Reviews

A Darker Shade of Noir: New Stories of Body Horror by Women Writers by Joyce Carol Oates

annacanizales's review

dark

3.5

tadydid's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

It was fun to pick up every now and then and read a story or two. Most of them were good, there were just a few I could’ve done without, including the story by Joyce Carol Oates ( I feel really bad about that, but I’m not changing my mind, haha).

charm_city_sinner's review

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

hwaldooo's review

i got like 4-5 stories in? it was just too much cringe white lady feminism

xoxorcist's review

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

A perfect cozy, spooky read for the Halloween season. 

jo_in_bookland's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

3.5

This anthology includes some great stories by women encompassing various forms of body horror.

As expected, some are very disgusting. The majority were quite interesting and unique. Out of 15 stories, there are only 5 I didn't really care for.

My favourite stories were by Tananarive Due, Megan Abbott, Margaret Atwood, Lisa Tuttle, Aimee LaBrie, Valerie Martin and Sheila Kohler.

Even though I'm familiar with many of the authors, it was my first time reading any of them, except for two. I'll definitely be seeking out more works by my favourites.

helaisme's review

dark sad fast-paced

5.0

ropalimpia's review

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix

1.5

So. There are a few stories in here which were body horror, but most were not. I would say maybe about a third? Maybe less. Some of the stories felt flat. Some of them were stand outs. Particularly, "Breathing Exercise" by Raven Leilani was really good, and made commentary on the kind of tragicizing of the black female body to the point that she no longer has self-autonomy in artistic presentation and how the world is so violent towards black women as a whole that it's become desensitized to seeing it. Would I call it body horror? Ehhh, loosely? But it was really the only story that felt substantial. Everything else feels hollow. (Except for the stories by Margaret Atwood and Aimee Labrie, although the Margaret Atwood one is definitely not body horror in any sense of the word.)