Move over, Stephen King! THE COLLECTOR OF HEARTS is another fascinating volume of
nightmarish fiction from Joyce Carol Oates. Like her previous collection, HAUNTED, THE
COLLECTOR OF HEARTS blends heart-stopping horror with the elegant style that is Oates'
forte.
A woman surrenders to her deepest fears as she searches a house room by room for a man
believed to be dead. A mother invites her daughter into a terrifyingly dark and icy realm
where they can never be apart. A celebrated entertainer returns to her hometown, where she
is welcomed by half-remembered faces and an unnerving greeting: "Welcome Back
Forever." There are over 30 examples of the depths to which Oates will go to turn out
the most spine-tingling tales with the most efficient language, creating stunning examples
of the Literary Fiction at its best.
Awarded the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award in Horror Fiction and the Best Horror
Novel (for ZOMBIE), and nominated for a World Fantasy Award (for HAUNTED), Oates has an
affection and unstoppable predilection for the intellectual and visceral mysteries of the
human experience. THE COLLECTOR OF HEARTS is sure to make your hair stand on end and your
brain stand up and cheer for the intelligent and elegiacal prose with which Oates scares
the living daylights out of you!
Definitely read these at night, preferably late and rediscover the hairs on the back of
your neck. It will be days before you or they relax again...
--- Reviewed by Jana Siciliano
