©1996, ProMotion, inc.
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Joyce Carol Oates has written drama, poetry, and prose in the course of her long career, and her voluminous output of fiction would intimidate even the most devoted fan. Fortunately for her readers, Oates also excels in the short story format, which allows them to experience a potent, measured dose of her literary talents.
With a cool omniscience and impeccable sense of structure, Will You Always Love Me? broods with the knowledge of tragedy, disaster, and horrifying discovery. Characters plan acts of revenge or simmer with the guilt of an unconscionable deed, and Oates acts as a witness, describing cruelty, need, and violence with all the complexity that they deserve. The works in this collection return invariably to the dark curiosities of human behavior, and to individuals rendered helpless by forces of nature or the idiosyncrasies of the human mind.
The stories appear in thematic clusters, but no one concept dominates, such as Oates's particular fascination with the imminence of death. "Act of Solitude," "The Passion of Rydcie Mather," and many others contemplate the slow-motion morality of apathy and revenge; Oates peers down stoically and examines the delicate detail of tragedy in motion. Even "June Birthing," a relatively upbeat work, still centers around the possibility of needless loss.Individual peril and the danger of a precarious mental state complement the book's concern with the larger pattern of life and death.
"The Track" places the reader inside the mind of a man thrust into a frightening physical situation, while "Mark of Satan" follows the logic of depravity. Both works express Oates's bleak observations in sharp personal detail.
Will You Always Love Me? satisfies beyond its primary themes with the surprise of its balance. While the collection's award-winning selections and showcase pieces are well worthwhile, others linger longer in the mind: "The Handclasp" for its aching look at dreams and responsibility and "The Lost Child" for its powerful, punch-in-the gut awakening. The moral complexity of these stories is never lacking, and their human spectrum encompasses a distinctly broad range: damaged innocents, the spiritually chosen, and the vacuous rich (a moment of cruelty in "Is Laughter Contagious?" shocks the reader but reveals the character's emotional and social development with great precision).
In the title story, a woman victimized by fate seeks reassurance from her companion. Oates's mastery of such emotional states and the strength of her vision beg no such reassurance from the reader. This confidence bolsters the stark quality of the work included here and seems to ensure its enduring following.
©1996, ProMotion, inc.