Each story has a special brand of darkness, magic and quirkiness that make them irresistible.
- Customers who viewed this item also viewed.
- Du musst die Menschen lieben: Als Ärztin im Rettungswagen, auf der Intensivstation und im Krieg (German Edition).
- The Gift - a short story (Sixteen Seasons Book 7);
- Love Well the Hour!
- A Map of the Night: Poems (Illinois Poetry Series).
- Loves Game.
They're thought provoking and unforgettable. I agree with the reviewer that compared Oates's writing with the likes of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I look forward to reading more of Oates. I shall give one of her novels a whirl next time. I have read many of Joyce Carol Oates books. The first being, "We Were the Mulvaney's" - a book I loved. This book we are discussing now, "Heat", is a book of short stories.
Each one is intriguing until you get to the end and you can say, huh? I don't really know the meaning of any of the stories in this book. Joyce Carol Oates is a masterful story teller - no doubt about it. I just wish she wasn't quite so macabre.
One person found this helpful 2 people found this helpful. One person found this helpful. In this collection of short stories, heat, both as a phenomenon of the weather and the metaphorical heat within the soul, is explored as a causative agent for human action. The title story has a woman, now old, telling of the brutal and inexplicable murder of her two best friends, red-headed eleven-year-old twin girls in the 's, on a blistering summer day, by a theretofore gentle retarded boy who worked at the local ice house.
The twenty-four other tales in this collection prove equally gripping and contain an impact in ways longer prose, even epic novels, often do not. I read this anthology over the course of about a week, and spread the tales out so I was reading several in the course of each day. In my opinion this is not a good starting place for someone new to Oates' work, but it is beyond a doubt her best short story collection of the 's and one of her five best anthologies overall. I loved this book. It's been years since I read it, but several of the stories have stuck with me.
It's an absolutely bizarre story, almost like an LSD trip, but the narration, the urgency of the words, many of them italicized, and the far-out imagery convey a poweful sense of aching for the loss of what may have been this woman's most significant relationship. To be frank, I'm not sure I understood it completely I'd have to add this caveat to my impressions of most of Oates' works , but I know I felt it.
A great, great story, as are many others in this collection. See all 5 reviews. What other items do customers buy after viewing this item? There's a problem loading this menu right now. Get fast, free shipping with Amazon Prime. Your recently viewed items and featured recommendations. View or edit your browsing history. Get to Know Us.
The Hot Soldier - Wikipedia
English Choose a language for shopping. Amazon Music Stream millions of songs. Amazon Drive Cloud storage from Amazon. Alexa Actionable Analytics for the Web. AmazonGlobal Ship Orders Internationally. Amazon Inspire Digital Educational Resources. Amazon Rapids Fun stories for kids on the go. Amazon Restaurants Food delivery from local restaurants. ComiXology Thousands of Digital Comics.
East Dane Designer Men's Fashion. Shopbop Designer Fashion Brands. Withoutabox Submit to Film Festivals. True to Oatesian form — an absolutely wonderful read!!! Very rare for me to like all the stories in a short story compilation, but so is the case with this one.
Heat and Other Stories
Not for the faint of heart or for anyone who dislikes reading violence in fiction. So why not five stars you ask? I wanted more stories — LOL! May 28, Andrea rated it really liked it Shelves: I had to force myself to get through this book because Oates is a genius at taking me to horrible, intimate places where I do not want to go!
Heat and Other Stories
She's a master of the craft and any aspiring writer should read these. May 02, Jennifer rated it really liked it. I love her short stories, perhaps more than her novels.
- Heat and Other Stories Analysis?
- Heat and Other Stories by Joyce Carol Oates.
- ?
- The Devil Draws Two!
Jan 19, Clementine George rated it liked it. If you've read Joyce Carol Oates before, the frankness of these short stories do not come as a shock. There is no other writer out there like her. One of my very favorite collections of short stories. What an amazing talent and brilliant mind! Oct 24, Roland rated it it was amazing. Sep 22, Joy Bennett rated it it was amazing.
Who I turn to when I want to know how short stories are written; a master. Jun 14, mark monday rated it really liked it Shelves: Feb 21, Stephen rated it really liked it. I can't believe this is the first thing that I've read by Joyce Carol Oates. She's been on my list for a very long time and I'm a little disappointed that it took me this long to give something of hers a shot.
She is a tremendous writer. I'm a big, big fan of her style. This collection my only point of reference on her, for now is filled with stories that, no matter the subject matter, are first and foremost written meticulously well. I have a huge amount of respect for Oates's obvious attenti I can't believe this is the first thing that I've read by Joyce Carol Oates. I have a huge amount of respect for Oates's obvious attention to detail in her prose, and her exceptional style. She manages to write about at times brutal topics with a remarkable amount of grace.
Even when stories are distressing in subject matter, it's impossible to not keep hearing what the author has to say about them. And what she has to say about them rarely fails, IMO, to be engaging, challenging, true. That's a rare talent, in total. I look forward to reading more of hers.
Mar 22, Amber Terry rated it really liked it Shelves: I kept setting it down and taking days to pick it back up reading a lot of magazines in the interim , but once I'd start reading, it always pulled me in. I have to admit that most of the stories in this collection are damned de I really liked this one so I don't know why it took me a MONTH to read! I have to admit that most of the stories in this collection are damned depressing and bleak, but they're also magnetic and feel REAL, as if you might actually know people like this in reality.
Out of all the Oates books I've read, this is definitely in my top 5. Oct 27, Joan Colby rated it it was amazing. Few can match her when it comes to the short story.
The Hot Soldier
The title story is masterful. Feb 21, Sus rated it liked it. It's a little strange, but I didn't enjoy this collection as much as I expected to. Or it may be that she actually doesn't tend toward closure in as focused a way in her "realist" stories as she does in her Gothic-esque ones. I mean, you know, I don't have this problem with e. I give the book three stars mainly because of a few Gothic-esque stories It's a little strange, but I didn't enjoy this collection as much as I expected to.
I give the book three stars mainly because of a few Gothic-esque stories that I found particularly strong, like "The Baby's Cry" and the very memorable "Family"; otherwise it would have gotten two, for repetitiveness. Jan 31, Taylar rated it liked it. The last third were excellent. The final story is haunting. I love JCO's short stories better than her novels, but this is a lot of bleakness in one short story collection, hence the fact that this took me almost 8 months?
But I love how detailed she sets the scenes. Nov 17, David Weisblatt rated it liked it Shelves: A fun, insightful and darkly eclectic collection of stories. Oates was one of those writers I had always wanted to read but for whatever reason hadn't gotten around to.
I'm happy I finally did and plan on reading more. May 27, Shelby Goddard rated it liked it.
Navigation menu
So I didn't actually finish this, but it's been on hold for a while and I think it might stay on hold for a longer while. There are about a billion stories in this collection--some are excellent, some not so much--but after 20 or so I just felt like I might go into a Joyce Carol Oates coma. Apr 03, Kori rated it it was ok. Though I definitely enjoy twisted suburban tales, these stories didn't live up to her reputation.
I didn't feel closure, as another reviewed mentioned. I can tolerate lose ends every few stories; that kind of effect can be desirable. However, in a collection of short stories, I prefer variety. Feb 19, Flora rated it really liked it Shelves: Oct 01, Leah rated it it was amazing. This collection of short stories was very pleasing. I enjoyed Leila Lee, in particular. Dec 30, Allison added it. Great book, and lovingly adapted into a movie called "getting to know you" that came out sometime in the 90's. Jan 21, Stella rated it really liked it.
This books reminds me of my adolescence.