Sign in with FacebookChibineko's Reviews > The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares
The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares
by Joyce Carol Oates
by Joyce Carol Oates
Chibineko's review
bookshelves: well-written-but-not-my-style, addicting, netgalley, horror, thriller, weird, suspense
Oct 18, 11
bookshelves: well-written-but-not-my-style, addicting, netgalley, horror, thriller, weird, suspense
Read from September 30 to October 17, 2011
I'll admit outright that I'm not overly a fan of Oates' writing style, but dangit... she knows how to write. Even as I asked myself why I'm reading the stories since I wasn't really digging them, I couldn't help but admire how well she managed to keep me turning the pages despite that.
First off, I just have to repeat the statement that Joyce Carol Oates knows how to keep someone reading. I really didn't like the writing style that the first story was written in but I just had to keep reading purely because I had to, no needed to know how it all ended. The titular story (Corn Maiden) is just one of many stories in this book, all of which delivered that same "gotta know how it ends" tension and suspense.
Out of all of the stories, I have to say that Helping Hands grabbed me the most. Some of the stories, such as Beersheba, piqued my curiousity and kept me thinking, but it was Helping Hands that really made me keep reading. All of the stories here deal with a very human and realistic evil, but HH was the far more realistic of all of them, which I liked. The "evil" in this story was all the more heartbreaking for the situations all of the characters were in.
While I do have to give JCO props for drawing me in, some of the stories seemed a little too much at times. Either they were drawn out a little longer than they should have been or they just didn't grab me like their counterparts did. I know that there are some here that I'll want to re-read but there's just as many that I don't really care to pick up again.
This was a good Halloween read and one that JCO's fans will want to grab as soon as the books hit the shelves, but for the rest of us I recommend it as a library read. This is one of the books I would recommend reading regardless of your personal tastes, but it might be a good idea to check it out at the library instead. In the end it's JCO's ability to keep me reading that makes me give it as many stars as I have.
4 out of 5 stars
(ARC provided by Netgalley)
First off, I just have to repeat the statement that Joyce Carol Oates knows how to keep someone reading. I really didn't like the writing style that the first story was written in but I just had to keep reading purely because I had to, no needed to know how it all ended. The titular story (Corn Maiden) is just one of many stories in this book, all of which delivered that same "gotta know how it ends" tension and suspense.
Out of all of the stories, I have to say that Helping Hands grabbed me the most. Some of the stories, such as Beersheba, piqued my curiousity and kept me thinking, but it was Helping Hands that really made me keep reading. All of the stories here deal with a very human and realistic evil, but HH was the far more realistic of all of them, which I liked. The "evil" in this story was all the more heartbreaking for the situations all of the characters were in.
While I do have to give JCO props for drawing me in, some of the stories seemed a little too much at times. Either they were drawn out a little longer than they should have been or they just didn't grab me like their counterparts did. I know that there are some here that I'll want to re-read but there's just as many that I don't really care to pick up again.
This was a good Halloween read and one that JCO's fans will want to grab as soon as the books hit the shelves, but for the rest of us I recommend it as a library read. This is one of the books I would recommend reading regardless of your personal tastes, but it might be a good idea to check it out at the library instead. In the end it's JCO's ability to keep me reading that makes me give it as many stars as I have.
4 out of 5 stars
(ARC provided by Netgalley)
Sign into Goodreads to see if any of your friends have read The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares.
sign in »
Reading Progress
| 10/06/2011 | page 81 |
|
31.0% | "I wasn't really fond of TCM to start, but I'm finding myself slowly getting sucked into it." |
| 10/07/2011 | page 156 |
|
59.0% | "The writing here is good but I'm not a big fan of JCO's writing style. I'm sort of ambivalent so far." |
| 10/10/2011 | page 160 |
|
61.0% | "Finished Beersheba. Intriguing since you wonder if her accusations were true or not, but I'm still not 100% on JCO's writing style. She can certainly write, though!" |
| 10/18/2011 | page 264 |
|
100.0% | "Finished the book. Definitely not my style but dangit, JCO definitely can suck you into a story." |
