Reviews

The Corn Maiden: And Other Nightmares by Joyce Carol Oates

abiveeke's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

3.5

hisdarkmaterials's review against another edition

2.0

JCO is NOT the author for me. I generally detest short stories as is, so I was holding out slim hope for this. I just found the stories odd and distasteful, and they weren't delivered in that wonderful creepy way King manages to do in his work...really when I read the words 'her cut', that just finished it for me. Something twisted in my gut and I could no longer enjoy any of the stories. They were well written although the copy I read had a shocking amount of typos!

rorolouisa's review against another edition

4.0

Mixed bag of stories. The last one made me feel physically ill.

hendersonj84's review against another edition

5.0

This is an excellent collection of unsettling and frightening stories. Each one has a near-perfect ending as well. 

oagermann's review against another edition

3.0

It was okay.

lafee's review against another edition

3.0

I was looking forward to reading another JCO after loving Foxfire a couple of years ago but this collection of short stories was underwhelming. I wonder if she just needs more room to write, as it often seemed like what might have been a good idea didn't have the space to be fleshed out properly. It all felt a bit half-arsed. I'll definitely try another of her characteristically huge books but her short stories aren't for me.

indiarosey's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.0

suneaters's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I have read another Joyce Carol Oates story that will stick with me for the rest of my life. "The Corn Maiden" is probably my favorite. I was on the edge of my seat reading it, hoping that that poor girl

wouldn't be sacrificed.

"Fossil Figures" and "Beersheba" and "Nobody Knows My Name" were also great. By great, I mean spooky and disturbing.

From a girl self-immolating after trying to sacrifice a classmate to a doctor drilling into a patient’s skull and accidentally killing her to twins being inescapably intertwined, every story is fresh and disturbing.

concertina's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.75

ckunkowski's review against another edition

2.0

meh...