Bøger af Joyce Carol Oates

The stunning, classic portrait of a powerful man's downward spiral to moral ruinJerome ?Corky? Corcoran is a money-juggling wheeler-dealer, rising politico, popular man's man, and unscrupulous womanizer. Over the course of Memorial Day weekend in 1992, Corky's illusions?and the life he has built for himself?are about to be shattered as he tries to keep his financial empire from unraveling, his love life from shredding, and himself from succumbing to his violent attraction to his own young stepdaughter.Originally published in 1994, What I Lived For is a portrait of a man in all his desperate, grasping weakness; his hunger, ambition, and corruption. And through this portrayal, Joyce Carol Oates?one of our most mesmerizing writers?reveals the intricate web of American society in all its tragic and flawed complexity.

An engrossing early novel from Joyce Carol Oates explores a fraught and perilous relationship between two womenOriginally published in 1985, Solstice is the gripping story of Monica Jensen and Sheila Trask, two young women who are complete opposites yet find themselves irresistibly drawn to each other. Monica is a shy, modest, and recently divorced schoolteacher, while Sheila is a worldly, sophisticated, and nocturnal painter driven by the needs of her art. Over the months, their friendship deepens, first to love and then to a near-fatal obsession.Engaging, dark, and mysterious, Solstice is Joyce Carol Oates's psychological masterpiece of friendship and fixation.

The latest Ecco reissue of Joyce Carol Oates' early classics: a fiery gothic tale of doomed fates and demons of biblical proportions in rural New York state Nathan Vickery came into the world amid unfortunate circumstances. His mother, Elsa Vickery, daughter of an agnostic small town doctor and his pious wife, was brutally assaulted at the age of seventeen. The son she gave birth to in the wake of this event is brought up by his grandmother as a devoted Christian. At the age of seven, Nathan begins to see visions of Christ and embarks on a path as a prodigy boy-preacher, hurtling toward enlightenment while increasingly falling under the dangerous spell of power.Nathan becomes the leader of an evangelical church, accumulating vast riches from donation. Each year, his visions grow more elaborate and grandiose. When he suddenly feels that God has forsaken him, is it punishment for indulging in the sins of lust, pride, and greed that he has long preached against? Joyce Carol Oates's talent for searing psychological inquiry and her eye for detail as well as her knack for indelible character portrayals and unflinching social commentary are fully on display in Son of the Morning. Fans of her work will be thrilled to see this early novel, the influences of which can be observed in later tour-de-force works like A Book of American Martyrs and The Sacrifice.

The first novel from New York Times bestselling author Joyce Carol Oates, a thrilling, dark tale of family, revenge, and two souls intertwined by love and violence?now back in print for fans of America's most prolific storytellerWritten when Joyce Carol Oates was in her early twenties, and first published in 1964, With Shuddering Fall is her powerful debut novel.Following the turbulent story of two lovers who discover themselves mortal enemies, the author explores the struggle for dominance in erotic relationships that has become a predominant theme in her work, as well as the perils of patriarchal inheritance, and the ripple-effects of emotional loss in adolescence. The result is an unsentimental yet sympathetic rendering of a disastrous love affair in which hatred is nearly as powerful as love, and a yearning for destruction is an abiding and insatiable passion.Discover what prompted the New York Times to compare this young writer's debut to Shirley Jackson's famous short story ?The Lottery.? Readers looking for a place to start in Joyce Carol Oates's vast catalogue will be intrigued by the sheer narrative force of the young author, and her willingness to anatomize the darkest recesses of humanity in a search for redemption and resolution.

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From Joyce Carol Oates, an exquisite, psychologically complex thriller about opposing forces within the mind of one ambitious writer and the delicate line between genius and madness.Andrew J. Rush has achieved the kind of critical and commercial success most authors only dream about: He has a top agent and publisher in New York, and his twenty-eight mystery novels have sold millions of copies. Only Stephen King, one of the few mystery writers whose fame exceeds his own, is capable of inspiring a twinge of envy in Rush. But Rush is hiding a dark secret. Under the pseudonym "Jack of Spades," he pens another string of novels—noir thrillers that are violent, lurid, masochistic. These are novels that the upstanding Rush wouldn't be caught reading, let alone writing. When his daughter comes across a Jack of Spades novel he has carelessly left out, she picks it up and begins to ask questions. Meanwhile, Rush receives a court summons in the mail explaining that a local woman has accused him of plagiarizing her own self-published fiction. Before long, Rush's reputation, career, and family life all come under threat—and in his mind he begins to hear the taunting voice of the Jack of Spades.

Joyce Carol Oates is an unparalleled investigator of human personality. In these eight stories, she deftly tests the bonds between damaged individuals—brother and sister, teacher and student, two lonesome strangers on a subway—in the fearless prose for which she’s become so celebrated. In the title story, a white, aspiring professor in Detroit tries to shake a black, male shadow during the summer of the city’s 1967 race riots. In “The Rescuer,” a promising graduate student detours to inner city Trenton, New Jersey, to save her brother from a downward spiral, but finds herself entranced by his dangerous new world. Meanwhile, a young woman of a much different breed prowls the New York City subways in search of her perfect man in “Lorelei.” In these eight biting and beautiful pieces, Oates confronts the demons within us. In the end, sometimes it’s the human who wins, and sometimes it’s the demon.

In Evil Eye, Oates offers four chilling tales about love so powerful that people might die—or kill—for it. In the title story, we meet Mariana, the young fourth wife of a prominent intellectual. When her husband’s first wife comes to visit, Mariana learns a terrible secret that threatens her marriage and sanity. In “So Near Any Times Always,” shy teenager Lizbeth meets Desmond, a charming older boy who offers the first spark of romance. Yet as their relationship blossoms, Lizbeth realizes that a menacing soul lies beneath Desmond’s perfect façade. In “The Execution,” spoiled college student Bart Hansen has planned the perfect crime to get back at his condescending parents. What he didn’t plan on was the resilience of his mother’s love, even in the face of death. And in “The Flatbed,” childhood trauma has prevented Cecelia from enjoying physical intimacy with a man. But when she meets the love of her life, Cecelia must confront the demon who stole her innocence long ago. With the razor-sharp prose that has made Joyce Carol Oates a living legend, Evil Eye shows love as sporadically magical, mysterious, and murderous.

From one of the most acclaimed writers of our time comes a horrifying tale of a child abducted by a reverend who systematically tortures young boys physically and emotionally before eventually killing them.

Joyce Carol Oates has performed a full review of her acclaimed 1992 anthology, The Oxford Book of American Short Stories, and in this second edition embraces those authors who have come to define turn-of-the-century American literature. Jhumpa Lahiri, Junot Diaz, Richard Ford, and David Foster Wallace are just a few of the authors whose stories are now represented. Each story is accompanied by a brief introduction, and there is also a fascinating introductory essay by Joyce Carol Oates that explains why these stories form the foundation of the American literary canon, and the trends and innovations that have taken place in the last twenty years.

A NOVEL OF LOVE AND LOSS FROM BESTSELLING AND PRIZEWINNING AUTHOR JOYCE CAROL OATESAmid a starkly beautiful but uncanny landscape in New Mexico, a married couple from Cambridge, MA takes residency at a distinguished academic institute. When the husband is stricken with a mysterious illness, misdiagnosed at first, their lives are uprooted and husband and wife each embarks upon a nightmare journey. At thirty-seven, Michaela faces the terrifying prospect of widowhood - and the loss of Gerard, whose identity has greatly shaped her own. In vividly depicted scenes of escalating suspense, Michaela cares desperately for Gerard in his final days as she comes to realize that her love for her husband, however fierce and selfless, is not enough to save him and that his death is beyond her comprehension. A love that refuses to be surrendered at death?is this the blessing of a unique married love, or a curse that must be exorcized? Part intimately detailed love story, part horror story rooted in real life, BREATHE is an exploration of hauntedness rooted in the domesticity of marital love, as well as our determination both to be faithful to the beloved and to survive the trauma of loss.

Natten. Søvnen. Døden. Stjernerne. er en gribende skildring af det moderne Amerika set gennem en familietragedies prisme. Whitey McClaren er tidligere borgmester og en respekteret mand i det samfund, hvor han bor. Da han en dag standser bilen for at stoppe to politimænd, der brutalt mishandler en mand, ender han med selv at blive angrebet. Den korte tid, han efterfølgende har tilbage af sit liv, tilbringer han på hospitalet, omgivet af sin kone Jessalyn og deres fem voksne børn. I Natten. Søvnen. Døden. Stjernerne. giver Joyce Carol Oates os historien om, hvordan en familie bliver testet som følge af en tragedie, hvordan båndene mellem familiemedlemmer påvirkes, og hvordan alle reagerer på deres egen måde - mere eller mindre uventet – men den sørgende enke måske på den mest forbavsende måde af alle. Joyce Carol Oates er siden sin debut i 1963 blevet hædret med et væld af priser og nomineringer. Blandt andet har hun vundet The National Book Award, og hun har været nomineret til Pulitzer-prisen hele fem gange. Senest er hun også blevet tildelt the Jerusalem Prize, som gives til en forfatter, der giver stemme til en vision om menneskelig frihed. Denne pris er tidligere givet til forfattere som Don DeLillo, Susan Sontag og J. M. Coetzee. Joyce Carol Oates er Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor på det humanistiske fakultet på Princeton University i USA. På HarperCollins er tidligere udkommet romanen Mit liv som rotte i 2019.

The powerful stories in this extraordinary collectionNincluding OThe Corn MaidenO and the never-before-published OHelping HandsONfurther enhance six-time National Book Award nominee Oates' standing as one of the world's greatest writers of suspense.

?Haunting . . . Written in the author's classic, clear style, these narratives enchant.??Boston GlobeThe need for love?obsessive, self-destructive, unpredictable?takes us to forbidden places, as in the chilling world of Give Me Your Heart, a new collection of stories by the inimitable Joyce Carol Oates. In ten razor-sharp stories, children veer beyond their parents' control, wives and husbands wake up to find that they hardly know each other, haunted pasts intrude upon uncertain futures, and those who bring us the most harm may be the nearest at hand.?Dread, in fiction, can be a magnificent thing . . . Oates isn't writing horror fiction, but she might as well be. Her stories pack the same kind of visceral wallop.??Los Angeles Times

Princeton, New Jersey, at the turn of the twentieth century. Vampires and ghosts haunt the dreams of the innocent. A powerful curse besets the elite families of Princeton?their daughters begin disappearing. And in the Pine Barrens that border the town, a lush and terrifying underworld opens up. An utterly fresh work from Oates, The Accursed marks new territory for the masterful writer?narrated with her unmistakable psychological insight, it combines beautifully transporting historical detail with chilling supernatural elements to stunning effect.

In Darkest America contains the plays The Eclipse and Tone Clusters. The Eclipse: A middle aged professor lives with her ailing mother. The old lady, once a brilliant teacher, moves in and out of reality, has a fantasy Latin lover, and makes her daughter's life miserable. One night she whirls in a torrid dance with her lover while her daughter sleeps; death has released both from suffering. This haunting play by one of America's foremost authors was commissioned by Actors Theatre of Louisville for the Humana Festival and was subsequently produced Off Broadway. Tone Clusters: Frank and Emily are a nice couple with a house in a nice neighborhood. Why are they under so much strain? They are interviewed by an unseen interrogator and their story emerges: the body of a 14 year old girl was found in their basement and their son is charged with the murder. Do they share in the guilt? Could we find ourselves in their situation?

?A painful truth of family life: the most tender emotions can change in an instant. You think your parents love you but is it you they love, or the child who is theirs?? --Joyce Carol Oates, My Life as a RatWhich should prevail: loyalty to family or loyalty to the truth? Is telling the truth ever a mistake and is lying for one's family ever justified? Can one do the right thing, but bitterly regret it? My Life as a Rat follows Violet Rue Kerrigan, a young woman who looks back upon her life in exile from her family following her testimony, at age twelve, concerning what she knew to be the racist murder of an African-American boy by her older brothers. In a succession of vividly recalled episodes Violet contemplates the circumstances of her life as the initially beloved youngest child of seven Kerrigan children who inadvertently ?informs? on her brothers, setting into motion their arrests and convictions and her own long estrangement. Arresting and poignant, My Life as a Rat traces a life of banishment from a family?banishment from parents, siblings, and the Church?that forces Violet to discover her own identity, to break the powerful spell of family, and to emerge from her long exile as a ?rat? into a transformed life.

Finally returned to print in a beautiful paperback edition, a haunting gothic tale of a nineteenth-century immigrant family of confidence artists?a story of morality, duplicity, and retribution that explores the depths of human manipulation and vulnerabilityThe patriarch of the Licht family, Abraham has raised a brood of talented con artists, children molded in his image, and experts in The Game, his calling and philosophy of life. Traveling from one small town to the next across the continent, from the Northeast to the frontier West, they skillfully swindle unsuspecting victims, playing on their greed, lust, pride, and small-mindedness. Despite their success, Abraham cannot banish a past that haunts him: the ghost of his ancestor Sarah Licht, a former con woman who met with a gruesome fate.As Abraham involves his family in more and more complex and impressive schemes, he finds himself caught between the specter of Sarah and the growing terrors of his present. While his carefully crafted lies and schemes begin to fracture and disintegrate before his eyes, Abraham discovers that the bond of family is as tenuous and treacherous as the tricks he perpetrates upon unsuspecting strangers.

A deeply intimate psychological portrait of a young woman's tragic childhood, her reinvention as a successful young artist in the literary circles of 1950s New York City, and her struggle to understand and overcome the trauma of her past.Growing up in the confines of Innisfail, a bleak town in upstate New York, bright and curious Marya endures abandonment, betrayal, and loneliness. A college scholarship offers escape, taking her to New York City, where she makes a name for herself in academic and literary circles. But success cannot overcome the damage of her childhood, pain that haunts Marya's personal, professional, and romantic relationships, and has left her unmoored.Psychologically nuanced, rich in insight and emotional complexity, told with the unsettling power of Joyce Carol Oates's gothic novels, Marya: A Life is an intense look into the psyche of a young woman and an illuminating exploration of how the past reverberates throughout our lives.

Critics across the country have raved about Joyce Carol Oates's ground-breaking memoir A Widow's Story, lauding its blazing honesty and raw emotion, calling it ?immensely moving,? ?searing,? ?enthralling,? ?brave,? ?slyly mordant,? and ?astonishingly candid.?On a February morning in 2008, Joyce Carol Oates drove her ailing husband, Raymond Smith, to the emergency room of the Princeton Medical Center, where he was diagnosed with pneumonia. In less than a week, Ray died from a hospital-acquired virulent infection?and Joyce was suddenly faced with the stunning reality of widowhood.A Widow's Story illuminates one woman's struggle to comprehend a life absent of the partnership that had sustained and defined her for nearly half a century. As never before, Joyce Carol Oates shares the derangement of denial, the anguish of loss, the disorientation of the survivor amid a nightmare of ?death duties,? and the solace of friendship. Here is a frank acknowledgment of the widow's desperation?only gradually yielding to the recognition that ?this is my life now.?Enlivened by the piercing vision, acute perception, and mordant humor that are the hallmarks of the work of Joyce Carol Oates, this moving tale of life and death, love and grief, offers a candid, never-before-glimpsed view of this acclaimed author and fiercely private woman.