Book Review: "High Crime Area" by Joyce Carol Oates

Yes, it's another JCO book and yes, it's another short story anthology. Why? Well, I've been to a new library and the only one I haven't read in terms of JCO novels from this place is called High Crime Area. I hope I get some more because I honestly do not have the money to buy all of her books. Perhaps one or two, but she hasn't written one or two has she? She's still writing more as we speak and well - I'm never going to have enough money at this rate. Let's take a look at High Crime Area, a short story anthology by Joyce Carol Oates.

One of the stories is called The Home at Craigmillnar in which an elderly woman dies and everyone is rather upset. But then, some secrets from her past start to surface. These secrets include working in orphanges in which she inflicted abuse upon young and vulnerable children. It is one of those stories where death kind of blows everything wide open. An elderly woman who everyone (including the reader) felt bad for when she died just happened to be someone questionable is something that Joyce Carol Oates does often - she leaves the climax out and moves us on to the aftermath. It's all about what happens when everyone finds out. Silence safeguards hidden violence and well, we can see it everywhere.

Another story I liked was called Toad-Baby because it is classic Joyce Carol Oates. It is a story narrated by a thirteen-year-old girl and tells of her and her half-brother's struggles under an alcoholic mother. On top of this, their mother is also very neglectful of them. The girl narrates the way their home seems to switch between the shame they feel because of their lifestyle and the way in which the children must survive on their own. Exploring the child of the family and their perspective is something that reminds me of A Book of American Martyrs but there is something more here, there isn't really just one climax. It is more about the way in which the children must protect themselves in dire situations.

Another story I enjoyed in this anthology was called The Rescuer in which a graduate student named Lydia visits her brother Harvey in his apartment which is far from anything nice. She is dragged towards his world which is filled with horror, danger and chaos. She meets a boy called Leander and tries her luck once again. Joyce Carol Oates tells us the tale of a woman who is out of her depth but, tries her luck anyway. It is really something quite horrifying and again, it has nothing to do with the actual climax but rather the things that happened after the fact.

Another story which I thought was very well written was the title story named High Crime Area in which a white woman seated in her car believe she is being tailed by a dangerous black man. She's a professor and even though you'd believe she was intelligent, she makes a series of strange thoughts and decisions. Joyce Carol Oates is definitely trying to show us how smart people can often believe in things that are completely weird and out of character. But this story has a confrontation I'm not going to tell you much about - only that this woman is armed for the situation.

The moral and ethical ambiguity that litters each of the stories is something that Joyce Carol Oates even does in her novels. I think that this set of short stories is a really good example of the way in which she often makes us question the motives of the character we are examining. My favourite story from this whole book has to be the first one because it is the one where basically nothing actually happens and yet, we are left with all of the questions we possibly could.

All in all, I think there is much to be said about this short story anthology even though it is rather short for a Joyce Carol Oates anthology. It is an enjoyable read and has a running theme. Though it isn't horror, it still gives us a taste of what we can expect of morals and ethics from some of her best books.

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