This morning I finished another book entitled Wild Nights by Joyce Carol Oates. The concept, where the author delved into the psyche of five famous authors, captivated me immediately.
Oates details stories about Poe, Dickinson, Twain, James, and Hemingway detailing their innermost thoughts and fears leading to their demise. She tackled the daunting task of attempting to imitate the prose of these iconic authors. I did feel that she mostly captured the essence of each author; admittedly, I would imagine how impossible it would be to imitate the genius of Poe!
The book was depressing, however, as it unfolds and delivers a message of how utterly alone most of these authors felt in their lives. The book ends with the suicide of Hemingway; I found his story the most disturbing of all five! I do like her style of using a short story for each author to capture the story.
Quick thoughts:
On a scale of 1 to 5, (1 being "Hated It" - 5 being "Loved It") I would give this a 3+. It was good yet depressing.
Would I recommend it? As an English teacher, I liked reading about the authors, so YES!
Would I read it again? Potentially I would read the stories isolated, but not as a whole.
Until next book. . .
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