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5 starsThis review is just for the short story of the same title. It left such a mark on me back when I first read it in high school. I randomly think about this on multiple occasions as well as sometimes having to indulge in watching the film adaptation "Smooth Talk". This is entirely some of my worst fears, and in a way as such as listening to true crime podcasts and documentaries—this short story has a calming effect to my nerves on the grounds of being able to assess odd behaviors and manner...
Oh boy this was creepy. I love this woman, but don't read her if you're struggling with any emotions unless you want them to get deeper and blacker. Her prose will consume you.
The titular story remains one of my favorite short stories of all time. It’s one I recommend to people by starting with, “Hey, you wanna read something disturbing?”And it is disturbing in a subtle, creeping, nagging way. The uncanny, sinister feeling does not go away no matter how many times I re-read it, which shows Oates’ mastery at building atmosphere. It is a story you can analyze and discuss, puzzle over the details, talk about the characters and what they might represent, and so on. A shor...
Excellent collection; the title story was beautifully and creepily filmed as "Smooth Talk" with Laura Dern. Oates excels at bringing out the macabre in every day life, e.g. what happens when a 15-year-old girl. as Roger Ebert notes, "flirts in the wrong places." This book, and especially this story, will resonate with those who have had a few close encounters of the wrong kind in our teen years. The menacing stranger in the story was loosely based on a real character, Charles Schmid, "The Pied P...
I've read the title story but I'm not sure what other (early) stories of hers I've read. Liked that story, though Joyce Carol Oates' stuff is sometimes so edgy and raw it's like trying to swallow razor blades.
Masterful writing. She subtly builds the tension in the story in such a way that you don't realize your nerves are on edge until the end of the story. Fantastic story telling. That the story is based on real events adds a extra dimension of creepiness. Connie could be anyone's 15 year old daughter. This story is a really poignant social commentary about the impact of hyper-sexualized popular film and music on on adolescent children's perceptions about sex and love.
"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been" may be my favorite short story of all time. I remember being stunned by its darker themes and originality when I first read it in college. I don't know what gave rise to the idea for the story in Oates's mind, but the deeper feelings behind it - and my own interpretions - have stayed with me many years down the road.
"'The place where you came from ain't there any more, and where you had in mind to go is cancelled out. This place you are now- inside your daddy's house- is nothing but a cardboard box I can knock down any time. You know that and always did know it. You hear me?'"This is a really creepy little story about the duality of the teenaged mind and the vulnerability that comes along with that. So much tension is excellently built up over the course of the plot, and so much is told about in Connie that...
No stars. This is literally my least favorite thing I've read in my entire life. It gave me 300000 nightmares. I might consider that a good thing, except the story is just an allegory about virginal purity. The brilliant symbolism here? Her house is a vagina. Her house. Is a vagina. HE is a metaphor for a dick. Do you know how fucked up this story is? Also, terrifying me about the possibility of rape? Not something that deserves any stars whatsoever. God, I feel gross even talking about this. Ne...
If I had adolescent teenage daughters; or, if my own adolescents had been anything like this, I believe the book would have resonated more. Maybe I'm too old to remember feeling the things that Connie did, but I don't remember anything like that going on in my head. My mother would have snatched me up by the arm and given me a good shaking if I had treated her as Connie treated her mother. Because I can not relate I'm left with a "judge-ee" mind and just kept shaking my head at Connie's choices....
I saw "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" on a list of best short stories and sought it out. It is a creepy, tense story about a teenage girl who skips a family outing to stay home alone, but she gets an unexpected visitor. The story gave me chills.
This was a surprising like for me. I liked the story lines of most the stories, and they are easy to read and have a lot of 'thinking' and depth to the plots.I had to read this for a class, and thought I would end up skimming this. It was definitely enjoyable.
