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The darkness of the mind: as horror writer and critic Donald Burleson says, "With the possible exception of Shirley Jackson, no one since [Edgar Allan] Poe has examined it with such candor as Joyce Carol Oates." This novella-length book--a bibliophile's delight with its oneiric woodcut illustrations, elegant font, and undersized hardcover format--uses natural imagery of swampy water, snakes, hawks, gnats, and eerie vegetation to evoke the troubled moods of an 11-year-old girl. The Christian symbology is reminiscent of Nathaniel Hawthorne. The abuse the girl suffers--sexual and overt from her male cousin, subtly sadistic from her neglectful mother--is harrowing. And yet the horrors of the events are muted by the way in which the story comprises a single episode that comes to a close and leaves room for hope.
Source: Amazon.com.
A novella by the endlessly prolific Joyce Carol Oates, "First Love" is at once an exploration of the darkness that sometimes suffices for family life (familiar Oates territory) and a Christian allegory for the modern age of incest, child abuse, and bondage and discipline. The heroine is a not-quite adolescent girl named Josie who suffers physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her demonic cousin, a divinity student named Jared, and psychological abuse at the hands of her neglectful mother. Jared's work includes binding, gagging and other unsavory acts in which blood plays an important role. The mother works her damage through means that are less spectacular but somehow manage to be far more sinister. The big question--is Jared snake or savior?
Source: Amazon.com.
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