RIP III Complete, with Review: The Female of the Species

This collection of short stories examines the capacity of women to do evil. Bringing us into the depths of horror, Oates's protagonists range in age, interest, and situation. We meet a six-year-old girl, a young nurse, a middle-aged fashionista, and an elderly woman dying in a nursing home, among others. What unites all of these women across their stories are the desperate personal circumstances in which they find themselves, and the realization that the only path out is a dark and disturbing one. As with much of Oates's work, this collection addresses the exploitation and marginalization of women in American society, yet it does so through horror and suspense. This is a deliciously suspenseful collection, excellent reading for a spooky October night.

And with this, I am finished with my RIP III challenge. It's been a great challenge- many thanks to Carl for hosting.

Joyce Carol Oates, The Female of the Species: Tales of Mystery and Suspense (Harvest, 2007) ISBN: 0156030276

Review: The Lake of Dead Languages

This book has been blurbed as being comparable to Donna Tartt's Secret History, and indeed, there are some distinct similarities. Both books enter the world of New England private schools, particularly the world of classics students obsessed with their teachers. Both books involve students entranced by the rites of the ancients, and in both the students perform clandestine rites with tragic consequences. All of these similarities aside, the two books have different purposes. Goodman's novel follows Latin teacher Jane Hudson, a teacher and alumna of the Heart Lake school in upstate New York. Hudson had a horrible experience at Heart Lake, and when mementos from her past start washing up in the lake, she has little idea who or what could be responsible. Deaths and accidents in and around the school make it clear that Jane is being pursued by a malevolent force, and she is in real danger. And that danger makes this a gripping book. The story sucked me in quickly and held me to the end. Though I had determined the responsible party and the twist at the end before Goodman revealed it, the book was still engaging, and I couldn't wait to get to the end. In this book Goodman has woven a complex narrative with multiple layers of characters and relationships. The story jumps back and forth between Jane's past and present, and culminates when the two parts of her life collide. Suspense builds quickly in this book. Full of suspense and psychological intrigue, I couldn't put the book down. I'll certainly be reading other of Goodman's books soon. This was a great choice for the fall and for the RIP challenge.

Carol Goodman, The Lake of Dead Languages (Ballantine, 2005) ISBN: 034548715X

RIP III mini-challenge

I'm pleased to announce that during this RIP mini-challenge I finished my last book for my RIP III challenge. I just finished Joyce Carol Oates's The Female of the Species, and earlier this week I also finished Carol Goodman's The Lake of Dead Languages. That puts me at four books, so I've finished. Now I just need to get the reviews up for Goodman and Oates.

And I'm also starting to get seriously tired and punchy. Definitely yawning at my computer.

Review: Wild Nights!

I am a big fan of Joyce Carol Oates. I encountered her through reading contemporary fiction. First, I picked up her bestseller, We Were the Mulvaneys. I followed with Middle Age: A Romance. As I've explored her canon I've been amazed at how diverse and productive she is. Oates has published so much, in so many genres; it's truly impressive. When I saw this book on the new releases shelf in the library I had to check it out. From here I'm sure I'll be looking more closely at Oates's horror books; The Female of the Species currently resides in my TBR pile. And here's my review of Wild Nights!

This short story collection examines the last days and nights of five prolific American writers, from Poe to Hemingway. Together these five tales describe five eminent writers on the brink of despair and madness that culminates in their deaths. The stories vary in the extent to which they depart from realistic portraits of these authors' deaths. While Oates's treatment of Hemingway's death could conceivably be a factual rendering, those of Poe and Dickinson are far more fanciful, and depart from the historical record. Together, these stories create a riveting and unusual collection. Because the reader knows from the outset that each of these tales ends in death, the narratives flow with significant dramatic tension. From the beginning of each story the reader gets a sense of how each author will meet his or her end. As they move toward this preordained conclusion tension builds for the reader, as he or she discovers just how his or her assumptions will play out. Oates does an excellent job of adopting the voice and persona of each of the writers in question. Each story has its own flavor and style. Hemingway's story reads with the stark prose one might expect from the man, and Poe's narrative reads like a nineteenth-century Gothic tale. Overall, this was a very enjoyable read, one that showcases Oates's remarkable versatility, and reaffirms her place as a master of psychological suspense.

Joyce Carol Oates, Wild Nights!: Stories about the Last Days of Poe, Dickinson, Twain, James, and Hemingway (Ecco, 2008) ISBN: 0061434795

Review: Evil under the Sun

Hard to believe, with all the books I read, that I've never read an Agatha Christie before, but indeed, I have not. This was my first, and I can certainly see why Christie is the world's most-published novelist. If there's one thing Christie can do, it's tell a good story. And that's precisely what she does in Evil under the Sun. I can see why readers find Christie's work compelling; she draws her readers in quickly, with a large cast of thickly-described characters and a vivid sense of surroundings. Evil under the Sun brings us to a seaside resort, where a group of holiday-makers, including Christie's famous Inspector Poirot, find themselves attempting to deal with a broad range of personalities. Likely the most abrasive of all is the beautiful and capricious socialite Arlena Marshall. When she turns up dead in a remote part of the beach, it becomes Poirot's calling to determine her murderer. The resort's island location makes it unlikely that anyone outside the hotel could be responsible. Thus, Poirot must discover the murderer in his midst. Everyone, it seems, had a motive. Yet everyone too had an alibi. The answer turns out to be far more complicated than anyone had anticipated. Christie's gift is clearly to tell a gripping story. While there are no great lessons on morality or statements on the human condition within this it is certainly entertaining, enjoyable, and just a bit scary.

Agatha Christie, Evil under the Sun (Black Dog and Leventhal, 2006) ISBN: 1579126286

Also reviewed by Kate of What Kate's Reading. See the review here.

Sunday Salon: The Challenge Bug

I have recently discovered the joy of reading challenges, and I've discovered that there are many, many more of them in the book blogger community than I'd ever thought. It all started with me signing up for a few reading challenges on Librarything. I started with the 50 Book Challenge: read fifty books in a calender year. The 50 book challenge was my gateway drug. I then joined the 888 Challenge: read eight books in each of eight categories. This was quickly followed by the Dewey Decimal Challenge and its cousin, the Library of Congress Classification challenge. These are more long-term projects that involve reading something from each number of the Dewey Decimal System, and each category in the LC catalog. As I've gotten more into blogging and visiting other people's blogs, I've discovered that there are loads of reading challenges out there. I've decided to join several more. This week I joined the RIP III challenge, hosted by Carl at Stainless Steel Droppings. This is the perfect seasonal challenge. It involves reading a certain number (you choose, 1, 2, or 4) of scary books between now and Halloween. I've joined the Book around the States Challenge, reading a book set in each state of the union plus DC. I've also got myself in line to join The Second Canadian Book Challenge: read thirteen books by Canadian authors by next July. I've also just discovered and plan to join up with 342,745 Ways to Herd Cats. This challenge requires every participant to compile a list of ten books they love. These lists are compiled into one giant reading list and every participant then reads four books that are new to them. There's a great long and eclectic list from which to choose. I've got several more challenges in the hopper too. I'd join all of them today, except I need to blog about each of them and five posts in a day by yours truly is a little bit much. You'll see much more blogging about reading challenges in the coming weeks. So, how about you? Are you involved in reading challenges? Which are your favorites? Want to pimp a challenge you're hosting? That's cool too; I'm always looking for new ones!

My Challenges: RIP III

Another challenge I've just joined is the Halloween-spirited RIP challenge, that's Readers Imbibing Peril Challenge to you. This challenge focuses on mysterious, scary, gloomy, suspense ridden books: pretty much everything that speaks to the tenor of the Halloween season. There are several different versions, depending on how many books one wants to read. I've chosen Peril the First, in which I'll read four spooky books between now and Halloween.

Part of the fun of this challenge is putting together the list of potential reads. Every participant decides on a pool of books from which he or she will draw. Links to all of the pools are posted on the challenge website.

I've more or less put my pool together, here it is:

Jess Walter- The Zero

Carol Goodman- The Drowning Tree

Carol Goodman- The Lake of Dead Languages

Joyce Carol Oates- Haunted: Tales of the Grotesque

Joyce Carol Oates- Wild Nights!

Joyce Carol Oates- Bellefleur

Joyce Carol Oates- The Female of the Species

Peter Straub- The Hellfire Club

Patrick Suskind- Perfume

Ruth Rendell- The Crocodile Bird

Ruth Rendell- Vanity Dies Hard

Pam Lewis- Speak Softly, She Can Hear

Karen Novak- Five Mile House

Christine Wicker- Lily Dale

Marilyn Johnson- The Dead Beat

Agatha Christie- Peril at End House

Agatha Christie- Curtain

Agatha Christie- The Mysterious Affair at Styles

Agatha Christie- And Then There Were None

Agatha Christie- Easy to Kill

Agatha Christie- The Murder at Hazelmoor

Agatha Christie- Evil under the Sun

Patrick McGrath- Asylum

Frank De Felitta- Audrey Rose

So, a combination of fiction and non-fiction, everything from murder mysteries, to psychological horror, to non-fiction books about morbid topics- like a town that talks to the dead. I'm deliciously excited. I could have added more to the list, but decided that this was more than enough- I do only have to pick four, after all.

Interested in joining this challenge? Just click on any of the challenge images, and they'll take you there. Just looking for some great seasonal reads? Click on the pictures- you'll find the list of pools. There's loads of choices. And many thanks to Carl, who's hosting the challenge and made these kick-butt icons.