The Toledo Blade Online
The Toledo Blade OnlineThe Toledo Blade Green Edition
Click here to subscribe or renew!
Temp: 34°
Humidity: 92%
Sunday, 11/22/09
Home »    Arts/Entertainment »   Books » 

Click to Receive RSS Feeds!EmailPrint IndexHelp FacebookMySpaceDiggDel.icio.usFark

Article published April 27, 2008
Joyce Carol Oates takes license with writers' life stories
She imagines the final days of Hemingway and other literary giants

WILD NIGHTS!: STORIES ABOUT THE LAST DAYS OF POE, DICKINSON, TWAIN, JAMES AND HEMINGWAY. By Joyce Carol Oates. Ecco. 238 pages. $24.95


The incredible Joyce Carol Oates is on top of her game in this breezy collection of short stories in which she creates imaginary endings for the lives of five literary giants while emulating their writing styles.

There are moments of humor, horror, and suspense as Oates probes Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Henry James, and Ernest Hemingway with a credible examination of their inner turmoil and angst.

Poe's madness is examined through a diary he maintains as the keeper of a lighthouse, so alone he convinces himself that he's the last human on Earth. He seeks companionship from his beloved terrier, Mercury, though his insanity builds with each entry.

Dickinson is resurrected for a futuristic story in which figures from the past have been made into robots. This story is the one exception to Oates' probing the psyche of a famous writer, because the Dickinson robot lacks the human feelings that its owner craves.

Oates takes perhaps the greatest risk with her treatment of Twain, reducing the charming, affable Samuel Clemens to a manipulative, grandfatherly figure indifferent toward his adult daughter and obsessed with certain young girls - especially one he calls his "Angelfish." He feels they are the right age to fit his perception of sweetness and innocence.

Henry James is portrayed as a determined volunteer in a British hospital during World War I, someone addicted to helping patients. And Hemingway's mind is poked and prodded, with Oates dreaming up the possibilities of what he went through during his last days in Ketchum, Idaho.

This book is a bold project, one few writers could have pulled off with this level of success.

Oates is one of them. Her keen insight into her subjects comes through, but so does her love for literary mischief in a slightly dark and macabre way.

The finales she has conceived for this fivesome has the potential to ignite some controversy, yet Oates is simply doing a great job of what the most gifted writers do best: Use their imagination.

Contact Tom Henry at: thenry@theblade.com
or 419-724-6079.


Permanent Link

Culture
Updated: 3:46 pm
What is the American Dream?
MULTIMEDIA >>
Art
Updated: 3:50 pm
The artist’s vision: Sylvania ophthalmologist studies how painters’ vision problems affect their work >>
Music/Theater/Dance
Updated: 3:50 pm
Enduring charm of ‘Nutcracker’ >>
Music/Theater/Dance
Updated: 7:31 am
TSO celebrates American classics >>
Movies
Updated: 7:49 am
Movie review: The Twilight Saga: New Moon *** >>
Culture
Updated: 11:25 am
'New Moon' getting mixed reviews
THIN SLICES >>
More peach/entertainment stories





click here!

ADVERTISING SECTIONS
Kelly Heidbreder
Updated: 7:32 am
'Tis the season to plant bulbs >>

Kathie Smith
Updated: 7:01 am
Foods for the 'Border Battle' >>

Barbara Hendel
Updated: 7:38 am
ATT: Fall gala benefits area outreach organizations >>

More columnist stories

MOVIE SHOWTIME LISTINGS!
Showtimes, Descriptions, Trailers

TV LISTINGS!
Times, Channels, Descriptions


FIND RECIPES
Find great recipe ideas


Restaurant Guide

Search by cuisine


BROWSE CALENDAR
November - 2009
« October December »
S
M
T
W
T
F
S
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
2
3
4
5
MOST READ STORIES
1.  The view from the penthouse
2.  What is the American Dream?
3.  Enduring charm of ‘Nutcracker’
4.  The artist’s vision: Sylvania ophthalmologist studies how painters’ vision problems affect their work
5.  Gourmet dinner planned for St. Francis Knight's Ball
6.  It's family that makes Thanksgiving a special day
MOST E-MAILED STORIES
1.  Owens failed to address shortcomings in nursing
2.  BGSU plans for 2 new dormitories
3.  Buckeyes sport retro look of 1954
4.  Owens students get apology for lost accreditation
5.  Toledo fares poorly in survey
6.  Skeldon says he will step down Dec. 31, but Konop wants him dismissed immediately
7.  Ex-OSU coach Bruce instills passion for rivalry
8.  Company outlines $37.5M port plan
9.  Chrysler boosts Dundee plant; engine line to gain jobs, add output
10.  Owens faculty vote no confidence in provost


AP  News Headlines



AP  Business Headlines



AP  Sports Headlines


AP  Features Headlines
Copyright 2009 The Blade. By using this service, you accept the terms of our privacy statement and our visitor agreement. Please read them.
The Toledo Blade Company, 541 N. Superior St., Toledo, OH 43660, (419) 724-6000
To contact a specific
department or an individual person, click here.
The Toledo Times ®