Joyce Carol Oates is a powerhouse of a writer. Her strengths lie in the ability to portray so many different types of pain, loss, disfigurement and cruelty, but in such vivid, gorgeous prose that a reader has to force themself to look away. These stories are strong stuff, and I took them a few at a time. Impossible to read from cover to cover without a respite. My admiration for her has not diminished in the almost 40 years that I've been her fan, knowing that each year I'll have something new from her to relish.