I Am No One You Know: Stories
by Joyce Carol Oates
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 289)
Read in December, 2007
This was my first encounter with Oates, and I found her writing extremely articulate and quite disturbing. It seems clear from the nature of her stories that in her life she encountered, probably as a young girl, some sort of violent trauma; most of her stories center around death or violence. That said, though her characters find themselves in extreme situations likely difficult for the average reader to empathize with (murder, rape, acute mental illness), they are believable, and piquant. In h...more
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Read in April, 2008
Typical of Joyce Carol Oates: deep psychological portraits of people in seemingly extraneous circumstances, but with emotions and events that are hauntingly familiar to readers. Even though I've never experienced the horror in these stories, I was able to feel the characters' pain, thanks to Oates' tightly woven writing. Reminiscent of Poe, each word is carefully chosen to elicit the desired response in the reader's mind.
Some reviews that I've read posit that something horrible must have ha...more
Some reviews that I've read posit that something horrible must have ha...more
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Read in February, 2008
Joyce Carol Oates is a wonderful writer, and the characters in this collection of short stories were extraodinarily drawn in just a relatively few pages. I would have rated this book higher, but most of the stories were very disturbing (such as the one about the "bad" twin kept in a basement because she was so out of control, or the one about the English graduate teacher, drawn to the creepy ex-con in her class who was stalking her)and by the end I was more than ready to reach the end.
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Read in August, 2008
Okay I have to confess...I stopped reading this book. I knew that there were several stories in one book; however, I thought they were complete stories. Just when the story was getting good and interesting, it was over, without an ending. I was getting so frustrated with all of the stories. I wanted to know more, I was left in suspense and I wasn't too thrilled about that. The stories were good (what there was of them), so that is why I didn't go with a lower review.
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Read in May, 2007
I picked up this book to study short story creation and practice and found myself reassured on several levels. In the past, I've never much cared for short stories. They're ... short. But Oates packs so much into a short story it's inescapably obvious that there is something lasting to this form of writing. She isn't scared to end a story at the climax and does so with effortless grace. Her potent imagination is apparently endless.
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A book of short stories. I've read some of her stuff before and liked some of it and haven't liked some of it. I really like most of these stories so far and want more more more. It's like each story is just a chapter of some bigger book. I have only read a couple of stories so far. Very emotional...while not necessarily "difficult" to read, I wouldn't call it light reading. She knows how to set a mood.
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Read in January, 2005
recommends it for:
everyone
sometimes i think that when joyce carol oates sits down to write, she thinks to herself: what will break my readers heart?
because she does. repeatedly. in different and utterly profound ways. this is my favorite collection of her shorter pieces and for anyone not interested in hanging around for 300-400 pages of drama (we were the mulvaneys), these little stories will have a profound affect - i promise.
because she does. repeatedly. in different and utterly profound ways. this is my favorite collection of her shorter pieces and for anyone not interested in hanging around for 300-400 pages of drama (we were the mulvaneys), these little stories will have a profound affect - i promise.
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Joyce Carol Oates is just way too diffuse for me, stylistically speaking. I know this will seem like heresy to some, and I don't mean to imply that she isn't a literary genius ... BUT, I just can't get past the incredibly high ratio of words to actual plot or thematic CONTENT, you know? So, go on ... tar and feather me. That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it.
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Read in January, 2004
Another one of the better authors of short stories. These are about people damaged by rape, murder, arson, terrorism and other nasty ways that people treat each other. Not for the sensitive reader!
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Excellent collection of short stories. Shows the grey areas of ethical dilemmas and the other side of issues that we may think we have formed definite opinions on. Highly recommended.
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Read in January, 2007
I think I prefer JCO in short story version better than full length novel - her writing is so tight and concise and always seems to hit close to home, sometimes in very unusual ways.
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Read in January, 2007
a collection of short stories. they were all good... but the thing is that one joyce carol oates story is depressing enough.... 19 stories in a book is just overwhelmingly sad.
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Read in July, 2008
Stories that make me feel closer to myself.
I want to talk sit and have a conversation with this woman and ask her why she writes stories that are in my head already.
I want to talk sit and have a conversation with this woman and ask her why she writes stories that are in my head already.
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Read in March, 2008
I'm only about halfway through this collection of short stories. Very good, but very depressing and heavy. There's only so much of Oates I can handle.
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Read in January, 2008
Some stories I could have done without, but her writing style really draws you in and some of the stories are haunting. Definitely on the darker side.
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Read in January, 2007
As is often the case for me and Oates, these were pretty hit or miss. There were a few I really liked, though--"Three Girls" was one of my favorites.
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I love JC Oates. This collection was one of the best I've read in a long, long time. She is such a vibrant and raw writer; I love it.
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These are some really haunting, strange short stories, which is why I love them. I'd like to pick up some of her other collections.
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Has a copy to sell/swap
I read about half of this book and the half that I read was good, but not good enough to convince me to finish the book.
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Read in February, 2008
My first experience with Oates. I found it largely designed to be "oh my god!" inducing without a whole lot else.
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book data (includes all editions)
avg rating (all editions): 3.89 (202 ratings) avg rating (this edition): 3.87 (201 ratings) number of reviews: 31
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