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Rey de Picas: Una novela de suspense
Andrew J. Rush ha conseguido el aplauso del público y la crítica, un éxito con el que sueña la mayoría de los autores. Sus veintiocho novelas policiacas han vendido millones de ejemplares en decenas de países y tiene un poderoso agente y un editor brillante en Nueva York. También tiene una amante esposa y tres hijos ya adultos, y es una gloria local en el pueblo de Nueva Jersey donde reside.
Pero Rush esconde un oscuro secreto. Utilizando el seudónimo Rey de Picas escribe otro tipo de novelas, violentas y espeluznantes: el tipo de libros que el refinado Andrew nunca leería y mucho menos escribiría. Su vida perfecta se viene abajo cuando su hija encuentra una novela de Rey de Picas y comienza a hacer preguntas. Al mismo tiempo, Rush recibe una citación judicial tras ser demandado por una mujer del pueblo que lo acusa de plagio. Mientras la reputación, la familia y la carrera de Rush peligran, los pensamientos de Rey de Picas se vuelven cada vez más malvados.
Pero Rush esconde un oscuro secreto. Utilizando el seudónimo Rey de Picas escribe otro tipo de novelas, violentas y espeluznantes: el tipo de libros que el refinado Andrew nunca leería y mucho menos escribiría. Su vida perfecta se viene abajo cuando su hija encuentra una novela de Rey de Picas y comienza a hacer preguntas. Al mismo tiempo, Rush recibe una citación judicial tras ser demandado por una mujer del pueblo que lo acusa de plagio. Mientras la reputación, la familia y la carrera de Rush peligran, los pensamientos de Rey de Picas se vuelven cada vez más malvados.
229 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 5, 2015
About the author
Joyce Carol Oates
869 books9,880 followersJoyce 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 769 reviews
May 23, 2022
Jack of Spades by Joyce Carol Oates is described as A Tale of Suspense. Suspense indeed – JCO dishes this up so skilfully, I didn’t really know I was in a state of suspense until I was already there. She snuck up on me!
Andrew J. Rush is a very successful writer of the mystery genre, he lives in a small town in New Jersey and is a well-known person about town. He is a very decent man, very decent. He’s married to Irina and they have three adult children who live away from home. Rush also writes under a pseudonym “Jack of Spades”. Rush’s stories are quite formulaic where wins over evil and everyone goes home happy. Whereas Jack of Spades’ stories are nastier, darker, uber-Macho, and quite horrible.
Rush writes his own stories in a thoughtful planned way, but when he writes as Jack of Spades, which is usually around midnight after a couple of whiskies, the writing is more organic or visceral, the words fly onto the page without much consideration. Sometimes he can hardly remember what he wrote. But write them he does, and they sell like hotcakes. Nobody knows he writes under this name, not even the publisher or his family.
Wife, mother, helpmeet. It is good of you to love her. But why do you love her? Is she not one of those who have worn out your love? A wife s an emotional parasite. You are the parasites host. Easily, the wife’s skull might be broken in a fall. In the night, on the steep steps – easily.
Rush receives a letter in the post from a wealthy old lady, C.W. Haider, who accuses him of theft and plagiarism. The letter requests his attendance at t court hearing, failure to attend would result in his arrest. Rush is stunned, as he is a good man who would never do such a thing – this is when the fun starts.
Sick. Macho-male. Novels to make you think – but not nice thoughts
I don’t want to spoil the fun – but we start entering a world where things get a bit murky. Things don’t really seem as they should but this reader thought, quite smugly, he was second guessing what was happening.
Suddenly, I was in a frontloading washing machine, not knowing who was, who, or what was what. But importantly, for someone who is easily befuddled, I wasn’t totally confused. I was still alert and lucent throughout. Maybe like a patient being awake while having one’s appendix removed. Oates was doing something to me (again), I could almost foresee it, I didn’t want it to happen because everyone was so dammed decent – but we don’t always get what we want, right?
Ridiculous, to be playing “Daddy”! Too many years of playing Daddy! No more Daddy than Jack of Spades is Daddy.
It all ended up a bit messy and terribly confronting. Another experience in an Oatesesque world of absolute Oatesisms at its Oatesy best!!!
5 Stars
Andrew J. Rush is a very successful writer of the mystery genre, he lives in a small town in New Jersey and is a well-known person about town. He is a very decent man, very decent. He’s married to Irina and they have three adult children who live away from home. Rush also writes under a pseudonym “Jack of Spades”. Rush’s stories are quite formulaic where wins over evil and everyone goes home happy. Whereas Jack of Spades’ stories are nastier, darker, uber-Macho, and quite horrible.
Rush writes his own stories in a thoughtful planned way, but when he writes as Jack of Spades, which is usually around midnight after a couple of whiskies, the writing is more organic or visceral, the words fly onto the page without much consideration. Sometimes he can hardly remember what he wrote. But write them he does, and they sell like hotcakes. Nobody knows he writes under this name, not even the publisher or his family.
Wife, mother, helpmeet. It is good of you to love her. But why do you love her? Is she not one of those who have worn out your love? A wife s an emotional parasite. You are the parasites host. Easily, the wife’s skull might be broken in a fall. In the night, on the steep steps – easily.
Rush receives a letter in the post from a wealthy old lady, C.W. Haider, who accuses him of theft and plagiarism. The letter requests his attendance at t court hearing, failure to attend would result in his arrest. Rush is stunned, as he is a good man who would never do such a thing – this is when the fun starts.
Sick. Macho-male. Novels to make you think – but not nice thoughts
I don’t want to spoil the fun – but we start entering a world where things get a bit murky. Things don’t really seem as they should but this reader thought, quite smugly, he was second guessing what was happening.
Suddenly, I was in a frontloading washing machine, not knowing who was, who, or what was what. But importantly, for someone who is easily befuddled, I wasn’t totally confused. I was still alert and lucent throughout. Maybe like a patient being awake while having one’s appendix removed. Oates was doing something to me (again), I could almost foresee it, I didn’t want it to happen because everyone was so dammed decent – but we don’t always get what we want, right?
Ridiculous, to be playing “Daddy”! Too many years of playing Daddy! No more Daddy than Jack of Spades is Daddy.
It all ended up a bit messy and terribly confronting. Another experience in an Oatesesque world of absolute Oatesisms at its Oatesy best!!!
5 Stars
May 5, 2015
This book's page count is listed as 208, but it felt much shorter than that to me. This mystery/thriller/psychological story flies by, while the reader is always wondering what the hell is going on?
Andrew Rush is a mystery/thriller novelist and quite a successful one at that. He also writes under the pseudonym "Jack of Spades". Jack writes very different books than Mr. Rush. Jack's books are gory and avoided by the literati, while Andrew is celebrated as the "Gentlemen's Stephen King."
Things begin to go sideways when Andrew is summoned to court by a woman who claims he robbed her house and stole her works in progress-her writing. She's calling him out in public as a plagiarist and he cannot stand for it.
Enough rehashing of the plot. This book constantly left me guessing. I couldn't pluck out even one thread and follow it to a logical conclusion. I could only hang on and enjoy the ride, and that? That I did because it was one hell of a ride!
In the past, the work of Joyce Carol Oates been hit or miss with me. I'm happy to report this book was a major hit. Fast paced, always leaving the reader guessing with major plot twists-this book was a delicious treat.
Highly recommended for fans of fast paced mysteries and thrillers, and also to fans of psychological tales with a dash of the horrific.
Andrew Rush is a mystery/thriller novelist and quite a successful one at that. He also writes under the pseudonym "Jack of Spades". Jack writes very different books than Mr. Rush. Jack's books are gory and avoided by the literati, while Andrew is celebrated as the "Gentlemen's Stephen King."
Things begin to go sideways when Andrew is summoned to court by a woman who claims he robbed her house and stole her works in progress-her writing. She's calling him out in public as a plagiarist and he cannot stand for it.
Enough rehashing of the plot. This book constantly left me guessing. I couldn't pluck out even one thread and follow it to a logical conclusion. I could only hang on and enjoy the ride, and that? That I did because it was one hell of a ride!
In the past, the work of Joyce Carol Oates been hit or miss with me. I'm happy to report this book was a major hit. Fast paced, always leaving the reader guessing with major plot twists-this book was a delicious treat.
Highly recommended for fans of fast paced mysteries and thrillers, and also to fans of psychological tales with a dash of the horrific.
January 14, 2015
Irresistible -clever- psychological -suspense brain teaser!
From the first page I was hooked --(all readers will be hooked)
Tremendous enjoyment --with one of the most interesting-complex-*twistie* (I made up that word), characters in 'any' book I've read in years!
To say much more, will take the fun away for the reader. It does not matter if you've ever read Joyce Carol Oats before or not --I can't imagine anyone --(I'm serious) --not being completely swept away into the world of "Jack of Spades".
And by the way, Joyce Carol Oats...."DAMN, the Woman can Write"!
Highly Recommended! A great book club pick!
From the first page I was hooked --(all readers will be hooked)
Tremendous enjoyment --with one of the most interesting-complex-*twistie* (I made up that word), characters in 'any' book I've read in years!
To say much more, will take the fun away for the reader. It does not matter if you've ever read Joyce Carol Oats before or not --I can't imagine anyone --(I'm serious) --not being completely swept away into the world of "Jack of Spades".
And by the way, Joyce Carol Oats...."DAMN, the Woman can Write"!
Highly Recommended! A great book club pick!
June 14, 2016
Novelist Graham Greene once classified his books into two groups: serious literary works and more popular “entertainments.”
I’m not sure whether Joyce Carol Oates, who slides easily among genres, has done the same thing with her own considerable oeuvre. But after reading her more ambitious and substantial novel We Were The Mulvaneys a few weeks ago, this novel – subtitled “a tale of suspense” – feels thin by comparison. Thin, but still moderately entertaining.
Bestselling novelist Andrew J. Rush is harbouring a very big secret. He’s known, and respected, for his mystery novels, which have sold in the millions. But unbeknownst to everyone – including his wife and children – he also writes a series of brutal, violent thrillers under the pen name Jack Of Spades. (Note: Oates herself has assumed several pen names.)
When an irascible older woman accuses Rush of plagiarizing her own work, he slowly becomes unhinged. The woman has no case – she’s accused other writers, including Stephen King, of ripping her off. But for some reason Rush begins looking into the woman’s life, rifling through her files and coveting her collection of first edition books.
Meanwhile, he’s having difficulty finishing a new novel, and the voice in his head that generates the Jack Of Spades books starts getting stronger. That voice, in a typical Oates mannerism, is written in very, very significant and symbolic italics.
It’s all pretty silly and includes an obvious, rather hackneyed backstory involving the childhood death of Rush’s brother. But characters never grow beyond two dimensions, and there’s not much suspense.
Still, book lovers will appreciate all the literary references, especially to things like Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde and Edgar Allan Poe’s story “The Black Cat.” And Oates has lots of fun with the Stephen King references. In fact, I wonder if Uncle Stevie had to give his approval to be used so much.
I’m not sure whether Joyce Carol Oates, who slides easily among genres, has done the same thing with her own considerable oeuvre. But after reading her more ambitious and substantial novel We Were The Mulvaneys a few weeks ago, this novel – subtitled “a tale of suspense” – feels thin by comparison. Thin, but still moderately entertaining.
Bestselling novelist Andrew J. Rush is harbouring a very big secret. He’s known, and respected, for his mystery novels, which have sold in the millions. But unbeknownst to everyone – including his wife and children – he also writes a series of brutal, violent thrillers under the pen name Jack Of Spades. (Note: Oates herself has assumed several pen names.)
When an irascible older woman accuses Rush of plagiarizing her own work, he slowly becomes unhinged. The woman has no case – she’s accused other writers, including Stephen King, of ripping her off. But for some reason Rush begins looking into the woman’s life, rifling through her files and coveting her collection of first edition books.
Meanwhile, he’s having difficulty finishing a new novel, and the voice in his head that generates the Jack Of Spades books starts getting stronger. That voice, in a typical Oates mannerism, is written in very, very significant and symbolic italics.
It’s all pretty silly and includes an obvious, rather hackneyed backstory involving the childhood death of Rush’s brother. But characters never grow beyond two dimensions, and there’s not much suspense.
Still, book lovers will appreciate all the literary references, especially to things like Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde and Edgar Allan Poe’s story “The Black Cat.” And Oates has lots of fun with the Stephen King references. In fact, I wonder if Uncle Stevie had to give his approval to be used so much.
July 2, 2015
Everytime I read one of this author's book, I ask myself. "How does she do it?" She is incredibly prolific, writes a wide range of material. from novellas like this one, to short stories and long novels. Yet, she manages to write complex scenarios time and time again.
This is a twisty psychological one. Can't say I liked the main character much, but that doesn't really matter in this story. Maybe you are not meant too, because what happens to him mentally is the story and it is in turns frightening and maybe a bit of a warning. One can have everything and then have it taken away, become to immersed in a creation and let it take over. Or maybe a thought process. Strange, like many of her books, but thought provoking at the same time.
This is a twisty psychological one. Can't say I liked the main character much, but that doesn't really matter in this story. Maybe you are not meant too, because what happens to him mentally is the story and it is in turns frightening and maybe a bit of a warning. One can have everything and then have it taken away, become to immersed in a creation and let it take over. Or maybe a thought process. Strange, like many of her books, but thought provoking at the same time.
August 15, 2015
This is a battle between two writers, more or less. Andrew is a gentleman, a family man, who writes cozy mysteries and enjoys a fair amount of success. The other is Andrew's 'noir-self', Jack of Spades, who pens nasty novels of violent depravity. An unexpected lawsuit launched against Andrew for plagiarism by an elderly town nutter starts a ricochet of mind games between Andrew and . . . himself? As things ratchet up, the writer begins to grind his teeth as he listens to his skewed muse.
February 10, 2015
This book was certainly a page turner and a quick read, although I really just wanted it to be over. Andrew J. Rush is a successful mystery author -- married with a wife and three grown children. He also secretly (not even known to his wife and children) writes under the pseudonym Jack of Spades - and these books are dark, violent thrillers.
The book starts with Rush receiving a court summons that a woman in nearby locale is accusing him of stealing - basically plagiarism. He feels threatened and slowly, the unbidden Jack of Spades within Rush starts coming out.
The book is peppered with Stephen King references and I don't typically read King's more dark novels, so I can't say if there's a comparison here. Overall, I didn't find the book scary, or even that psychologically interesting, but a bit stupid. While a character in a novel like this shouldn't be likeable, per se, you should have some sort of admiration for their cunning. Instead, I just found Rush annoying and stupid.
Oates provides us with a back-story that is supposed to explain Rush's pathology, but it seems thinly constructed. The whole premise just seems off. I can't imagine someone not picking up on this guy and his behavior, his wife not just walking out, his kids not just taking their mother away, etc. It was just not my cup of tea.
(Note: I received an advance ebook copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
The book starts with Rush receiving a court summons that a woman in nearby locale is accusing him of stealing - basically plagiarism. He feels threatened and slowly, the unbidden Jack of Spades within Rush starts coming out.
The book is peppered with Stephen King references and I don't typically read King's more dark novels, so I can't say if there's a comparison here. Overall, I didn't find the book scary, or even that psychologically interesting, but a bit stupid. While a character in a novel like this shouldn't be likeable, per se, you should have some sort of admiration for their cunning. Instead, I just found Rush annoying and stupid.
Oates provides us with a back-story that is supposed to explain Rush's pathology, but it seems thinly constructed. The whole premise just seems off. I can't imagine someone not picking up on this guy and his behavior, his wife not just walking out, his kids not just taking their mother away, etc. It was just not my cup of tea.
(Note: I received an advance ebook copy of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.)
April 14, 2015
It's unbelievable to me how some authors just never get it wrong. Joyce Carol Oates is inarguably one of those writers. Her plots are always fresh and her characters are so vivid you'd think these people truly exist.
Jack of Spades is a suspensful and you can feel something sinister lurking beneath the surface of successful mystery writer Andrew J Rush. On the surface he is a living family man and pillar of community. Sure he writes dark and almost forbidden novel under a pseudonym Jack of Spades. But he's a writer and like all of us, had a dark side. Then you start wondering just how dark this dark side goes and if it limited to just the pages of Jack of Spades novels.
This book kept guessing and often the little airs on my neck would stand up. Did I mention I read this book in a day and a half.? Could not put it down.
Jack of Spades is a suspensful and you can feel something sinister lurking beneath the surface of successful mystery writer Andrew J Rush. On the surface he is a living family man and pillar of community. Sure he writes dark and almost forbidden novel under a pseudonym Jack of Spades. But he's a writer and like all of us, had a dark side. Then you start wondering just how dark this dark side goes and if it limited to just the pages of Jack of Spades novels.
This book kept guessing and often the little airs on my neck would stand up. Did I mention I read this book in a day and a half.? Could not put it down.
May 14, 2015
This is a fast and mesmerizing read. Starts off a tad slow with more back story than I wanted—-the current action of the story doesn’t hit until page 17, but once it does, you're riding high into a twisty psychological drama. Andrew J. Rush is a successful traditional author married to the dull Irina, with grown children who don’t seem to like him very much. A narcissistic troubled man, he writes evil novels of murder and deceit under the pen name of Jack of Spades and no one knows he’s the author, not even his family. When threatened with a plagiarist law suit, Andrew starts to unravel and “Jack of Spades” becomes a streaming voice in his head. Or maybe Jack was always a streaming voice in his head? Mysterious and thrilling, disturbing, Jack of Spades is an exciting mystery for all readers who love the dark side of the mind to creep up on you. I especially liked how Oates weaved in references of famous horror authors like King, Poe, Shelley, Stoker, Le Fanu, Henry James into the story … or should I say into the mind of Jack. If you are a writer—of mystery or horror—this is a novel you won’t want to miss.
February 25, 2022
No JCO, no es por ahí! Me estás vendiendo la historia de doctor Jekyll y Mr. Hide refritada!
Bueno, es así, el protagonista sufre de trastorno disociativo de identidad al igual que el personaje creado por Stevenson en 1886. Nada nuevo bajo el sol.
Había leído anteriormente “Tan cerca en todo momento siempre” de Oates y realmente me gustó mucho. Pero esta obra es una copia del clásico libro.
Adicionalmente, el lenguaje es llano, la prosa es común, sin recursos literarios. Una pena.
Bueno, es así, el protagonista sufre de trastorno disociativo de identidad al igual que el personaje creado por Stevenson en 1886. Nada nuevo bajo el sol.
Había leído anteriormente “Tan cerca en todo momento siempre” de Oates y realmente me gustó mucho. Pero esta obra es una copia del clásico libro.
Adicionalmente, el lenguaje es llano, la prosa es común, sin recursos literarios. Una pena.
November 25, 2018
Bless her heart.
January 22, 2020
Jack deve morire, ovvero Jack of Spades, il fante di picche, titolo originale di questo romanzo breve del 2015. Parte da un’idea non originalissima: uno scrittore famoso usa uno pseudonimo per pubblicare romanzi turpi; seguono eventi sinistri. Richiamando la trama di varie storie di Stephen King (e la sua stessa vita), Joyce Carol Oates mette le mani avanti e cita esplicitamente King fin dalla prima pagina. Abbiamo dunque il protagonista e voce narrante Andrew, autore di thriller bestseller, che viene definito un “King gentiluomo”; Andrew ci spiega come, pur essendo un autore di successo, non sia nemmeno lontanamente ricco e famoso quanto King; nel corso della storia continuerà a chiamarlo in causa, usando anche una storpiatura del suo nome per identificarsi.
Quello tra il personaggio e lo scrittore horror è un gioco di specchi in cui il riflesso viene sempre rimpicciolito: così come non c’è paragone tra Andrew e Stephen King – perché King vince su tutti i fronti – Oates mette in chiaro che con questo libro non è il paragone, quello che sta cercando. D’altra parte, sono numerosissimi i casi in cui uno scrittore di fama discreta usa uno pseudonimo per pubblicare romanzi considerati più “bassi”; la stessa Joyce Carol Oates lo ha fatto, pubblicando una decina di mistery coi nomi Rosamond Smith e Lauren Kelly. Oates è una delle autrici più prolifiche di tutti i tempi, credo, e ha sperimentato in prima persona lo sdoppiamento letterario.
In questo racconto, la quiete del protagonista viene disturbata da una signora anziana dai modi enfatici, vestita con abiti dal taglio mascolino e vittima di crisi epilettiche che paiono delle possessioni. La voce di Andrew esplicita la similitudine: la signora è come una strega, e le sue invettive sono per lui maledizioni. Seppure lo spunto sia fiabesco, va a inserirsi in una storia dove tutti gli elementi di conflitto sembrano riguardare la relazione che il protagonista ha con le donne che fanno parte della sua vita. A ben vedere, la “strega” corrisponde a un’incarnazione teatrale e grottesca della paura e della sopraffazione che fanno parte dei rapporti che Andrew ha con moglie e figlia.
Ma non è questo, il terreno che Oates va a esplorare. Menziona parecchi autori e autrici horror e thriller; tira in ballo un tema classico, lo scrittore e il suo doppio, la metà oscura; gioca esplicitamente con la citazione di Edgar Allan Poe, col classico dei classici, Il gatto nero; e richiama la doppiezza dei soliti Doc Jeckyll e signor Hyde. Cosa sta dicendo, allora, Joyce Carol Oates?
SPOILER MINORI
Il conflitto in questa storia è innescato da un’accusa di plagio nei confronti del protagonista. Anzi, non solo nei suoi confronti; persino Stephen King è chiamato in causa, e con lui altri romanzieri (tutti maschi e bianchi, forse non per caso). La misteriosa “strega” è una specie di Guido Morselli che colleziona autopubblicazioni e lettere di rifiuto per più di 40 anni. Eppure, i suoi romanzi imperfetti sembrano anticipare le trame di quelli che poi diventano i bestseller di scrittori come King. Andrew è sicuro di non averla plagiata; eppure, entrambi hanno avuto idee molto simili. Ho pensato che forse Oates in questo romanzo parli soprattutto di come, dentro a un certo canone e a una tradizione letteraria (l’horror americano), alla fine le idee siano più o meno sempre le stesse; e che il punto allora non sia chi plagia cosa, perché non ha senso parlare di plagio.
Qual è allora, il punto? Forse, a far la differenza, non è nemmeno il saper scrivere bene o male. Quando parla di C. W. Haider, l’anziana scrittrice morselliana, Andrew riflette sul fatto che i suoi modi ambiziosi e il suo aspetto mascolino non l’abbiano di certo aiutata a fare carriera in un ambito che predilige il maschio, come l’horror negli USA. Oates descrive Andrew come un vecchio bianco privilegiato, ricco, vanitoso, un po’ razzista, e tutto sommato mediocre come scrittore. Penso allora che uno dei temi di questo psychothriller sia la difficoltà incontrata da tutti quei soggetti che non corrispondono alla descrizione di Andrew.
Il romanzo è carino, appassionante, ma, per l’appunto, non particolarmente originale: per sua natura deve essere una variazione sul tema. È molto corto, e si legge d’un fiato. Mi lascia con un interrogativo, e cioè se nell’horror odierno sia davvero impossibile produrre qualcosa di originale senza dover per forza citare e omaggiare tutto il secolo e mezzo precedente (al cinema come nei libri).
Particolarmente bella la copertina scelta dal Saggiatore.
Quello tra il personaggio e lo scrittore horror è un gioco di specchi in cui il riflesso viene sempre rimpicciolito: così come non c’è paragone tra Andrew e Stephen King – perché King vince su tutti i fronti – Oates mette in chiaro che con questo libro non è il paragone, quello che sta cercando. D’altra parte, sono numerosissimi i casi in cui uno scrittore di fama discreta usa uno pseudonimo per pubblicare romanzi considerati più “bassi”; la stessa Joyce Carol Oates lo ha fatto, pubblicando una decina di mistery coi nomi Rosamond Smith e Lauren Kelly. Oates è una delle autrici più prolifiche di tutti i tempi, credo, e ha sperimentato in prima persona lo sdoppiamento letterario.
In questo racconto, la quiete del protagonista viene disturbata da una signora anziana dai modi enfatici, vestita con abiti dal taglio mascolino e vittima di crisi epilettiche che paiono delle possessioni. La voce di Andrew esplicita la similitudine: la signora è come una strega, e le sue invettive sono per lui maledizioni. Seppure lo spunto sia fiabesco, va a inserirsi in una storia dove tutti gli elementi di conflitto sembrano riguardare la relazione che il protagonista ha con le donne che fanno parte della sua vita. A ben vedere, la “strega” corrisponde a un’incarnazione teatrale e grottesca della paura e della sopraffazione che fanno parte dei rapporti che Andrew ha con moglie e figlia.
Ma non è questo, il terreno che Oates va a esplorare. Menziona parecchi autori e autrici horror e thriller; tira in ballo un tema classico, lo scrittore e il suo doppio, la metà oscura; gioca esplicitamente con la citazione di Edgar Allan Poe, col classico dei classici, Il gatto nero; e richiama la doppiezza dei soliti Doc Jeckyll e signor Hyde. Cosa sta dicendo, allora, Joyce Carol Oates?
SPOILER MINORI
Il conflitto in questa storia è innescato da un’accusa di plagio nei confronti del protagonista. Anzi, non solo nei suoi confronti; persino Stephen King è chiamato in causa, e con lui altri romanzieri (tutti maschi e bianchi, forse non per caso). La misteriosa “strega” è una specie di Guido Morselli che colleziona autopubblicazioni e lettere di rifiuto per più di 40 anni. Eppure, i suoi romanzi imperfetti sembrano anticipare le trame di quelli che poi diventano i bestseller di scrittori come King. Andrew è sicuro di non averla plagiata; eppure, entrambi hanno avuto idee molto simili. Ho pensato che forse Oates in questo romanzo parli soprattutto di come, dentro a un certo canone e a una tradizione letteraria (l’horror americano), alla fine le idee siano più o meno sempre le stesse; e che il punto allora non sia chi plagia cosa, perché non ha senso parlare di plagio.
Qual è allora, il punto? Forse, a far la differenza, non è nemmeno il saper scrivere bene o male. Quando parla di C. W. Haider, l’anziana scrittrice morselliana, Andrew riflette sul fatto che i suoi modi ambiziosi e il suo aspetto mascolino non l’abbiano di certo aiutata a fare carriera in un ambito che predilige il maschio, come l’horror negli USA. Oates descrive Andrew come un vecchio bianco privilegiato, ricco, vanitoso, un po’ razzista, e tutto sommato mediocre come scrittore. Penso allora che uno dei temi di questo psychothriller sia la difficoltà incontrata da tutti quei soggetti che non corrispondono alla descrizione di Andrew.
Il romanzo è carino, appassionante, ma, per l’appunto, non particolarmente originale: per sua natura deve essere una variazione sul tema. È molto corto, e si legge d’un fiato. Mi lascia con un interrogativo, e cioè se nell’horror odierno sia davvero impossibile produrre qualcosa di originale senza dover per forza citare e omaggiare tutto il secolo e mezzo precedente (al cinema come nei libri).
Particolarmente bella la copertina scelta dal Saggiatore.
February 25, 2017
La historia de un novelista hacia la locura más absoluta.
Grata sorpresa en mis estreno con la autora. Repetiré seguro ¿Recomendaciones?
Grata sorpresa en mis estreno con la autora. Repetiré seguro ¿Recomendaciones?
March 12, 2020
La verdad es que no encuentro nada a destacar. Muy regular.
December 22, 2024
Perhaps if Haider been more attractive, or in some way more feminine, she might have convinced an editor to read her work seriously, and to help her revise it for publication. But that was not to be. No wonder the poor woman had gone mad.
April 26, 2015
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for an opportunity to read an advance copy of Jack of Spades. So I have to start with a confession. Up to now, I had never read anything by Joyce Carol Oates. I'm not sure how representative this book is, but I really enjoyed it. In concept and in size it is more like a short story or novella. It short, tight and focused. The first person narrator is Andrew Rush, a well respected writer of conventional mysteries -- but not famous like Stephen King we are reminded many times. And under the pseudonym of Jack of Spades, he also writes very dark thrillers. No one knows that Rush is the writer of the Jack of Spades books, including his wife and children. With that set up,unfolds a very dark narrative about the narrator's inner struggle over whether he is in fact the wholesome Rush or the dark Jack of Spades. I can't say much more without giving any spoilers away. Ultimately, the story takes us on a ride to a fairly predictable end, but the narration is very clever and Oates' writing is excellent. Well worth the read if you're in the mood for something, short, dark and clever.
August 20, 2015
Read it in about a day, short book.
Well I love Joyce Carol Oates, read many of her books and short story collections. I love her book, 'The Accursed,' it's so rich with characters, plot complexity, multiple sub-plots and eerie huge-manse with deep-woods settings. But having said that...
This book is nothing like that. Simple plot, smaller cast of characters, and except for the MC most of the characters are hardly fleshed-out. Written first person, which I also like, but in this case it sort of dies on its feet. (The perspective, not the character.)
The story's about a man who has built a fairly lucrative career writing mystery novels. He's not as famous, or as rich, as the big guys, but he's more than comfortably well-off. Problem is he also writes under a pseudonym, Jake of Spades, as a sort of shock-horror writer. So when he writes in his little 'writing nook' at the computer, he's himself. When he writes at his worn little table on sheets of legal paper, he's Jack. But who is he, really? And what do the past events of his life have to do with his writing, his family, and even his sanity?
This could have been a great book. It needed to be longer though, with more twists and turns and revelations and false leads, etc. But it's short, to the point, and we get to see only a little ways into the warped and ruined psyche of Andrew Rush, the mystery writer.
Just three sad stars. (I'd have given it two, but I like Ms. Oates too much.)
Well I love Joyce Carol Oates, read many of her books and short story collections. I love her book, 'The Accursed,' it's so rich with characters, plot complexity, multiple sub-plots and eerie huge-manse with deep-woods settings. But having said that...
This book is nothing like that. Simple plot, smaller cast of characters, and except for the MC most of the characters are hardly fleshed-out. Written first person, which I also like, but in this case it sort of dies on its feet. (The perspective, not the character.)
The story's about a man who has built a fairly lucrative career writing mystery novels. He's not as famous, or as rich, as the big guys, but he's more than comfortably well-off. Problem is he also writes under a pseudonym, Jake of Spades, as a sort of shock-horror writer. So when he writes in his little 'writing nook' at the computer, he's himself. When he writes at his worn little table on sheets of legal paper, he's Jack. But who is he, really? And what do the past events of his life have to do with his writing, his family, and even his sanity?
This could have been a great book. It needed to be longer though, with more twists and turns and revelations and false leads, etc. But it's short, to the point, and we get to see only a little ways into the warped and ruined psyche of Andrew Rush, the mystery writer.
Just three sad stars. (I'd have given it two, but I like Ms. Oates too much.)
May 6, 2015
Absolutely loved it! While reading it I kept thinking Wes Anderson should make this into a movie! It's so quirky and ridiculous and so highly addictive!
Now grant it the main character ( Andrew Rush/Jack of Spades ) is not very like-able, but you will get so so swept up in his crazy that you will not want to put this psychological thrill ride of a book down. I am not going to say much because I don't want to ruin this twisted tale, but if I had a dollar for every time Stephen King was mentioned I'd be a very rich woman ( well not really but I'd have a lot of money in my wallet! Lol ). I'm sad it's over! Highly recommend!
Now grant it the main character ( Andrew Rush/Jack of Spades ) is not very like-able, but you will get so so swept up in his crazy that you will not want to put this psychological thrill ride of a book down. I am not going to say much because I don't want to ruin this twisted tale, but if I had a dollar for every time Stephen King was mentioned I'd be a very rich woman ( well not really but I'd have a lot of money in my wallet! Lol ). I'm sad it's over! Highly recommend!
February 5, 2023
Not a bad start for my very first Joyce Carol Oates read! Her style of writing seemed stylish and flowing. Her descriptions were vivid. The story itself turned out to be quite dark and tragic. It was fun to read and it went pretty fast. I'm looking forward to reading more books by her!
May 17, 2022
No me ha llegado a convencer del todo. No está mal la idea pero...
May 13, 2015
A dark, character-centric psychological story told by an unreliable narrator. The plot is similar to Stephen King's The Dark Half, but it really puts you inside the head of Andrew, a writer who's mentally spiralling out of control. The book is very self-referential, mentioning horror/mystery writers alot, especially Stephen King. Andrew even mentions not wanting to open up the book The Dark Half, as it hits too close to home for him. Oates must've had a ball writing this one! While the story's not exactly original, it is fast-paced and the writing is good. Worth reading.
April 15, 2026
This interesting gothic novel begins with a quote from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Imp of the Perverse":
The writer becomes more and more like the wild Jack of Spades: drinking more booze, talking to himself, and becoming more alienated from his family. And that's only for starters.
We stand upon the brink of a precipice. We peer into the abyss -- we grow sick and dizzy. Our first impulse is to shrink from the danger. Unaccountably, we remain.It seems that quite a bit of Poe rubbed off on Joyce Carol Oates, whose Jack of Spades is a fascinating study of a prominent writer of mystery novels who has a second persona who writes darker fiction under the name of Jack of Spades.
The writer becomes more and more like the wild Jack of Spades: drinking more booze, talking to himself, and becoming more alienated from his family. And that's only for starters.
February 25, 2026
I discussed this excellent novel in my Nightmare Magazine essay, "Plumbing the Depths: Haunted Writers and Haunted Writings."
Joyce Carol Oates's Jack of Spades renders explicit the ways that horror literature writes and thinks about itself, a trait endemic to the form since its eighteenth-century Gothic inception (look no further than the dizzying proto-meta elements of Walpole's The Castle of Otranto). Oates is an educator and scholar of the Gothic tradition (on top of all her writings within the tradition, she has edited anthologies of American Gothic, body horror, and H. P. Lovecraft's fiction), and Jack of Spades brilliantly consolidates her understanding of genre history as practice.
The book is filled with literary allusions, putting itself most explicitly in conversation with Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King. In fact, Jack of Spades incorporates King himself as a sort of spectral presence, an epistolary ghost who lurks in the wings without ever physically appearing onstage. It's worth noting that Oates has anthologized and twice introduced King as a guest speaker at Princeton University—though the mutually prolific authors' oeuvres differ significantly, both present career-long studies of the American psyche's darkest corners.
Explicitly acknowledging its indebtedness to King's reflexive doppelgänger novel The Dark Half, Jack of Spades scrutinizes horror's social truths with uncomfortable intimacy: both novels depict "respectable" novelists who sublimate their most violent impulses through vicious pseudonymous writings, and both novels see bloody holes forming in the membrane between fiction and reality, author and text.
Oates writes Jack of Spades in lean, sinewy prose befitting her protagonist's deteriorating psychological state—this is a masterclass in unreliable narration. Despite its breathless plotting, the book incorporates a breadth of meta and intertextual play, wickedly teasing out the layers of fictionality and what might just be a gaping void beneath them all.
Joyce Carol Oates's Jack of Spades renders explicit the ways that horror literature writes and thinks about itself, a trait endemic to the form since its eighteenth-century Gothic inception (look no further than the dizzying proto-meta elements of Walpole's The Castle of Otranto). Oates is an educator and scholar of the Gothic tradition (on top of all her writings within the tradition, she has edited anthologies of American Gothic, body horror, and H. P. Lovecraft's fiction), and Jack of Spades brilliantly consolidates her understanding of genre history as practice.
The book is filled with literary allusions, putting itself most explicitly in conversation with Edgar Allan Poe and Stephen King. In fact, Jack of Spades incorporates King himself as a sort of spectral presence, an epistolary ghost who lurks in the wings without ever physically appearing onstage. It's worth noting that Oates has anthologized and twice introduced King as a guest speaker at Princeton University—though the mutually prolific authors' oeuvres differ significantly, both present career-long studies of the American psyche's darkest corners.
Explicitly acknowledging its indebtedness to King's reflexive doppelgänger novel The Dark Half, Jack of Spades scrutinizes horror's social truths with uncomfortable intimacy: both novels depict "respectable" novelists who sublimate their most violent impulses through vicious pseudonymous writings, and both novels see bloody holes forming in the membrane between fiction and reality, author and text.
Oates writes Jack of Spades in lean, sinewy prose befitting her protagonist's deteriorating psychological state—this is a masterclass in unreliable narration. Despite its breathless plotting, the book incorporates a breadth of meta and intertextual play, wickedly teasing out the layers of fictionality and what might just be a gaping void beneath them all.
June 10, 2018
No es el tipo de libros que suelo leer. No es mi género favorito ni me gusta Stephen King ni nada que se le parezca, por todo lo anterior, no me gustó, pese a que se lee muy rápido y no sentí la necesidad de dejarlo a mitad de camino. No eres tú, soy yo, Joyce.
Algunas pocas frases para el recuerdo
Julia es, de nuestros tres hijos, la intelectual, con un major en lingüística y teoría literaria por la Universidad Brown; una titulación fascinante pero inútil que no parece haberla ayudado a encontrar ningún trabajo remunerado.
No es el terror de un cráneo hundido, de la sangre derramada, de la muerte. Es el terror anodino de la vida de todos los días.
Sucede con frecuencia que un hijo único tiene una infancia feliz porque no existen rivales que puedan disputarle el cariño de sus padres.
Una mujer es particularmente deseable cuando se siente, o imagina que se siente, sutilmente rechazada.
Me resulta muy molesto que personas de mi familia me aborden con precauciones. Lo encuentro del todo desconcertante.
Muchas personas están convencidas de que aparecen en obras de ficción. Es como ver un reflejo en un espejo, creyendo que eres tú cuando no es verdad.
No es frecuente oír la voz de la locura. La voz verdadera, que te rompe el corazón, de la locura de otra persona.
La enfermedad mental no es una elección ni una alternativa, y no se debe confundir con un comportamiento delictivo.
Quizá empecé a enamorarme porque Irina Kacinzk veía por entonces en mí más de lo que veía yo mismo.
Lo que me ha interesado después ha sido la posesión y exhibición de libros y no su lectura, por muy obras maestras que fuesen.
Es notable cuánto tiempo sobra en una casa vacía.
Para destruir el mal hay que destruir al ser habitado por el mal, incluso si se trata de uno mismo.
Algunas pocas frases para el recuerdo
Julia es, de nuestros tres hijos, la intelectual, con un major en lingüística y teoría literaria por la Universidad Brown; una titulación fascinante pero inútil que no parece haberla ayudado a encontrar ningún trabajo remunerado.
No es el terror de un cráneo hundido, de la sangre derramada, de la muerte. Es el terror anodino de la vida de todos los días.
Sucede con frecuencia que un hijo único tiene una infancia feliz porque no existen rivales que puedan disputarle el cariño de sus padres.
Una mujer es particularmente deseable cuando se siente, o imagina que se siente, sutilmente rechazada.
Me resulta muy molesto que personas de mi familia me aborden con precauciones. Lo encuentro del todo desconcertante.
Muchas personas están convencidas de que aparecen en obras de ficción. Es como ver un reflejo en un espejo, creyendo que eres tú cuando no es verdad.
No es frecuente oír la voz de la locura. La voz verdadera, que te rompe el corazón, de la locura de otra persona.
La enfermedad mental no es una elección ni una alternativa, y no se debe confundir con un comportamiento delictivo.
Quizá empecé a enamorarme porque Irina Kacinzk veía por entonces en mí más de lo que veía yo mismo.
Lo que me ha interesado después ha sido la posesión y exhibición de libros y no su lectura, por muy obras maestras que fuesen.
Es notable cuánto tiempo sobra en una casa vacía.
Para destruir el mal hay que destruir al ser habitado por el mal, incluso si se trata de uno mismo.
September 6, 2017
Mi primera novela de Joyce Carol Oates. No voy a mentir, llegué a ella con altísimas expectativas pues el par de cuentos sueltos que había leído de la autora en algunas antologías, me había fascinado. Creo que Rey de Picas no estuvo a la altura de lo que esperaba y es por eso que le di 3 -en realidad 3.5- estrellas.
Sin embargo, bajo ningún concepto es un libro malo. Desde la primera página logra atraparte con la descripción de un crimen que poco a poco irá tomando forma en las páginas de esta historia.
El libro es un franco homenaje a grandes autores, en particular a Edgar Allan Poe y -como fanática del horror- me emocionaba cada vez que se mencionaba a Sheridan le Fanu, Bram Stoker e incluso a Clive Barker. Más aún, puede argumentarse que el propio Stephen King es uno de los personajes que intervienen en esta historia.
El argumento central, me parece, es el miedo de perder el control de uno mismo, el yo vs. el otro. ¿Se imaginan lo terrible que debe ser tener lagunas mentales en las que no estás seguro de qué demonios hiciste? ¿Puedes saber de qué eres capaz realmente? O peor aún... ¿qué tal que hay otra personalidad escondida dentro de ti, intentando salir?
A estas preguntas se enfrentará el exitoso escrito Andrew J. Rush, quien escribe también bajo otra identidad literaria secreta: Rey de Picas.
En suma, una novela entretenida y ligera, ideal para cuando estás en un bloqueo lector. A quienes sean fans de los thrillers y libros de misterio, puede que la trama se les haga no tan original pero la forma en que Joyce Carol Oates la ejecuta, vale la pena.
Sin embargo, bajo ningún concepto es un libro malo. Desde la primera página logra atraparte con la descripción de un crimen que poco a poco irá tomando forma en las páginas de esta historia.
El libro es un franco homenaje a grandes autores, en particular a Edgar Allan Poe y -como fanática del horror- me emocionaba cada vez que se mencionaba a Sheridan le Fanu, Bram Stoker e incluso a Clive Barker. Más aún, puede argumentarse que el propio Stephen King es uno de los personajes que intervienen en esta historia.
El argumento central, me parece, es el miedo de perder el control de uno mismo, el yo vs. el otro. ¿Se imaginan lo terrible que debe ser tener lagunas mentales en las que no estás seguro de qué demonios hiciste? ¿Puedes saber de qué eres capaz realmente? O peor aún... ¿qué tal que hay otra personalidad escondida dentro de ti, intentando salir?
A estas preguntas se enfrentará el exitoso escrito Andrew J. Rush, quien escribe también bajo otra identidad literaria secreta: Rey de Picas.
En suma, una novela entretenida y ligera, ideal para cuando estás en un bloqueo lector. A quienes sean fans de los thrillers y libros de misterio, puede que la trama se les haga no tan original pero la forma en que Joyce Carol Oates la ejecuta, vale la pena.
December 22, 2015
Andrew J. Rush is a successful author. He writes “vanilla” books that can be appreciated by the masses. Jack of Spades does not write “vanilla”, he shocks and offends. No one would know that these two are one in the same. How far will Jack of Spades go to protect Andrew J. Rush? Can Andrew J. Rush stop Jack of Spades?
Jack of Spades starts with a bang. I was immediately pulled into the book. But what really set this book apart is the delivery. Jack of Spades is a “one-man show”. There is only one character in the book, sure Andrew J. Rush interacts with others, but they are simply the window dressing to what is going on in his mind. What a novel idea. It sounds so simple, yet it strikes me as so complex. Joyce Carol Oates only has to focus on Andrew J. Rush, she builds his character to the point where we know him, his habits and his faults. But the challenge is keeping the reader engaged when there is only one character. There are no subsidiary characters to bring comic relief or a second point of view. It is only Andrew J. Rush.
This style fit perfectly with Andrew J. Rush’s character. The story is all about him. Even the vocabulary was well thought out, even premeditated to build the character. I was truly impressed with the full, complete story that was created by Joyce Carol Oates.
If you enjoy a mind twisting story with a fantastic character, I would highly recommend Jack of Spades.
4.5 Stars
* I received a copy of the book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
Jack of Spades starts with a bang. I was immediately pulled into the book. But what really set this book apart is the delivery. Jack of Spades is a “one-man show”. There is only one character in the book, sure Andrew J. Rush interacts with others, but they are simply the window dressing to what is going on in his mind. What a novel idea. It sounds so simple, yet it strikes me as so complex. Joyce Carol Oates only has to focus on Andrew J. Rush, she builds his character to the point where we know him, his habits and his faults. But the challenge is keeping the reader engaged when there is only one character. There are no subsidiary characters to bring comic relief or a second point of view. It is only Andrew J. Rush.
This style fit perfectly with Andrew J. Rush’s character. The story is all about him. Even the vocabulary was well thought out, even premeditated to build the character. I was truly impressed with the full, complete story that was created by Joyce Carol Oates.
If you enjoy a mind twisting story with a fantastic character, I would highly recommend Jack of Spades.
4.5 Stars
* I received a copy of the book from the publisher (via NetGalley) in exchange for an honest review.
August 14, 2021
Am mai citit o carte de-ale autoarei (Apa neagră) și mi s-a părut că are prea multe accente forțate de Hollywood, pentru a fi cât mai comercială. Am fost surprinsă să văd cât de diferită a fost aici și ce stil versatil are. Nu impresionant, nici memorabil, dar decent și util pentru când vrei o lectură captivantă și rapidă.
Ideea de bază mi-a plăcut foarte mult. Avem un scriitor de romane polițiste mediocre, care, ascunzându-se până și de familia lui, scrie romane noir cu multe scene violente. Ba chiar vorbește cu ,,celălalt" scriitor în mintea lui, de parcă ar fi altă persoană, iar uneori acela e cel care preia controlul acțiunilor.
Acum vin părțile care nu mi-au plăcut. Unde se duc banii mulți pe care îi câștigă din romanele scrise sub pseudonim? Cum să îmi spună că plătește și impozit pentru ei? Adică are și identitate falsă cu toate actele necesare? Parcă era doar o tulburare disociativă de identitate. Nici asta nu ar fi așa credibil, pentru că tulburarea respectivă apare, în majoritatea cazurilor, după un abuz sexual suferit în copilărie, din câte știu eu. Cum de nimeni nu vede că e ceva în neregulă cu el, deși are perioade în care se transformă într-un bărbat impulsiv și violent, apoi revine la omul calm și blând, care nici nu își amintește ce a făcut?!
Au mai fost aspecte lipsite de logică și întrebări lăsate fără răspuns, plus că protagonistul nu îmi pare suficient de viclean și inteligent, așa cum presupune rolul pe care i l-a atribuit autoarea. Oricum, m-a ținut curioasă și atentă pe tot parcursul lecturii, fix ce voiam.
Ideea de bază mi-a plăcut foarte mult. Avem un scriitor de romane polițiste mediocre, care, ascunzându-se până și de familia lui, scrie romane noir cu multe scene violente. Ba chiar vorbește cu ,,celălalt" scriitor în mintea lui, de parcă ar fi altă persoană, iar uneori acela e cel care preia controlul acțiunilor.
Acum vin părțile care nu mi-au plăcut. Unde se duc banii mulți pe care îi câștigă din romanele scrise sub pseudonim? Cum să îmi spună că plătește și impozit pentru ei? Adică are și identitate falsă cu toate actele necesare? Parcă era doar o tulburare disociativă de identitate. Nici asta nu ar fi așa credibil, pentru că tulburarea respectivă apare, în majoritatea cazurilor, după un abuz sexual suferit în copilărie, din câte știu eu. Cum de nimeni nu vede că e ceva în neregulă cu el, deși are perioade în care se transformă într-un bărbat impulsiv și violent, apoi revine la omul calm și blând, care nici nu își amintește ce a făcut?!
Au mai fost aspecte lipsite de logică și întrebări lăsate fără răspuns, plus că protagonistul nu îmi pare suficient de viclean și inteligent, așa cum presupune rolul pe care i l-a atribuit autoarea. Oricum, m-a ținut curioasă și atentă pe tot parcursul lecturii, fix ce voiam.
October 17, 2016
I read this in the middle of the night while trying not to cough so read this with an unreliable reader in mind.
I have had Joyce Carol Oates on my list of authors to try, so when I was disappointed by one of the horror novels I brought home from the library I went looking for something else. But it had to be something available through the public library's ebook collection. For Oates that meant short story collections or this brief novel.
The basic premise is a famous author, one step away from Stephen King, who is sued for theft of ideas and novels. The same author has developed a much darker, disturbing pseudonym. In the end this author feels like a dominant personality.
Overall, the ideas are good (although the famous author trope is kind of obnoxious and really only for famous authors to use, I guess) but they felt like they were not developed as much as they could have been. There were intriguing moments that were brought up and not followed through - the wife says he steals all her ideas and then this is not mentioned again. The daughter is disgusted by the pseudonym and this could have been followed around better. Missed opportunities, details shoved together in the end, it left me not overly impressed.
I have had Joyce Carol Oates on my list of authors to try, so when I was disappointed by one of the horror novels I brought home from the library I went looking for something else. But it had to be something available through the public library's ebook collection. For Oates that meant short story collections or this brief novel.
The basic premise is a famous author, one step away from Stephen King, who is sued for theft of ideas and novels. The same author has developed a much darker, disturbing pseudonym. In the end this author feels like a dominant personality.
Overall, the ideas are good (although the famous author trope is kind of obnoxious and really only for famous authors to use, I guess) but they felt like they were not developed as much as they could have been. There were intriguing moments that were brought up and not followed through - the wife says he steals all her ideas and then this is not mentioned again. The daughter is disgusted by the pseudonym and this could have been followed around better. Missed opportunities, details shoved together in the end, it left me not overly impressed.
December 9, 2017
Jack of Spades by Joyce Carol Oates.
This was my 1st book by this author and it took me by surprise. It was not a usual read for me, rather a tale of suspense. The story itself grabbed me from the beginning and held me captive to the tale throughout. Great writing from an experienced and gifted author. This won't be my last book from this author.
Andrew J. Rush is an accomplished and world re-known author of mysteries. There is however another name by which he writes quite a different type of book(s). That pen-name and series is not known by his family or acquaintances. A secret ...a dark secret that's kept strictly to himself.
One day he receives a summons to court. It seems he's being sued but the name is exactly his name and the reason for this summons makes no sense. It simply doesn't apply to him.
Truly a great read. I listened to this story on CD read/performed exactly by Joe Barrett.
This was my 1st book by this author and it took me by surprise. It was not a usual read for me, rather a tale of suspense. The story itself grabbed me from the beginning and held me captive to the tale throughout. Great writing from an experienced and gifted author. This won't be my last book from this author.
Andrew J. Rush is an accomplished and world re-known author of mysteries. There is however another name by which he writes quite a different type of book(s). That pen-name and series is not known by his family or acquaintances. A secret ...a dark secret that's kept strictly to himself.
One day he receives a summons to court. It seems he's being sued but the name is exactly his name and the reason for this summons makes no sense. It simply doesn't apply to him.
Truly a great read. I listened to this story on CD read/performed exactly by Joe Barrett.
November 17, 2016
Perfecto para adentrarse en la escritura de esta autora si no la habéis leído nunca. http://huellalibrosicc.blogspot.com.e...
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