"'Bad blood'! --what does that mean?" I asked, revulsed by the thought, and Mother said, "'Bad feeling.' basically," and I said, "But why call it something so ugly-- 'bad blood'? Ugh." My throat choked up as if the smell was with us in the room. "One day," Mother said ominously, yet with satisfaction, "you'll know." sweet Jesus, this was a disturbing novella.SOME SPOILERS but nothing you won't find right on the back cover of the bookprecocious 11-year old Josie and her intriguing but worthles

This is in reply to the current one other reviewer and to anyone who leans toward their same viewpoint on stories such as these:This is one of Oates best.Stirring, evocative, emotional and haunting.The kind of story that at least on some level sears itself into ones memory.Oates commonly writes about unconventional romantic relationships and romances that others find unsettling or disturbing. Its one of her trademarks.If that bothers you, you should likely steer clear of much of her work as you

This 1996 novella makes for a curious little book. The hardcover’s title is lettered on the dust jacket in a shiny purple foil blackletter typeface, and the narrative is pointedly labelled “A Gothic Tale” on the title page. Barry Moser’s cover and inside illustrations—stark black-and-white engravings—hark back to a nineteenth-century style. Given this packaging, all postmodern pastiche with a nudge-and-a-wink from the shiny purple decoration, one would not necessarily expect such grim subject ma...

3.5 stars. A young girl's introduction to her reclusive, religious cousin is the beginning of a hidden relationship. This has a rich atmosphere, fevered with summer heat and the southern gothic. The stylized voice lands somewhere between genre and literary, and it alternates between a claustrophobic second person and a distant, sardonic third person. It leans into its liminal space to interrogate what's "real" in the relationship, how it appears, is depicted, is conceptualized: a transforming sn...

Once again JCO defies the GoodReads rating system. If reading Zombie is like playing in a biohazard bag, then First Love is like playing in a velvet pouch. Lined with wolverines. Seriously warped, beautifully written and illustrated.It rang a little hollow for me this time around--I'm not sure why. Maybe because it's hard to believe that the narrator seems relatively unscathed at the end. Because there's a whole of scathing going on in this story.

Such a cute, tiny book! It looks like it could be a children’s book but it’s more like that adorable fluffball kitten that slices your hand open with its razor sharp claws! Definitely one of her darker stories, and this lady is DARK. Bless her heart 🙃

A nasty little 80 page story.

The content was highly disturbing. No reprieve except one thankfully or I would’ve thrown it in the garbage. I give it 3 stars because it is well written, the symbols used within the story are all clear but I wasn’t able to find the right combination to find the story within the story. Probably because the content was freaking messed up.

coming to realize that Joyce carol Oates' fiction is actually more disturbing than the foot tweet

My morning of election read yesterday. Disturbing and immensely quotable.'Mother said, her gaze on me calculating, impatient, of the silver glint of light reflected in swift-moving water, "There is no 'there', there is only 'here'. Just as there is no 'then', but only 'now'. America is founded upon such principles, and, as Americans, we must be, too."'

A weird, creepy and kinda gross little thing.

Very weird book - creepy, in fact, and while it never directly addresses what is the overarching theme of the story (pedophilia), it is clear that Jared (the saintly boy, the seminary student) is a perverted predator. That Josie's mother can't see this, and the boy's grandmother refuses to acknowledge it is most disturbing part of the book. It is labeled a gothic tale, and while there are gothic elements, in my mind it is less a gothic tale than a tale of extreme perversion.

I grabbed this from my local Brooklyn library branch in a mania of acquisition, of which books have been the most recent target. I was halfway out the door when "author-I've-heard-of-but-haven't-read" and "thinness" and "at-reachable-shelf-level" conspired to add this to my stack.Oates is a talented writer and this story was very evocative in the typical gothic ways. It's a short, entertaining read. If you spy it on your local library shelf, snatch it up!

The subtitle: "A Gothic Tale," prepares the reader for the stylized prose, and mysterious, dark, pastoral setting: many of the literary tropes of gothic literature. Typically the protagonist is a young female, sexually innocent, and full of curiosity. The prose is a bit...breathy at times, but I really enjoyed the book as a whole, including the lovely engravings.

This was probably one of the most disturbing and uncomfortable novels I have ever read, although it was very good and had a lot of mystery in it.

This book is more a long short story (86 small pages) than a novel, or even a novella. The story centers around an eleven year old girl named Josie. Josie is lonely as is her mother who left her husband and moved with her and Josie in with her aunt. Enter Josie's second cousin Jared, Jr. who is on leave from his theology studies and moved into the house as well. Josie and Jared, Jr. are both fascinated by one another, and Jared takes advantage of Josie's young age and interest in him and uses he...

this tiny, unsettling, gothic tale is laden with disturbing imagery, twisted relationships, and predatory evil + josie, an 11 year old child, is left unprotected by her self-centered mother, is ignored by her uncaring aunt, and is most grievously violated by her strange, manipulative, abusive cousin + the moser woodcuts intensify the dark, menacing feeling that pervades the book•“You would not call it love you would have another name, another word for it.Shutting my eyes sometimes to the point o...

Wow. This is one of JCO’s great gothic works. It’s a very short read, but it’s jam packed with searing imagery, gothic themes and a puzzling, scary, sometimes heartbreaking, often creepy view of Josie and her family. Some readers may find the book disturbing but one’s reaction does not change the fact that JCO has done an outstanding job of portraying the psyche of these characters and the gothic time and place of this tale. Only an extremely powerful writer can accomplish such complexity and de...

Twisted as only Joyce Carol Oates can do. A short, quick read, while densely layered and rich in detail. Oates' sustained interrogation of humanity's dark heart is a vital contribution to American literature.

Striking, dark, poetic and revealing. The book will take you to a different world. Joyce Carol Oates always has the power with her poetic, strong and elegant writing style and her very selective choice of words.

I went on a JCO kick after reading "Where are you going, where have you been?" in the Norton Anthology, not knowing how fucking prolific this woman is and that not all JCO books are created equal.I remember this being a good and creepy little tome and worth a re-visit if I can find my copy.

A grim, disturbing little novel. Not particularly enjoyable but definitely hypnotic.

This is highly disturbing.

Vivid, lurid, and entrancing

Ms. Oates will always be one of my most favorite writers. However, her work is usually quite disturbing. Highly intelligent JCO is no doubt a literary genius.

Airplane read.

Beautiful writing, disturbing plot, great illustrations.

I'm a fervent fan of Joyce Carol Oates, though I'll admit I don't appreciate all her works equally. I hate to use the judgment "like," as it isn't professional in a critical approach to a book, so I'll say I partially appreciated 'First Love,' with a few reservations. (And I do wish more reviews focused more on criticism and not direct "like" or "dislike." Things are seldom so cut and dried, though I've been lazy in that exact same way myself, so I'm not without sin.)Even considering my familiar...

I am torn about this one. Alright, I will be honest: I picked this up (okay, I did not pick anything, I hunted it across the internet - I had to order this from the U.S.A. and wait about 2 months for it to arrive and paid a whopping 0.49 cents) specifically for the theme. Yeah, I am a sick fuck. I enjoy fiction that deals with twisted themes, to see how well they can sell me the madness in it. I want it to make me see the other side. And this... well... Okay, let´s start with the positive: the w...

First Love is a compelling novella that tells the story of an eleven year of girl named Josie whose mother leaves her father and decides to take Josie away to upstate New York where the two will live with her aunt. Josie soon realizes, that she has never met this aunt before and that the aunt is infact her GREAT aunt whom her mother has not seen for decades. Josie is an inquisitive girl, which her mother finds troubling at times, who finds it difficult to settle into her great aunt's house where...