By the North Gate

by Joyce Carol Oates

By the North Gate is a collection of short stories by Joyce Carol Oates. It was the author's first book, first published by Vanguard Press in 1963.

Contents:
-Swamps
-The Census Taker
-Ceremonies
-Sweet Love Remembered
-Boys at a Picnic
-Pastoral Blood
-An Encounter with the Blind
-Images
-Edge of the World
-A Legacy
-In the Old World
-The Fine White Mist of Winter
-The Expense of Spirit
-By the North Gate

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, American

253 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

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

[Cody · Rating 3 out of 5]

This month I’m exploring ten works by my favorite author, Joyce Carol Oates. She has been publishing consistently for almost sixty years, and I’ve read but a small fraction of her output. So in November I’m reading a fair mix of her novels, novellas, and story collections!

I started with her debut release, 1963’s By the North Gate, her first collection.

From the start JCO’s talent was evident, and she was acclaimed from the jump. Many of these stories were featured in literary magazines, and rightfully so. While they’re a bit more “tame” in comparison to what she produced even by the end of the 1960s, this little collection holds its own.

There are three standouts, for me: “Boys at a Picnic”, “Pastoral Blood”, and the title story. The other stories range from good to meh, with none of the tales being outright failures. Some such as “Images” and “Sweet Love Remembered” feel like a writer noodling, unsure of the route she needs to take. Filler. But JCO’s filler is still better than many writers’ “best” stories!

A worthy and readable introduction to the long career of arguably our finest living writer, By the North Gate is worth reading.

[Dmitri · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's almost like they chose to sandwich good stories between average ones, just to make this anthology more palatable. Nothing to write home about, but hey, I read it. Joyce Carol Oates has a way to describe human despair like almost noone I have read before. Her characters have a way of detaching from humanity for a second, for a thrill, and then aghast of what they've learned, come rushing back. Though still mostly unpredictable, her fiction has a thread through it, is recognizable, and the characters all seem to come from the same place. I guess that's a good thing.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could quit you, Joyce Carol Oates. Your stories get under my skin and set me on edge for days after reading them. I'm not afraid of demons and ghosts and zombies. The real monsters are human, and the way you take ordinary people on ordinary days and inject suspense and then horror into those scenarios always hits too close to home. (FYI: This is Oates first published work, 1963. She was 25.)

[rndgmoat · Rating 4 out of 5]

I recently made the somewhat questionable decision to begin reading JCO's entire bibliography, after having read probably a half-dozen scattered works over the last few years and really digging the broad range she has as an author.

Coming into this collection of short stories, I was anticipating a difficult read. Her first novel, which I read a few years back, was a little uneven. I was expecting to encounter something dated and not that developed.

Anyway, I was pleasantly surprised by this collection of stories. Overall, many of these stories justify a five star rating. It's astounding to me that this is her first published work. Oates has a way of writing about small towns, usually dusty, desolate, claustrophobic settings that is very unique and engaging. Many of the stories have a similar feel, that of a slightly tilted vision of ordinary reality. By this I mean that all of these stories occur in the "real world" but often have an atmospheric element that makes them feel just slightly off-kilter. Other stories focus on dark, nihilistic themes. Many are depressing, often on a deep subconscious level.

I would say that there are a few stories in here that feel like classics. There are, lamentably, one or two duds including a really disappointing story about the lives of minor UW Madison academics. As a UW alum, I did love the Lake Mendota line, however.

If you can find a copy of this one, I recommend it. A very strong start to an incredible career.

[Rees · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.25/5 stars.

It’s not only Oates’s first short story collection, but it’s also her first published book, so I won’t immediately judge based on that.

There are 1-star stories, and there are 5-star stories. There were more stories that I liked than ones I disliked. Some of the stories will probably stick with me, and some won’t.

A big thing I noticed is that all of the stories are loosely connected by the fact that they take place in Oates’s Eden County, which is where her first novel, With Shuddering Fall, takes place. Another thing this short story collection shares with that first novel is the mention of the Walpoles, who seem to be a very prominent family in Eden Country.

So, it’ll be fun to see if there’s any ties to any of these short stories when I read With Shuddering Fall.

Ones I really liked: “Swamps,” “Ceremonies,” “Pastoral Blood,” and “A Legacy.”

Ones I disliked: “The Fine White Mist of Winter,” “The Expense of Spirit,” and “Sweet Love Remembered.”

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was intrigued by Oates reputation and since this book was noted in many sources as a good way to be introduced to her. Her writing is not for everyone. Her characters all seem to live in various states of emotional distress. But I found her prose compelling and like witnessing an accident it's hard to look away. It's worth noting that this is a collection of her earliest published writing, so what she's produced here as a novice author is impressive.

[Charles G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

I agree with some of the other reviews that, while good overall, there were a few stories that weren’t very good. Having never read anything by Joyce Carol Oates, I happy to share that I will continue exploring her work. A few of the stories in this collection really stood out: The Census Taker, Pastoral Blood, An Encounter with the Blind, Images, The Fine White Mist of Winter, and the eponymous finale.

[Libscigrl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Some really good stories in here, starting with Pastoral Blood...who hasn't wondered what would happen to us if we let our subconscious make decisions for us as we go along for the ride?

Other standouts were By the North Gate, An Encounter With the Blind, The Fine White Mist of Winter, and A Legacy.

As her very first published work, these really set the stage for JCO's proliferative career.

[George Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid collection! The titular story is brutal. Did not know this was Joyce Carol Oates’ out of print debut publication until the old glue on my previously pristine copy had cracked and i had to repair the book with packing tape.

[Sean Harding · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oates Odyssey #25
25 Joyce books and the 25th is her first work from way back in 1963, a collection of short stories and the entry point into the weird part of life.
Interesting to see where she began.

[Erica · Rating 4 out of 5]

After reading Fox, Oates' latest novel, it seemed really fitting as an avid fan to go back to the beginning where she started with By the North Gate. It definitely did not disappoint! You can read my full review here: https://thereadingwife.com/by-the-nor...

[Jim Leckband · Rating 2 out of 5]

Did you know Oates has a twitter feed now? I thought her short stories were her twitter feed she slams out so many of them. Does she twitter while she scoots her wheelie chair between her short story desk and her novels desk? Or does the left hand twit while the right hand writs?

In any case, I can't read her stories as fast as she writes them. It's taken a few months to read this one, so I don't have a clear memory of some of the stories. Overall it is a very accomplished apprentice work, overwritten in places as she hasn't trusted her gift yet. One constant I got from the stories is a sense of the main character struggling and wrestling to understand the minds of others. There is a very interior feeling to these stories as a result.

[Cherie · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF I'm just not as into her old stuff as I am her newer stuff; this is one of her first

[Ann M · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found an ancient paperback of this title. Interesting to see how her stories evolved.

[Nicole C. · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of these were good; others were mediocre. However, this is very early work of hers and there are hints of the style that would evolve into her own.

[Frank · Rating 2 out of 5]

Slow and not terribly memorable.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the great volumes of early JCO short stories.