Night, Neon
 First edition | |
| Author | Joyce Carol Oates |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Mystery, Suspense |
| Publisher | The Mysterious Press |
Publication date | 2021 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Media type | Print (hardback) |
| Pages | 299 |
| ISBN | 978-1-61316-230-9 |
Night, Neon: Tales of Mystery and Suspense is a collection of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates published in 2021 by The Mysterious Press. The volume comprises eight short stories and a novella, "Night, Neon."
The story "Parole Hearing, California Institution for Women, Chino, CA" won the Pushcart Prize, XLVI: Best of the Small Presses and was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense, 2021.[1]
Stories
- "Detour" (Harper's Magazine, March 2021)
- "Curious' (Salmagundi, Spring/Summer 2021)
- "Miss Golden Dreams 1949" (Collectibles, ed. by Lawrence Block, May 17, 2021)
- "Wanting" (Narrative Magazine, Winter 2018)
- "Parole Hearing, California Institution for Women, Chino, CA" (Boulevard, Spring 2020)
- "Intimacy" (Vice, December 4, 2017)
- "The Flagellant" (in At Home in the Dark, ed. Lawrence Block, April 30, 2019)
- "Vaping: A User's Manual" (in The Nicotine Chronicles - Akashic Drug Chronicles. ed. Lee Child, September 15, 2020)
- "Night, Neon" (American Short Fiction)
Reception
Reviewer Ben East at The Guardian regards the collection as classically Oatesian in theme and style; in other words "a disquieting snapshot of American life on the verge of individual or ideological collapse."[2]
Kirkus Reviews regards the stories as less plot-driven and more a collection of horror fantasies presented through "flashbacks, reflections, or complications of their powerful opening tableaux." Indeed, "nightmares is an even more apt term than usual for these stories."[3]
Theme
According to Publishers Weekly, "Abuse, madness, confinement, and flight are prominent themes in this strong collection of nine varied, dark, and disquieting stories from Oates."[4]
Footnotes
- ^ Oates, 2021 p. 299: Acknowledgments
- ^ East, 2022: "You tend to know what you're getting with an Oatesian short...and these nine additions to her oeuvre don't disappoint."
- ^ "Neon, Night". Kirkus Reviews. April 15, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
- ^ "Neon, Night". Publishers Weekly. April 26, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
Sources
- East, Ben. 2022. "Night, Neon and Other Stories of Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates review – nuanced, not neat, thrillers." The Guardian, March 27, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/27/night-neon-and-other-stories-of-suspense-by-joyce-carol-oates-review-nuanced-not-neat-thrillers Accessed 2 March 2025.
- Oates, Joyce Carol. 2021. Night, Neon: Stories of Mystery and Suspense. The Mysterious Press, New York. ISBN 978-1-61316-230-9