American Gothic Tales

Rating:
Summary: The dark side of the American psyche
Review: American Gothic Stories ed. and with an introduction by Joyce Carol Oates. Highly recommended.

In this 1996 anthology, noted American author Joyce Carol Oates collects American tales of horror and/or the supernatural, from an excerpt from Wieland, or the Transformation (1798) by Charles Brockden Brown, to "Subsoil" (1994) by Nicholson Baker, so that the 50 stories here represent nearly 200 years of the darker side of the American psyche.

The stories, arranged in chronological order, show some clear trends. In early stories, by Brown, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and even Edgar Allan Poe, religion plays a prominent role. Interestingly, God and his creation are seen as at odds with one another. For example, in Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown," the forest and the darkness are where Satan meets humanity. "The Tartarus of Maids," an industrial creation of Herman Melville's, is set in a remote rural location, contrasted to another Melville story (not included here), "The Paradise of Bachelors," set in a London gentlemen's club. Perhaps this conviction that nature is a place of mystery, evil, and fear, explains the early (and current) American drive to conquer it.

Another theme is denial of responsibility for one's own terrible actions. When called to account for committing some of the most heinous crimes possible, Wieland's defense is inarguable: He has proved his faith in God by doing that which God desired of him. (Unlike Wieland, the reader will recognise that the "shrill voice" expressing God's bloody will from behind a "fiery stream" is more likely that of the fallen angel Lucifer.)

A second example is the famous Poe story, "The Black Cat," in which the narrator, noted from infancy for his "docility and humanity," becomes a cold-blooded maimer and killer of that which he loves most. To what does he attribute his violence and subsequent fall in fortunes? Not to himself, but to the "Fiend Intemperance," saying, "for what disease is like Alcohol!" While Poe, a self-medicating alcoholic and bipolar sufferer, seems to have had an early understanding that alcoholism is not a moral deficiency but a disease, his narrator's choice of scapegoat does not explain the obvious: Most alcoholics do not maim and murder.

In "The Yellow Wallpaper," Charlotte Perkins Gilman also beats the medical establishment in recognising a pathological condition rather than a purely emotional one: Postpartum depression. Gilman gets her digs in at the predominantly male medical profession-the narrator's own husband, who makes every misstep conceivable in his attempts to "help" her, is a physician. Feminism and the gothic meet.

As the collection progresses in time, the stores become less religious and psychotic in tone, and some, such as "Snow" by John Crowley and "The Girl Who Loved Animals" by Bruce McAllister, are more science fiction than gothic. "Exchange Value" by Charles Johnson translates the tradition of psychological horror into inner-city terms. "Replacements" by Lisa Tuttle is telling commentary on the battle of the sexes; a literal vampire is preferable as an object of affection, attention, and obsession to the emotional vampire the human male of the story represents.

Other highlights include "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury, which combines gothic sensibilities with science fiction; the unforgettable "Cat in Glass" by Nancy Etchemendy, in which the narrator's implausible reality is the only one that makes sense; and "In the Icebound Hothouse" by William Goyen, where erotic elements predominate.

A personal favourite, "The Lovely House" by Shirley Jackson, succeeds in evoking the surrealism of that most tangible and ordinary of places-a home.

In some cases, I wish Oates selected more obscure works of equal quality by the same author; for example, I wonder if there are any H. P. Lovecraft short-story alternatives to the oft-anthologised "The Outsider." Still, it is innovative of Oates to include "The Enormous Radio" by John Cheever, who is not traditionally seen as a gothic writer-although "The Swimmer" might have been an even better choice.

With the exception of a handful of selections (most notably Oates' own "The Temple," which is unoriginal and uninteresting), this is a rich, diverse collection. In the end, it does leave one wondering, What exactly is gothic? As helpful as some of the information Oates provides in the introduction may be, she offers few if any insights into the nature or history of the American gothic or the authors whose works are found here.

One quibble: I would like to have seen each story's year of publication included at its end, as is the case with many anthologies. Although the authors' birth and death dates are part of the contents page, some dates are mentioned in the introduction, and there is a permissions page with copyright dates, there is neither a comprehensive nor an elegant way for the interested reader to place each tale in its historical context-a serious deficiency in an otherwise excellent collection.

Diane L. Schirf, 13 May 2003.

Rating:
Summary: Fascinating Literature and Mind Boggling Horror
Review: American Gothic Tales is a masterpiece of collected short stories edited by Joyce Carol Oates. You find a diverse variety of authors from Poe, who is very well known for conveying a message with spine tingling chills, to Ray Bradbury, who also writes children's books. Amongst these writers are many others who make this book so much fun to read. One of my favorite stories in American Gothic Tales was The Veldt, by Ray Bradbury. A mother and father, and their two children are spoiled and over dependent on this house of electronics, leading to murderous betrayal. Wow, this story and all its toiling events grapple with illusions of ferocious beasts, and the smell of blood left to linger in the air. The Lovely House is another terrific story about a house, and its consequential importance to a family. Shirley Jackson does a wonderful job of unfolding a fabulous mystery, which will leave you pondering your thoughts. John Cheever's The Enormous Radio is different in its unique style and ironic conclusion. The Westcott family is respectably average people, and the parents of two young children. Irene, the wife, is at first repulsed by the new radio her husband has bought in replace of the old one. Throughout the course of a few days, she engrosses herself with the gumwood cabinet and reveals a side of her only comparable to melancholy. This story of substitution takes a twist revealing acts of selfishness, and inhumanity. The simple lives of this ordinary family are no longer the same, truths are told, and secrets are uncovered. Lisa Tuttle's Replacements deals with a different find of substitution, a kind that derogates the existence of mankind. An awkward creature makes its way into the lives of women, fulfilling the man figure of vitality. This story is very strange and creative, using an analogy that is very real in the lives of many women.

Rating:
Summary: A great book to read on a wet, lazy day.
Review: American Gothic Tales, edited by Joyce Carol Oats, is a wonderful compilation of short stories from the bizzare and twisted to the utterly grotesque. This book includes authors known for their horrific tales like Edgar Allen Poe and Anne Rice, to others such as Charolette Perkins Gilman and Mark Twain, who I would not expect to be included in this anthology of gothic tales. "Freniere" by Anne Rice (one of my favorite storytellers) takes your imagination to the mysterious and historical city of New Orleans.In some hotel room in the French Quarter, a vampire named Louis tells the agonizing story of his life as the undead. Shirly Jackson's perplexing story "The Lovely House" will keep you guessing the entire time you are reading this haunted tale. The most thought provoking story I read was "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charolette Perkins Gilman. This is a tale of a woman who's greatest enjoyment comes from writing, but due to the repression by her husband and the times she lives in, she is denied her greatest pleasure. As you turn each page, you will find yourself joining in her downward spiral to insanity. Of coarse a collection of gothic tales would not be complete without a story from Poe. Oats pick, "The Black Cat" explores the maddness of a man addicted to alcohol and the cruelties he inflicts upon his beloved cat Pluto, and wife.

Rating:
Summary: A book of value
Review: By far American Gothic Tales is a magnificent book. The book includes many wonderful authors with spine-chilling stories. One of the stories is Ray Bradbury's "The Veldt" it deals with a highly advanced house that caters to the families every need, the parents find something very unsettling in the children's room, this story has a chilling ending. Another great story in Shirley Jackson's "The lovely House" this is a story of never ending cleaning, it has a wonderful twist in characters at the end of the story. One of the story's that I will never forget is Bruce McAllister's " The Girl Who Loved Animals" A twenty year old girl with a mental handicap, has something strange growing inside of her. She loved the animals so much she took money to have a baby gorilla implanted inside of her, this story has a lot of shocking fads but a wonderful ending. An particular story that keeps you hanging on to every word and wondering what is going to happen next is Edith Wharton's "Afterward" this story is about a newlywed couple who encounter strange things, the wife finds out a secret her husband has been keeping from her, then he has a mysterious disappearance. The books' stories are filled with mystery and horror that is guaranteed to make you sleep with one eye open at night. This is a classic book that will be around for centuries to come. Joyce Carol Oates did an outrageous job of editing these stories. What a wonderful arrangement of many great authors both old and new. This I will keep this book for years to come, to look back one day on all the great authors and their stories. These are the stories I will tell to my children sitting around a campfire late at night.

Rating:
Summary: An excellent variety of creepy and haunting stories
Review: From stories that leave you wondering what you just read, to stories that will make you turn all the lights, American Gothic Tales has them. Edited by Joyce Carol Oates, it contains stories that date back to the late Nathaniel Hawthorne to the present day writings of Nicholas Baker. Of the 32 stories compiled into one i enjoyed reading many of them. "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gillman, is one of the strangest stories I have read. In the story, a woman, who today would be considered fine, is locked up in isolation to help restore her to proper mental stature. In another story, Shirley Jackson's "The Lovely House", a young lady is always preoccupied by a ghost with which only she can see, keading her friends to think she is somewhat crazy. Lisa Turtle's "The Replacments" is one of those creepy stories that make you check under the bed for monsters. In the story, women find these small alien creatures and make them their primary companios over boyfriends and husbands in an eerie non-hostile take over. Another story that leaves you wondering is Breece D'J Pancake's "Time and Again". The narrator, who turns out to be a mass murderer leads you through a dreary day of his life plowing snow. This story makes you analyze every aspect of it just to understand it. One of the final stories I read was Bruce McAllister's "The Girl Who Loved Animals" in which the setting takes place 50 years in the future. When a young girl is impregnated with a gorilla embryo, much controversy is stirred up. Through everything though the mother and child remain oddly familiar to each other throughout the future which makes for a trange and unique ending.

Rating:
Summary: Amazing collection of gothic tales...
Review: I had no idea what to expect when I picked up this book. All I knew was that some of the authors sparked my attention -- namely Joyce Carol Oates, one of my favorite writers, as the editor -- because I had no idea that said authors wrote gothic tales. This is one of the darkest, most thought-provoking and downright sinister short-story collections out there. The horror in the stories are like no other ones I have read. I still haven't been able to get some of these stories out of my head. My favorite stories are "The Black Cat," by Edgar Allen Poe; "Afterward," by Edith Wharton; "Freniere," by Anne Rice; "In Bed One Night," by Robert Coover; and "Replacements," by Lisa Tuttle. This book definitely made an interesting read on my round trip train ride to be with family on Thanksgiving. American Gothic Tales enthralled me from beginning to end. I highly recommend this collection to those who are in the bargain for literary gothic stories written by literature's biggest names from yesterday and today.

Rating:
Summary: WOW!
Review: I haven't had a chance to read all of the stories, but all that I have read so far I have loved! This collection of short stories is a wonder mix of the horrific and bizzarre

Rating:
Summary: Not my usual
Review: I usually stick to bestsellers or Oprah club selections like THE HEART IS A LONELY HUNTER or McCrae's THE BARK OF THE DOGWOOD, but this one caught my eye. Then again, it does that that southern gothic title, so this was probably the reason, and the McCullers and McCrae are at their core, gothic. At any rate, I'm not a Oates fan, but this is by far the best thing she's done. I'd give it ten stars if they allowed it. VERY well written and entertaining without being overly commercial.

Rating:
Summary: Oates provides a great mix of soul-stirring tales.
Review: In her introduction, Joyce Carol Oates proves that "gothic" literature is not an attack on mankind's sameness. Instead, it is a new view on how mankind has changed, and how every man in himself is different. In this anthology of 46 stories from 18th-century to the present, Oates shows that life is truly unpredictable and that through the generic horror of a situation, we can still look back and realize how much we missed the first time around. One of Shirley Jackson's best, "The Lovely House" for example, we never notice the most significant element of her story until the last few pages. It is toward the end the end of her story that we are able to think of all of the coincidences. Breece D'J Pancake's "Time and Again" tells a story in the first person of a serial killer. Although the fact is never directly revealed, the imagination puts into play this obvious possibility. Also, Oates arranges her stories in such a matter which produces an appreciation for simplicity and peace. Bruce McAllister's "The Girl Who Loved Animals" gives hopelessness and despair a new angle when a rebellious young daughter becomes a walljacker, and sex change operations are the trend. This story also promises a sanguine expectation after a retarded girl carries a Gorilla gorilla beringei in her womb so as to deplete its extinction. This world, as chance would have it, is not as chaotic as the compilation of well-chosen stories seems to be. Regardless of how matter how gruesome the outcome may be, the "good ending" is always to our advantage as we are the ones in front of the pages reading the entertaining atrocities and the characters are the players in our imaginations.

Rating:
Summary: An array of interesting and strange gothic tales.
Review: Joyce Carol Oates has created the ultimate collection of gothic tales. Oates has included some of the most popular writers of gothic literature such as Edgar Allen Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Oates also included writers that aren't traditionally associated with the gothic tale like Stephan King and Anne Rice. With not any experience in gothic tale writing the writers did a wonderful job of making their stories gothic material that is exciting and eerie. American Gothic Tales includes forty-six short stories that range from the 18th century to present time. Also ranging from Puritan Paranoia to Biological Surrealism. American Gothic Tales includes stories that will make you wonder and make you think. American Gothic Tales is a wonderful book full of some of the best gothic tales. Lisa Tuttle's Replacements and Ray Bradbury's The Veldt are two of my favorite stories. I would recommend taking the time to read some of these amazingly strange stories and you will enjoy them as much as I did.