of stories covering many shadowy walks of life, where the characters have morbid fixations on revenge, guns, the opposite sex (or the same one), careers, their bodies or those of their family members. The angles at which Oates comes at these stories is always oblique: an assault victim trying to figure out why he was singled out for a police beating, a scholarship student befriending a troubled woman on a Greyhound bus and being led far off course, a woman associating the milestones of her life with the different guns she has handled, another family measuring its milestones by the different hitchhikers they have picked up or ignored, a journalist fighting a losing battle against the death penalty and getting energized every time he witnesses an execution, or an elderly couple calmly arranging their deaths at their cottage in the wilderness.

It is hard to try and categorize these stories. The subtitles say “Tales of Transgression” but isn’t that the stuff of all fiction, i.e. those events that lead to conflict, with transgression being one of the prime drivers of conflict? What I found common in these tales was that after the premise is unloaded on you and events seem to be heading towards a predictable conclusion, Oates reigns us in and steers us down a completely different path at the end. In “Ugly” the waitress with a poor body image shuns the older teacher, who is courteous and loving towards her, to cavort with her lecherous boss on the presumption that “irony is the repository of hurt, and hurt is the repository of hope.” Therefore, some stories like “Questions” and “Physical” were also inconclusive and implausible to me; how does the sexually charged teacher in the first story deal with the two needy men she is sleeping with, a father and his suicidal son? How does the physical therapist in the second story indicate to her client who has fallen ass over teakettle for her that she either favours or disfavours of this attachment with only her fingers pressed upon his aging body?

There is a lot of older woman-younger man relationships going on as well. Apart from “Questions,” in the story “Murder 2” a 42-year old defense attorney falls in love with her 17-year old client accused of murdering his mother; in “Tusk’, a 13-year old smuggles a knife into school to kill his 15-year old girlfriend to demonstrate his power over her; in “The High School Sweetheart Mystery,” a 15-year old student drugs his 17-year old amateur starlet girlfriend during rehearsals, just so he could have her body to himself without rejection. And a character by the name of Roland or R_ keeps popping up in several of the stories—I wondered whether this was a pen name of the author or whether she had cycled through so many names and had to start all over again?

My favourite was the title story, “Faithless,” in which the device of the grandchild narrator trying to uncover the murky history of her farmer grandparents she never knew is used very effectively to give us a complete story for a change. This approach is repeated in “What Then, My Life”, also set on a family farm, where the grand-daughter is trying to find out why her grandmother never liked her, even though the sexual assault she suffered at the hands of her older male cousins when she was ten sets the stage for much of that conflict. Another child narrator emerges in “Manhattan Romance” in which a 5-year old narrates her last wonderful day of shopping, restaurants and amusement with Daddy, a fraudulent lawyer—a day that ends in heartache.

Some of these characters are so emotionally hurt that “the wound is so deep, it hasn’t bled.” In “Vigil”, a divorced man is plotting the murder of his wife’s current lover, by rehearsing the murder every night before carrying out the deed; we are left hanging as to whether he has indeed carried out his intention, for the man is an unreliable narrator. “Lovers” follows a similar “jilted lover” plot with a more concrete ending.

The “story within a story” concept is also on tap: In “Vampire” two jurors are discussing a woman who sucked an artist friend of all his money and artistic works and may even have been responsible for his early death. In the “High School Sweetheart Mystery” a celebrated writer makes a confession about how he became a murder writer by telling his stunned audience a real story from his high school days during his acceptance speech as President of the American Mystery Writers organization.

I marvel at the cross section of American society that this university professor who has ostensibly lived a sheltered life is able to conjure up with such deft strokes. Is it pure imagination and reading, or do the troubled people of America come in procession to lay their troubles before Oates and make confessions that form the grist for her prolific writing mill? Given the myriad of styles and voices she is able to evoke with ease, I wished she had been the writing instructor I never had.

[Cody | CodysBookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Torn between 4 and 5 stars because with a collection as large as this one (twenty-one stories!!) there’s bound to be a couple entries any reader doesn’t quite care for, but the ones that didn’t quite hit the mark for me (“We Were Worried About You”, “Physical”) were still okay. This is Joyce Carol Oates, after all, and I am always utterly spellbound by her style, her sense of time and place and character.

Something I noticed when reading these stories—all centered around the theme of love and relationships of all kinds gone wrong—is they’re written in a sort of neo-noir style, and I think it’s worth noting most of these stories were written and published in the ‘90s, when JCO was also writing the Rosamond Smith novels.

Because this is JCO, this is a heavy read. A dark read. Because of this collection’s sheer depth, I don’t recommend trying to finish this off in a few days. Take it a story or two at a time; the collection does get my highest recommendation, however, with “Tusk”—the story of a pubescent boy dealing with trauma and grief and violent tendencies—perhaps being my favorite, though “The Vampire” and “The Vigil” come close.

I’m always happy to check off another JCO book read, since she is my favorite author despite my still having so many of her books to experience. Faithless shows just why she is the queen of the short form.

[Paola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Joyce C. Oates una delle mie "Femmine della specie scrittori" preferite quindi non aspettatevi una recensione oggettiva.
La penna é un bisturi, l'animo umano é dissecato, e si può senz'altro dire che la Oates sia una di quelle persone "attente", ché come dice Carofiglio (Né qui né altrove) l'attenzione é una qualità morale, attenta a sé e ai propri moti interiori, pensieri, sentimenti emozioni, e of course a quelli degli altri.
Ma il più bello deve ancora venire: sa come de-scriverli.
E questa ogni volta é una bellissima esperienza. Un viaggio, a volte anche dentro sé stessi, perché qui é là ci si riconosce in quel pensiero, in quell'emozione, in quel moto interiore, e in molti casi non sono proprio quelli di cui andar fieri e sbandierare in giro.

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some of the best JCO short stories I've read yet

[Guilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Every story is a deeply personal drama that we're accidental, maybe even unwilling, witnesses to, the way one might catch a glimpse through a curtain hanging askew or through an open window as one drives by of an intensely intimate moment at the neighbors'. One cringes, turns away, and at the same time wants to stay and watch, maybe find a better vantage point, maybe move closer to catch what they're saying. This is the pervading sense throughout these stories: I am a witness to things I might have preferred not to know -- and I'm fascinated, glued to the page.

[Adabelle Xie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first started reading this book maybe 1 or 2 years ago. I was only able to finish the first of 3 parts before it came due at the library and returned to pick back up where I left off just recently. It’s a large anthology of 20-odd stories so not every one of them can be a winner. I got 2/3rds of the way through Physical before I finally realized that I read it already. Death Watch is very similar to Anton Chekhov’s A Nervous Breakdown with a focus on a more modern moral quandary (the death penalty versus prostitution) and I’m not sure it adds much to that older story. But there are some great ones as well and I’d like to highlight some of my favorites here.

Ugly

This was the story that brought me back to finish the whole anthology. This story captures having a malicious self-image better than any other piece of media I’ve interacted with. The section that really stuck with me was when the narrator went home for Thanksgiving and was looking through old family photos. She couldn’t reconcile how she grew up to be so ugly from a normal child, so she reasons that the photos must be of a long-lost dead sister that her parents have kept secret:

“It isn’t! Goddamned liar! It isn’t! This is someone else, this isn’t me! This is a pretty little girl and I’m ugly and this isn’t me!”

A Manhattan Romance

This story is a brilliant blend. It is the tale of a childhood adventure where a little girl goes shopping with her father in New York City, one of those fond memories that don’t lose their power even when you’re grown and living in the big city and can go shopping any time you want. But it is also a mystery where something is not quite right. Executed with textbook thriller pacing, slowly then exploding all at once.

“Our Saturday adventures left me dazed, giddy; one day I would realize that’s what intoxicated, high, drunk means - I’d been drunk with happiness, with Daddy.

But no other drunk, ever afterward, could come near.”

Comparisons

Joyce Carol Oates’s short story anthology The Doll-master and Other Tales of Terror deals in similar themes but is significantly shorter with only 6 stories. They are more dramatized and popcorn-y. If the stories of Faithless could show up unsurprisingly in your local news the ones of Doll-master are those sensational cases that get turned into feature documentaries.

Ian McEwan has a similarly salacious short story collection called First Love, Last Rites. It is just as transgressive in subject matter but to me feels a bit more clinical in its treatment. May be a better fit if you are not as interested in descriptions of guns, knives, and body odor.

[Raquel Casas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joyce es una de esas escritoras que, cuando crees que ya no te pueden sorprender, van y te sorpenden, llegando al límite, retorciendo la cotidianidad con pliegues infinitos de terror psicológico y de una crueldad insoportables. Porque Joyce es cruel con sus personajes, pero también compasiva; les coloca frente al abismo y cuando creen que van a estrellarse les dice, dándoles un abrazo: «no te preocupes, solo fue una pesadilla, aquí estoy yo para salvarte».

[Sandie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I began this book not fully committed. Just reading something passed on and accessible. The first few stories - spouses cheating on each other etc- ho hum- and then the stories became dark with unreliable narrators and surreal experiences- and I was hooked. I have never been a fan of Oates but I will have to reconsider after this. I became obsessed and driven to finish.

[Mahi - ماهی · Rating 1 out of 5]

This collection should have won an award for
The
Most
Unbearable
Collection
Of
Short
Stories
Periodt

[Tulio Fernández · Rating 4 out of 5]

El subtítulo de esta colección de relatos de la norteamericana Joyce Carol Oates es Historias de transgresión. Según el diccionario de la Rae, transgresión viene de la acción de transgredir –nunca lo hubiera imaginado, sabios intelectuales de la Rae-,al pedir la definición de esta última palabra, me encuentro con lo siguiente:

transgredir.
(Del lat. transgrĕdi).
1. tr. Quebrantar, violar un precepto, ley o estatuto.

Podría decirse que en esto se resume esta excelente antología de relatos. El quebrantamiento de todas las normas y leyes establecidas y no me refiero solamente a la parte sexual, que juega un papel muy importante ya sea de manera implícita o explícita en la mayoría de estos relatos, sino las leyes de la cordura y lo racional en donde sus personajes se dejan arrastrar bajo la espiral de sus instintos, obsesiones y bajas pasiones.

El libro se divide en tres partes y aunque a primera vista pareciera que no hay un orden claro en ésta, podría pensar que yo lo he encontrado. En la primera parte se habla de los apegos que tienen los personajes hacia lugares, objetos y personas. Es así como vemos historias como la de una mujer que busca venganza hacia un amante que la abandonó chocándolo con un carro en el que depositará la frustración y el erotismo depositado en su pareja, o la vida de una mujer, su sexualidad, sus frustraciones y alegrías narradas a través de las armas que ha poseído.

La segunda parte habla sobre la inocencia perdida. En los cuatro relatos que lo conforman sus protagonistas son niñas o adolescentes que se ven enfrentadas a hechos violentos que las cambiarán de una u otra manera para siempre (uno de los relatos, sin embargo, a pesar de ser protagonizada por una niña es bastante tierno).

La última parte se centran en las obsesiones y los miedos. Hombres y mujeres de todas clases y edades sufren de persecuciones reales e imaginarias que alteran por completo su percepción de la realidad y relaciones con los demás. Acá el perseguidor puede ser cualquiera, un hombre iracundo, la policía en pleno o las ideas de cometer un asesinato o actos indescriptibles por parte de la persona más inofensiva y menos pensada.

Aun así, la división de bloques temáticos no afectan la unidad del conjunto total. En todos y cada uno de los relatos podemos percibir con claridad ese estilo oscuro, paranoico y crudo de la autora donde la mayoría de los personajes no parecen huir de la autodestrucción sino que la abrazan con gusto.

Uno de los detalles que me llamó la atención es la fijación que tiene Oates con la duplicidad: Esto es palpable no sólo en las acciones de sus personajes, sino en detalles tan sutiles como descubrir que en más de un relato a los personajes les encanta usar más de un nombre, ya sea dando uno falso o usando un sobrenombre que los hace sentir poderosos.


En la contraportada del libro aparece este comentario de la autora: “Mis relatos cortos son verdaderas obras en miniatura: abordan la vida entera de una persona, con un altísimo grado de condensación y concentración”, al leer esta frase en un principio sentía que era un poco soberbia, pero después de conocer los mundos de Joyce Carol Oates, quien suena constantemente como firme candidata al Premio Nobel, no puedo dejar de estar de acuerdo una y mil veces con este comentario.

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used to see stories by Joyce Carol Oates inside anthologies over the many years I’ve been reading short stories. I never liked them. But I never understood them. I didn’t appreciate the depths in them next to the shiny carnival rides of the typical “suspense” or horror story. For example, I bought a horror anthology when I was in high school and in it was the story “The Bingo Master” by JCO. I rated the stories in that anthology and wrote “sucks!” next to that one. No other story in that collection got such a withering review from me. But back then, I never had to navigate my way through dark betrayals and obsessions that could make one do terrible things. Now I get it. FAITHLESS is a collection of just such obsessions. Some wind slowly and tightly. Some cling like a desperate and unbalanced lover. Standouts for me were “The High School Sweetheart: A Mystery” and “Tusk” and “A Manhattan Romance”. Not to say these stories are particularly enjoyable. While you’re having fun on the carnival rides there is a dark soul with a knife in his belt measuring his chances. I particularly liked “The Vampire” and “Lover” as well. Recommended.

[Kike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un conjunto de relatos sobre como la obsesión es el vehículo para llegar a la felicidad. Oates con su visceral estilo nos deja sumergirnos en la mete de variados personajes que tienen en común la infelicidad y el vacío, pero al mismo tiempo son seres que intentan encontrar la esperanza y la redención en esas pasiones. Los personajes de estos relatos están dispuestos a transgredir los "códigos" de nuestra sociedad para por lo menos volver a sentir un poco de esa felicidad tan prometida en estos tiempos.
Sin moralejas o discursos morales, Joyce Carol Oates crea con maestría historias que destilan la insatisfacción, la frustración, la apatía y la desesperanza de las sociedades de la mitad del siglo XX en adelante, y como siempre en sus obras nos deja claro que el sueño americano no existe. Un gran ejemplo de porque esta brillante y prolífica escritora es la eterna nominada al Nobel de Literatura.

[Katy Johnson · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had trouble getting into this collection of short stories, perhaps because I wasn't in the mood to roll around in the darkest, most stomach-turning corners of the human mind (a place in which I should know, by now, Oates perpetually lives). The first section dealt mostly with the obsession of unrequited love. The last section I ended up skimming through, as it focussed heavily on the powerful combination of guns and lust. However, the middle section of this book was a painful, yet beautiful look at the adoration and damnation children form at a young age and are tormented by into adulthood. "Faithless" was particularly phenomenal, and left me gasping. It's not my favorite collection of Oates work, but then again, I may be growing out of my love for her brutal dissection of sex and the sexes.

[Daniel Andreacci · Rating 3 out of 5]

This collection of short stories is not bad, but a little overwhelming. Each one is extremely dark and it gets a little depressing to read when you try to complete the collection. Each story in and of itself is great, but put together is a little much. Otherwise, Joyce Carol Oates is a pretty good writer, seeming to usually focus and write around one conflict (usually those that are complex or unique) and then surrounds that conflict with whichever characters and details she chooses. I would recommend reading certain short stories in here on their own.

[Abc · Rating 3 out of 5]

Una raccolta di racconti che diventano via via più disturbanti.
Di certo la Oates non ci va leggera e presenta personaggi perfidi, vendicativi, cinici e chi più ne ha più ne metta.
Alcuni racconti mi hanno lasciata un po' in sospeso, mentre altri sono inquietanti al punto giusto.
Onestamente da questa autrice, che stimo molto, mi aspettavo qualcosina in più.

[Carrie]

I didn't like her writing style. I read three short stories and had a hard time getting into all of them. Maybe her stuff just isn't for me. I have abondoned the book. I think I'll give it to charity.

[Melissa Massello · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like Joyce Carol Oates, so when I saw this anthology at a yard sale for a dollar it was a no-brainer. But...I just can't seem to get into the stories. Maybe I'll try again.

[Susana Punto Con · Rating 4 out of 5]

Se trata de un libro de relatos breves (21) en el que yo diría que los tres temas sobresalientes son la violencia y el asesinato, el suicidio y la infidelidad. La pareja y la familia son los contextos más frecuentes. Y todo ello desde una perspectiva de venganza, de odio, de terribles sentimientos. Para ser sincera, en estos momentos, los libros de relatos no son la lectura que más me atrae; incluso si disfruto con su lectura, me suelo sentir empachada, sin tiempo ni espacio para asimilar las historias. Y por otra parte, al leer un relato breve, no da casi ni tiempo a decidir cuándo la historia no merece ser leída porque, para cuando te quieres dar cuenta, ya la has terminado. No conocía a Joyce Carol Oates y, tengo que reconocer que, hay un relato en particular que me ha cautivado: Infiel, que da título al libro; el tema, la forma en la que nos va descubriendo la historia de Gretel Nissenbaum, desde los ojos de su hija de 5 años, Nelly, o a veces de su otra hija o de su nieta. La violencia de género en su forma más cruda, sin ser reconocida, es más, convirtiendo a la víctima en un ser despreciable, denostado, precisamente por el simple hecho de serlo... así eran las víctimas de malos tratos en aquellos días, y así lo serán en muchos lugares del mundo en el presente que me son ajenos... Magistral. Ademas, estaré equivocada o no, pero esta historia destila verdad. El libro merece la pena tan solo por ese relato, cuya lectura te recomiendo fervientemente. Respecto al resto del libro, me ha parecido muy irregular; hay relatos que son, como la misma Joyce dice, novelas en miniatura que, tras su lectura, me han resonado, me han dejado un poso, se han quedado conmigo: Au Sable, Preguntas, El pañuelo, ¿Y entonces qué, vida mía?, Secreto, Idilio en Manhattan y La vigilia, pero siento decir que la mayoría de ellos los he leído sin demasiada pasión y alguno en particular me ha resultado insulso (aun sin serlo probablemente). Parece que ha sido candidata al Nobel en más de una ocasión, y quizá en un futuro lea alguna novela de ella. Gracias por Infiel, Joyce.

[AC · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another outstanding collection of stories, possible my favorite of several (so far). The stories I liked best, with rankings:

“Questions” [5++]
“Ugly” [5+]
“Lover” [5+]
“Summer Sweat” [5+]
“Murder-Two” [5+]
“Death Watch” [5+]
“Au Sable” [5]
“Secret, Silent” [5]

“The High School Sweetheart: A Mystery” [4.5]
“The Vigil” [4]
“Physical” [4]

There are another 10 stories that I ranked as 3’s or 3.5’s.

[Birdie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not all of them were winners but some grabbed hold of my heart and didn't let go. God, I love Joyce Carol Oates.

[Ilse Wouters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the short stories in this collection seem to be about the "average guy/woman" possibly living next door to you, leading an unsuspicious life, but turn into something quite creepy, definitely dark... JCO manages not only to sketch these people and their life to perfection, she also surprised me more than once wrapping up the story and always made me wonder whether I had understood alright in the end! Not easy to realize all of that in under 20 pages.

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

My first read of Joyce Carol Oates and I loved it! The stories are united by the theme of transgression. I found all of them to be emotionally intense and intricate (I felt many different things, for different characters, for different reasons) -- each story is its own emotion simulation machine. Also each story was just long enough to get the job done: concise and expertly paced. And each one made me think differently about something important -- she is not at all didactic, and tough questions are refined but not answered. Next up, I will try some of her other short story collections from the same period of her career.

[Andres2185 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Este libro en si bajo su nombre infiel. todas historias no tratan de esa temática, se centra bajo relaciones familiares, conocidos, obsesiones y todo lo que la naturaleza humana nos puede ofrecer, tiene historias muy buenas pero otras son un poco flojas, de bajo contenido y que no llegan a ninguna parte. Las destacables son crudas algo desgarradoras y de finales e interpretaciones abiertas para juicios del lector. En si un libro recomendable para personas pacientes por qué tiene altibajos entre sus narraciones pero cautiva.

[Hannah Goodman · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t like this book. I read on Amazon that no one gave it less than three stars, so maybe something is wrong with me. Her work doesn’t seem timeless, like I though it would. The ending of the first story seemed like a scene from melodrama from the 1950s–an inference that the father killed the mother and buried her in the backyard– and was predictable. I was intrigued by the title, but felt disappointed. Could it just be that I don’t get it?

[Mercedes Urbina · Rating 1 out of 5]

Llegué hasta la página 376 y he decidido dejarlo.... No soy fan de las historias "cortas" y aunque al principio me atrapó, las últimas fueron de lo más aburridas, por más que avanzaba y tenía la esperanza de encontrar algo que me llenará, no cumplió con mis expectativas.... Veo muchos fans de Joyce Oates y eso fue una razón por la que avancé tanto y no lo dejé mucho antes, pero no volveré a leer un libro de ella.