Faithless: Tales of Transgression

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Summary: She's the best...
Review: Another fantastic, moving, thought provoking book from the master.

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Summary: Bleak and bleaker
Review: The stories are bleak and depressing and should be sold with a warning label. I came away from reading the book feeling sorry for Ms. Oates for her miserable perceptions on life.

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Summary: one of the greatest living writers
Review: while i'm no longer an advocate reader with my busy schedule, i do like to read short stories or novellas from time to time. in fact, i think i tend to suffer from acute laziness when reading anything that doesn't pertain to my work or junk mail which are receive tons of all the time in my p.o. box. after years of reading a short story here or there, i'd never read a book of short stories all the way through & in such a short period of time. from the moment i picked this book up on the bargain rack in border's to the time i went to bed later that evening, i couldn't tear myself away from the book. believe or not, i actually stopped taking phone calls & i had no desire for any kind of noise in the background (or just the minimum noise) which is unusual because i love music, movies, & lotsa noise generally speaking. when i began reading oates, i couldn't bear the though of the least distraction. i wanted to be literally taken away into her world of destruction, despair, and the tortured sould which only ms. oates can give. in a world of little faith, we find so many people here losing their way and struggling to maintain balance and find hope. faithless tells the tales of the sins we commit against others and the sins commited against us both forgivable and unforgettable. here we stories steeped with violence, aggression, & confusion which we can all surely identify with in this day & time. whereas there are books that you can read one short story & skip the others, you will want to read every story here and then seek out other books this magnificent woman has written. of all the literary minds still living in the world today, joyce carol oates has proved once again that she is tops & has never been anything less than the serious writer she aspired to be. recognized everywhere now by literature lovers &critics or even talk show hosts like oprah winfrey, it's impossible to avoid her name so you might as well follow the phenomenon yourself & discover the urgency of her work. it is easy to understand now after reading faithless why ms. oates work has won so many accolades through the years. this volume of work alone is proof that she deserved them. i'm now in the process of finishing up her collector of hearts but that's another story & another review. seek out faithless, my devout reading friends.