Zero-Sum: Stories

by Joyce Carol Oates

Zero-sum games are played for lethal stakes in these arresting stories by one of America’s most acclaimed writers, the award-winning, best-selling author of Blonde

A brilliant young philosophy student bent on seducing her famous philosopher-mentor finds herself outmaneuvered; diabolically clever high school girls wreak a particularly apt sort of vengeance on sexual predators in their community; a woman stalked by a would-be killer may be confiding in the wrong former lover; a young woman is morbidly obsessed by her unfamiliar new role as “mother.” In the collection’s longest story, a much-praised cutting-edge writer cruelly experiments with “drafts” of his own suicide.

In these powerfully wrought stories that hold a mirror up to our time, Joyce Carol Oates has created a world of erotic obsession, thwarted idealism, and ever-shifting identities. Provocative and stunning, Zero-Sum reinforces Oates’s standing as a literary treasure and an artist of the mysterious interior life.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, Horror, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Short Story Collection, Audiobook

273 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 18, 2023

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

[Sujoya - theoverbookedbibliophile · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.64⭐️


“Game theory is a paradigm of life, unless life is a paradigm of game theory.”

Zero Sum by Joyce Carol Oates is a collection of twelve short stories that revolve around themes of obsession, loss, motherhood, mental health, and much more. Crisp writing, insightful observations on the human condition and an honest, almost brutal look into the darker side of human relationships and emotions make for an absorbing read.

In the first story, Zero-Sum (3.5), we meet a graduate student whose desire to impress her professor triggers a downward spiral. In Mr. Stickum (4), a group of teenagers devises an elaborate plan to punish sexual predators in their town who prey on trafficked young girls.

Lovesick (4) revolves around a young woman who confides in her former lover about receiving threatening messages from an unknown person, triggering conflicting reactions within her confidante. In Sparrow(3.75), a shocking family secret comes to light when a young woman discovers an old photograph while helping her elderly mother move into an assisted living facility.

We meet a woman who struggles to recover after a miscarriage in The Cold(4).
Take me, I am Free (3.5) depicts a darker side of motherhood where a mother, unhappy with her young daughter, attempts to give her away.

The Suicide(3.5) is a bleak, almost stream-of-consciousness narrative that delves into the mind of a writer who contemplates taking his own life. Dark and immersive, this is the longest story (a novella, to be precise) in the collection.

In The Baby-Monitor(3.5) A new mother is conflicted over the need for her baby’s safety and her need to enjoy her privacy.Monstersister(3.5) revolves around a young girl whose family dynamic shifts after bizarre events follow the discovery of a strange growth on her head.

A Theory Pre-Post-mortem (2.5) follows a couple whose recent vacation exposes them to a deadly virus. In This is Not a Drill (4), A dystopian take on a pandemic-ravaged world where the desire for human connection pushes a man to take desperate measures to interact with the outside world. M A R T H E: A Referendum (4) takes us into a futuristic setting inhabited by AI citizens.

As with most short story collections, this was a mixed bag for me. I found a few of the stories captivating, others not so much! But overall, predominantly dark and disturbing, with genres ranging from family drama to dystopian/speculative fiction, this collection is a testimonial to the author’s exceptional diverse range and writing prowess.

Many thanks to Knopf, Pantheon, Vintage, and Anchor and NetGalley for the digital review copy. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

“Unhappiness looks to the past. Happiness, to the future.”

[MihaElla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think that Zero-Sum: Stories display so much power and knowledge of the human brain and heart, that I feel now a strong interest in Joyce Carol Oates as its writer. I have never been so much surprised and struck by reading short stories as I have been by hers. Some of the stories are strengthened, to those strange psychological mysteries in ourselves, of which we are all more or less conscious, by full condensation here and there, and paradoxically, it makes the reader, yet you are not, inextricably connected with the plot. I think it is a very whimsical idea and extremely entertaining, especially to the readers, like me, who combine some imagination, some scepticism, and some knowledge and learning.

[Kasa Cotugno · Rating 4 out of 5]

This compilation of stories from other sources showcases Joyce Carol Oates's wide range, amazing. I must admit to enjoying more her grounded stories, those about new mothers suffering from postpartum depression (amazing considering she's never had children how she nailed that), or star struck students, daughters finding out the truth of their existence. Her forays into the gothic or dystopian, while proficient, didn't hold me to the same degree, but she always impresses with her style, use of language, earthiness and organic description.

[Dimitris Passas (TapTheLine) · Rating 4 out of 5]

RATING: 4,5/5 stars.

[Dessi · Rating 2 out of 5]

INSTAGRAM | BLOG

Thanks to NetGalley and Knopf for providing this title in exchange for an honest review.

Apologies to any Joyce Carol Oates fans, but this just wasn't for me!

I admit that I picked up this book not because I'd ever read anything from the author, but because the name sounded familiar (I'm not from the USA) and I enjoy short stories. Though I should probably accept by now that what I enjoy are actually *horror* short stories, because literary fiction stories, even of the unsettling type? Not so much.

I didn't enjoy the narrative style. I didn't enjoy the unnecessary overuse of parentheses. I didn't enjoy the way that key words were repeated in some stories (zero-sum showed up in, I think, the first three stories, and I assumed it was going to be the theme, but it didn't show up again after that; frisson showed up in two, italicized, which seems a way to bring the reader's attention to it - for what reason?). I didn't enjoy and see no point in the old writer's trick to avoid coming up with character names and calling them by their initials instead. Some of the stories just ended, and I couldn't find any point to them.

Rating by stories:

Zero-sum: 2⭐ A star-struck student is invited with her peers to her professor's end of class get-together. A slog to get through with no payoff.

Mr. Stickum: 4⭐ A group of teenage girls decides to get revenge on the sexual predators in their area.

Lovesick: 3⭐ A woman contacts one of her former lovers to tell him she's being threatened.

Sparrow: 3⭐ A woman returns home to visit her elderly mother and discovers a family secret.

The cold: 3⭐ A woman struggles to recover after a miscarriage. Some good thoughts about loss.

Take me, I am free: 3⭐ An unwanted child is put up for sale. That's it, that's the plot.

The Suicide: 2⭐ I DNF'ed this one, the character was so unlikeable I just kept thinking "kill yourself now".

The baby monitor: 3⭐ A new mother gets a little too obsessed with her baby's safety.

Monstersister: 4⭐ A girl discovers an unusual growth on her head.

A theory post-mortem: 2⭐ A couple gets infected on vacation.

This is not a drill: 2⭐ A really dark take on the pandemic, I don't know how I feel about it.

M A R T H E: A referendum: 4⭐ I won't spoil this one, it was one of the best.

tl;dr: Even though some of the stories were 4 star reads for me based on plot, they still shared the same things I didn't like about the book overall that I listed above. Fans of the author might rightfully find this book to be a treat, but it's not a recommended read from me.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Joyce Carol Oates – definitely one of the most prolific writers around – is good, she is very, very good.

Not every story in her new collection works, but the ones that do are stunners. The opening story – from which the title is derived – presents a young and worshipful philosophy student, K., who is obsessed with earning the good favor of her idealized mentor.

The premise of the story – indeed, the collection – is laid out: “In game theory, a zero-sum game is one in which there is a winner and there is a loser and the spoils go to the winner and nothing to the loser.” K’s interpretation of the game is just delicious, particularly after she meets her mentor’s decidedly un-worshipful young daughter.

Mr. Stickum – the next story – is everyone’s favorite revenge tale. A group of high school girls decide to punish their community's sexual predators by running ads that lead to their ensnarement on a flypaper contraption. JCO writes: “For always it is expected of girls, as of adult women, that we will be loving, forgiving, merciful. But Mr. Stickum has taught us that is a zero-sum game.”

The longest story in this collection is The Suicide, about a brilliant and famous writer with an adoring young wife, who is fixated on suicide. He is unable to tolerate her slavishness, yet there is something about it that simultaneously titillates and repels him. The character, who is reportedly based on a fictionalized David Foster Wallace, is dark and sometimes funny. For example, the writer obsesses about his legacy: might some people think he was drawn to suicide as a result of reading a bad review?

Other stories – The Cold, about a mother who has suffered a recent miscarriage, or “Lovesick”, focusing on a woman who confides to a former lover that she is receiving murderous threats from an unknown caller, aren’t quite as compelling. Her final post-apocalyptic stories may appeal to those who enjoy this genre.

As with every short story collection, readers will gravitate to the stories that speak most directly to them. I’m grateful to Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher, for enabling me to be an early reader in exchange for an honest review.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another intriguing collection of imaginative short stories from a real master of the genre! Her style is so unique it sometimes gets a bit of getting used to but the stories always leave you thinking - and sometimes wondering what happened in the end!! - 7/10.

[Larry Bassett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates has been one of my favorite authors for quite a long time. This book of short stories was published in 2023 and all of the stories were previously published in a variety of publications. They showcase the macabre and sometimes illuminating viewpoint of this author about a variety of topics, including what the present holds and what the future holds. I like short stories and enjoyed most of the ones that are included here. If you like JCO, you will probably like this book.

[Alan Scheer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I first read a short story by the incredibly prolific Joyce Carol Oates in 1980. Then I was overwhelmed by the emotional power of the work and for the intense focus she played on the troubled lives of married women-something I was not familiar with my reading at the time. Growing up I had pretty much read fiction written by men and Oate’s voice was something g I had never heard before. Her situations were not simple and her characters had to navigate very tricky situations.
So it was a great thrill when I was offered this latest collection by her and raw work in its entirety has not disappointed in the least. Joyce Carol Oates fills her stories with intriguing plot details,but it is the spinning of words that hold the reader spell-bound. It’s as if she is taking us along a path that will twist and turn in odd directions but we have complete faith in her as a narrator as her words are completely in control.
Each of these stories in this collection are exceptional,although I did find the final three,mostly lower drawer work-perhaps because they are the only ones written in a speculative vein which is a genre that doesn’t appeal to me.b her story about the mother sophomore just can’t tolerate having a baby child is the most chilling piece of fiction I’ve ever read since Shirley Jackson’s The Lottery several decades ago. It is so dark and nasty that it feels like it has come from a completely unrecognizable wicked world. But these are areas Oates is not afraid to venture into. I find very young writers try to write in this horror/gothic vein pushing the boundaries of what readers expect is normal,but there is a nastiness to their work-part of their show-of fess which I never feel Oates is trying to do.
By far the masterpiece of the collection is The Suicide-the collections novella and it us an extraordinary work that will be remembered as among her greatest work. The story with its twists and turns of contemplation of the end of a tortured life,is all about language and with the most incredible stream-of consciousness sentencing Oates takes us through the extraordinary working of the tormented author’s mind. There are passages where the author talks about the exhaustion of the need to write and without trying to impose too much on the author’s intent,it did make me wonder if she as a writer who is so incredibly prolific sometimes feels a similar exhaustion at feeling the need to create all the time. It is a long story which will benefit from multiple reads as the direction of the language is so masterfill but Oates makes it all seem so straightforward and easy to follow.vand like the story of the baby monitor,another harrowing,very disturbing story which reminded me of the extreme madness that overtakes the obsessive character in D.H. Lawrence’s Rocking House winner,there is redemption in the end. The readers expectation is that all will end in disaster but we are surprised by the story’s finale,even though we are encouraged to believe that only the worst things are going to come from this tale.
Joyce Carol Oates has been a master of writing since the seventies. For a long time critics make fun of her because she is so hugely prolific. And avlotnofbher work is on the dark side. I have always felt she is the most deserving of the Novotel,prize for not only the volume of her work which is incredible,but for the range of her work. The reader never knows sharp will come next when opening her work. And even though her writing can sometimes be very dark,I have always felt she has enormous compassion for the people she writes about. A beautiful,wonderful book. I can’t wait to read so much more of her work,

[Cody | CodysBookshelf · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC! It’s always a pleasure reading a new Joyce Carol Oates release…..

At this point I basically know what I’m getting when I start a new JCO collection. Not that her writing is ever predictable—she catches me off guard more than any other author, which is maybe why someone like Gillian Flynn holds her in such high regard—but I know I’m going to receive a banquet of the unsettling, the weird, the sad, the fucking well-written. JCO is a master of the short form, duh. Who doesn’t know that? Zero-Sum is no different. It’s full to the brim with stories that display her brilliance.

But unlike other collections, there were no duds here—for me. With almost any short story collection from any author, I’m going to find a story or two (or more) I don’t like for whatever reason; short story collections are like records. Sometimes the deep cuts are gold. Sometimes the deep cuts are deep cuts for a reason.

There were some stories here that went a bit over my head. JCO’s writing has become in recent years a bit more experimental and manic, she’s more willing to bend a reader’s mind. I’m sure upon rereading those stories will unveil themselves more.

My highest recommendation!

[Leo Robertson · Rating 4 out of 5]

JCO the GOAT

[cycads and ferns · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zero-Sum
A young literature student’s obsession with her married professor.

Where of necessity K. is out of place. Where she (alone) is out of place. It is always thus. Once out of place, one can never be in place. For once out, the concatenation is broken.
A corollary: those in have no idea that they are in.
For they have no idea of out.


The Suicide
A writer’s many attempts to end his life.

Possibly, it's a fiction by Borges: "The Suicide is laboring to compose a fiction titled 'The Suicide!’” Typical of Borges, the tale is a (shameless) mind-teaser: "The Suicide is laboring to compose a fiction titled 'The Suicide' but endless digressions, meanderings, and nightmare roundabouts from which there is no exit impede him."

[Jovana Autumn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mr Stickum is easily one of the best short stories I have read in recent times, but it is not amazing enough to compensate for the fact that most of these stories weren't for me. Joyce Carol Oates is a master of words, though; everything she writes reads beautifully.

[Sarah Castro · Rating 2 out of 5]

I honestly regret buying this book (seriously, $30 I could have used for important things or splurging in a more worthwhile book).

I was first introduced to Joyce Carol Oates when I read an anthology edited by her, and including her own short story, Heat, which I enjoyed, and left me wanting to read more of her stories.

In the 12 stories this book includes, I liked only a few. Meaning three or four. Even those didn’t rise above 4 stars (if that). The majority of stories had an annoying amount of parentheses used (can we not use adjectives like normal people?). And why, oh why, can we not use names? In a couple of stories, it almost made remembering which character was male and female confusing, due to only initials being used. How hard is it to say his name was Mark and hers was Sally. The last story almost gave me Ray Bradbury “vibes” (I hate that word, but for lack of better at the moment…) with its futuristic, world-as-we-know-it-ends theme. It didn’t measure up (okay, I know he’s not the only one allowed to write sci-fi or futuristic stories, but I compare everyone to him these days).

And now I am using parentheses (almost) as much as Joyce likes to use them. Yikes.

Overall, 2 stars. And only because I really was captivated (and surprised) by a couple of the stories.

[Elin Isaksson · Rating 3 out of 5]

All well crafted expertly told stories. I just kind of feel like she could have gone further with it, made it more gruesome, more weird, more sad. I think I just wanted more, and have gotten more in other stories before.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always preferred Oates' short stories to her novels, perhaps because her writing is of such disturbing power and intensity that it's easier to cope with in small doses. This is an excellent collection overall, though (as any reader will) I liked some more than others. A careful reading of the stories suggests that each of them is a refraction of the titular concept, whether implicitly or explicitly. Some explore it, others make us question it, and at least one, I think, denies it entirely.

"Mr. Stickum" was my hands-down favorite piece: sharp, clever, dark, fierce, and unforgiving. Like the Greek Furies, the girls of "the old mill town on the Delaware River" refuse to let the crimes of men go unpunished; they extract their vengeance in a way that is both horrifying and entirely appropriate. The story is especially delicious in the context of recent events, i.e. the overturn of Roe v Wade and subsequent legislation in dozens of states denying women the basic right of bodily autonomy. In the world of Mr. Stickum, the traditional centuries-long zero-sum game in which men get everything and leave women nothing isn't just questioned, it's completely inverted.

The last two, "This is not a drill" and "MARTHE," fall squarely into the post-apocalyptic genre, so of course I loved them both. The setting of "Drill" is a sort of slowpocalypse, a gradual deterioration and disintegration of society to the point where everyone is essentially trapped in their homes, but in the end it's about the most basic need of all: connection, the priceless joy of being seen, recognized, loved, by another human being. That recognition, that connection, falls entirely outside the concept of zero-sum since love is not finite.

"M A R T H E" is a grim look into a dystopian future in which the earth is a climate- and pollution-catastrophized wasteland, and the now-entirely-AI population is voting to decide whether to keep alive a 171-year-old human, the last of her species (to be fair, she's had so much intervention that it's not clear how human she really is). Like the strange new beings of Childhood's End, the AI citizens of Earth have moved so far beyond their origins that homo sapiens is an object of sentiment/curiosity, a passenger pigeon or white rhino. Yet the propaganda -- "A vote to defund MARTHE will be a vote to pump badly needed funds into the sidelined Space Colonizing Project, our only hope to escape the doomed Earth" -- is no different than the arguments we hear every day, tacitly preaching the zero-sum mantra.

On the whole, then, I give this colletion two slightly-unnerved thumbs up :)

[Marjorie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these short stories are excellent but there were a couple that I didn't enjoy, which brought the rating down to four.

[Naja]

Most of these read like short stories people in my year 11 creative writing class wrote :/

[Magdelanye · Rating 3 out of 5]

A zero-sum game depends upon the actions of others. That is the tragedy of life lived among others. Definition of others: not you. p24

Depending on the readers tolerance for the unsettling, these stories do not exactly come out as winners, focused as they are on losers of a unspectacular kind. After reading, they lurk in some uneasy corner of the mind, ready to pounce.

Certainly she'd thought that by concentrating on books, an education, writing the most clever papers, acquiring an impressive vocabulary...she'd have been exempt from the mortifications of the female body. p163

JCO writes with her usual laconic intensity, drawing the reader in with her understated compassion. With some work I could relate to the awkward characters and situations in the stories in the first part. The novella that makes up part 2 is quite brilliant if uncomfortable.

It is not entirely clear whether the external world exists or whether it is itself virtual. p241

The first 3 stories of part 3 creeped this reader out so that I almost chucked the book out the window. It was saved by the fact that my copy belongs to the library. And I'm glad, the last two stories present a grim reality-based warning that jolt the reader out of the soporific claustrophobia induced by the earlier stories. Paranoia, so all consuming throughout the book, at last is dispensed with, as the unthinkable has already occured.

Wisest strategy, I have learned, is neither to resist nor give in....p105

[Veronica Sirotic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories hit perfectly some stories I was left confused by but was entranced by all

[penny mackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

that was my first joyce carol oates... and it won't be my last!

[Evy Heesen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt uneasy the entire time while reading this

[Marta Heidemane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ļoti savdabīga grāmata. Man parasti patīk short-story collections, bet stāstu tēmas mani īpaši nepiesaistīja, jo manā dzīvē nav aktuālas. Tie stāsti bija vai nu pārāk specifiski vai borderline dystopian. Katrā gadījumā - kaut kas unikāls, bet man ne līdz galam saprotams.

[Leah]

She is the GOAT

[AndiReads · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you open a Joyce Carol Oates book you are never sure what you are getting into. The description may be a very ho-hum summary, the first chapter may detail a somewhat boring person. In this case, of short stories, many begin with a singular voice, someone you might not notice necessarily or even like. But like all Oats books, there is much lurking beneath the surface - a almost shrill anxiety and fragility that can only lead to violence.

Such are the zero-sum games played in these stories. Brilliant shorts about those who are fully committed to the solution to the problem they have identified. Whether or not they are correct is for you to decide. I guarantee you will enjoy this story set and perhaps reread a few again and again. The young women will certainly haunt me for sometime. If you love JCO or are a fan of the bizarre, the surreal or the very banal with a twist, Zero Sum is for you! #Knopf #Pantheon #JoyceCarolOates #ZeroSum

A brilliant young philosophy student bent on seducing her famous philosopher-mentor finds herself outmaneuvered; diabolically clever high school girls wreak a particularly apt sort of vengeance on sexual predators in their community; a woman stalked by a would-be killer may be confiding in the wrong former lover; a young woman is morbidly obsessed by her unfamiliar new role as “mother.” In the collection’s longest story, a much-praised cutting-edge writer cruelly experiments with “drafts” of his own suicide.

[Adibah(whatdibsread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Zero Sum by Joyce Carol Oates is a collection of short stories that explore themes of obsession, loss, motherhood, mental health, and much more. The stories in this book are dark and unsettling, but they are also thought-provoking and deeply moving. Oates's writing is powerful and spellbinding, and she has a talent for delving into the mysteries of the human mind and behavior.

One of the stories that stands out more is titled ‘Zero Sum’ which explores the relationship between a young academic and her philosophy professor. The story is tense and gripping, and it showcases Oates's skill at creating characters who are both sympathetic and deeply flawed. Another standout story is "Mr. Stickum," which follows a group of vigilante teenagers who target men attending pop-up sex parties with human trafficking victims. The story is a harrowing exploration of the dark side of human nature and the lengths people will go to in order to feel powerful.

Another standout story is "Take Me, I Am Free," which depicts a darker side of motherhood as a mother, unhappy with her young daughter, attempts to give her away. The story delves into the complexities of motherhood, exploring the feelings of guilt, shame, and regret that can accompany it.The stories stretch the experiences and feelings of loss, lust, and fear to an extreme, highlighting the challenges that women face in navigating a world that often pits them against each other.

While "The Suicide" is a bleak, almost stream-of-consciousness narrative that delves into the mind of a writer who contemplates taking his own life. These four are among those that I found truly mind blowing and it's not that easy for me to like Oates writing after having to struggle with her complexity in her previous works.

Overall, this book is a powerful and thought-provoking collection of short stories which amazed me in a way I didn't expect to be amazed. Thank you @putrifariza and @times.reads for another jaw-dropping book this year.

[Georgina · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘it is no one’s business, who we are. that we are— we exist. that is enough.’

zero-sum by joyce carol oates is a short story collection full of searing, close-to-the-bone tales of the misery, despair and terrifying reality of the modern day world. they discuss a range of issues, from surveillance to AI to the problem of feeling forced into motherhood.

oates delivers a lesson in the importance of individuality, on both physical and mental health. humans who feel the need to rely so heavily on technology, therefore ignoring the state of the world around them, are practically useless when it comes to the preservation of the earth as we know it - and, unfortunately, time is running out. this collection is a desperate plea to humanity to be ourselves and return to what we know best; nature and instinct.

for the most part, i did thoroughly enjoy these stories. i adored ‘mr stickum’ especially, because of how empowering it felt for the dark, feminine desire to regain control from disgusting men to be recognised, and written so explicitly into a story. this was immediately followed up by a story where a man became jealous of a woman and her stalker’s relationship, simply because the latter was getting more attention. oates seems to tap into the male psyche and, from there, breaks open the world of rage that women have to deal with on a daily basis.

the longest story in this novel, entitled ‘the su*cide’, was for me extremely dull. it would have been better not residing in the collection at all. every other story i adored, though. it’s rare that short story collections please me so thoroughly.

[Paul · Rating 3 out of 5]

Joyce Carol Oates is not only prolific, she is one of the most brilliant writers we have, and this astonishing collection of short stories is just more proof that there is no limit to what she can do. Her take on humanity can be unnervingly dark, yet incredibly humane and truthful. "Mr. Stickum" is a deliciously devious story about a gang of high school girls who exact revenge on sexual predators with a giant flypaper strip in the shape of a Mobius. The most emotionally haunting story is "The Cold," where a woman keeps getting colder and colder until she is reunited, in some sort of ethereal afterlife (?) with the foreign boy in high school who was her first love. "The Suicide" is more of a novella than a short story, about a depressed, medicated author of some renown who is repeatedly trying to kill himself, only to be continually thwarted by his smothering, hyper vigilant wife. It's a triumph of wicked dark humor. As is "The Baby-Monitor," about a sleep-deprived mother who is hilariously obsessed with protecting her 6 month old infant at the expense of everything else in her life, including her husband. The last story, "MARTHE: A Referendum" is an apocalyptic gem about a 171 year old woman kept alive in 2169 with AI manufactured organ replacements, waiting on a vote whether to keep her alive, or pull the plug on her "doomed, moribund, accursed species." In all these stories, Oates lays bare the folly of the human race with masterly, witty, probing erudition.

[Anita · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fans of Oates will enjoy this. Some of the stories are downright heartbreaking in the way her stories are. Emotionally traumatizing. The last story of Part 1 was especially breath taking in the sense that I actually huffed my breath when I realized that was it; that was what she gave us. Part 2 was a longer story that kind of took the wind out of my sails for a bit. It interrupted the flow of reading. I would recommend reading The Suicide after finishing the stories if you're in a short story reading mindset. I'd rate the majority upwards of 4 stars, averaging at 3.5 for the book.

[Chapel Oak O'Connor]

You KNOW that when a book has a Magritte painting on the cover it's going to go hard as fuck