The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares: Novellas and Stories of Unspeakable…

Well, what a writer. Pity about the subject. She sure knows how to write for the nightmare trade. The title story has a neat resolution and something akin to a happy ending, but after that, be prepared. I guess the subject matter wasn't really to my liking but I still admired her talent. ( )

This is a good read for Halloween IF you can overlook the fact that many of the short stories appear to reach for page after page of violence or creepiness.

No stranger to the art of writing of bizarre things, people and places, Joyce Carol Oates packs a whallop with this book. She crosses a line though in balancing the intelligence of the reader with an over the top approach to continuing the story line over and over and over.

In watching or reading horror stories, we usually find ourselves saying "Oh, no, don't go down those cellar steps!" or "Don't by any means open that door!" But, with The Corn Maiden, the author seems to have too many cellar steps, too many creeps at the other side of the door and way too many victims or perpetrators.

Glad I gave this novel a chance. Entertaining in a slow-cooker kind of way. ( )

As an English major, I read "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" by Joyce Carol Oates so many times that I almost have it memorized. It also happens to be one of my favorite short stories. That's why I was so excited to get this book of short stories and try it out. Sadly...it will not be replacing any of her other stories as my favorite.

The Good: Joyce Carol Oates is a mastermind of language. There is no doubt that she knows how to craft a beautiful sentence. Reading such beautifully crafted sentences was the joyful part of reading these stories. I wish she could write my life story so it would sound as lovely as this creepy novel! The good thing about this book of short stories is how fast it goes. I think I read it in a matter of hours. I'm glad, because I despise having to spend hours on books of short stories... it just doesn't jive with the whole meaning of "short" stories :)

The Bad: These stories were just plain creepy. And not that I'm opposed to that...on the contrary, I LOVE scary/creepy stories but this was just too weird... I was more baffled, confused and out of sorts while reading this than I was scared or intrigued. The premise sounded so eerie and great but maybe there was a high rhetoric element to Oates writing in this novel that just went above my head.

Overall, I'm really just ambivalent about this novel. It put me in a strange mood where I didn't love it...but it's not exactly a horrible book either. I guess it's just...there. So take that for what it's worth and read at your own risk. I'd give it a middle of the road C.

**I received this book free from the publisher through www.netgalley.com. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own ( )

1 Star/Fiction; Short Stories, Horror

The Corn Maiden was not a book that I personally enjoyed. This is my first time reading anything by Joyce Carol Oates and her writing style was so different for me that I felt like I had to force myself through the pages. The stories were engaging but I never felt connected enough with any of them to truly appreciate this authors work.

When I sit down to read, it is to relax after a long day. This book required more than I was willing to give in that regard. While I am sure this author has her dedicated followers, unfortunately I won't be one of them. ( )