A huge collection of short stories ranging in scale of creepiness.

I liked a lot of the stories here, very Stephen King-esc in terms of writing and characters. I wasn't really scared of any of the stories, but they were definitely interesting! Joyce Carole Oates is an unsung icon and this is the perfect vessel to showcase her skills.

A wonderfully disturbing and highly detailed set of stories that are so relatable and personal it almost seemsthey must be non-fiction. This volume is true to every past reading JCO experience. A truly engaging collection.

Extenuating Circumstances by Joyce Carol Oates is an anthology of short stories in the crime/suspense genre.

First, let me thank NetGalley, the publisher Penzler/WW Norton & Company and of course the author, for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.


My Synopsis and Opinions
As always, each short story deserves it's own review.   These have been published over the years in various places.  They are all in the crime/suspense genre.  Someone generally dies, and some are a little disturbing.

The Death of Mrs. Sheer ... Two cousins are hired by their uncle to kill a man, but he turns the tables.  Hated this one...boring characters.  1 star

In the Warehouse ... A young girl makes a new friend, who is a "little" bossy.  Quite good. 4 stars

By the River ...  A young woman returns home from the big city, and her father meets her at the station.  Not sure.  3 stars

Queen of the Night ... A woman divorces, and remarries.  Not impressed.  1 star

The Revenge of the Foot, 1970 ...  A young medical school student parties with others (and a foot), and then visits her lover.  And the point was??? 1 star

The Doll ... A woman sees a house which reminds her vividly of a dollhouse she had as a child.  Strange story, but kept me interested.  3 stars

Little Wife ...  A young woman comes to town and is willingly taken in by a number of men, written from a 12 year old boy's perspective.  Interesting, if a little dark.  4 stars

Yarrow ...  A man borrows $500 from a cousin, with eventual repercussions.  Makes me think before lending money.  4 stars

Haunted ...  Two young girls explore the abandoned houses around their county.  Interesting.  4 stars

Death Valley ... A meeting in Vegas leads to a trip to the desert.  Somewhat confusing.  2 stars

Craps ... Another Vegas story.  2 stars

Family ... A "family" learn to live in changing times.  This was really good!  Absolutely loved it.  5 stars.

Ladies and Gentlemen ...  This cruise will be the last you ever take....Good story!  4 stars

Why Don't You Come Live With Me, It's Time ... A young girl has a special relationship with her grandmother.  This was okay.  3 stars

The Buck ... A woman tries to protect a wounded buck.  Not a fan of the topic, so.... 0 stars

The Model ...  A high school student poses for an elderly artist in the park, but the past comes back to haunt her.  Somewhat predictable, but a very good story.  4 stars

Extenuating Circumstances ...  There are NO extenuating circumstances for what happens.  Hated it. 0 stars

The Girl Who Was to Die ... A woman overhears a conversation between her step-daughter and a friend, who later ends up dead.  I must have missed something.  1 star

Poor Bibi ... The death of a "pet".  Hated it. 0 stars

The Undesirable Table ...  A group of friends is provided a table for dinner next to the front window.  So? 1 star

The Hand-Puppet ... A child creates her own hand-puppet, but neither her mother nor the school children are impressed.  2 stars

Valentine ...  A young girl has a crush on her teacher.  2 stars

The Collector of Hearts ... A young delinquent is invited back to the house of the judge who suspended her sentence.  There she sees his collection of hearts.  3 stars

The Sons of Angus MacElster ...  Six sons decide their father should not have publicly humiliated their mother.  3 stars



Not enjoying the first story really put a damper on the start of this book.  As well, long boring paragraphs in the next few didn't help.  

Overall, the collection was okay, but surprisingly, boring.  A few were (I assume) purposely left unexplained.  I was expecting more from this author, so was rather disappointed.  Each story was rather long, and except for a few, lacked excitement.    This was really close to being a no-finish, but then I would have missed a few really good ones, so, I'm glad I hung in there.

I think the author has really grown as a writer, and these older stories do not do her justice.



For a more complete review of this book and others (including the reason I chose to read/review this book, author information and contact details, as well as a favorite quotation from the book), please visit my blog: http://katlovesbooksblog.wordpress.com/

JCO is one of my favorite writers, and this collection of stories did not disappoint! I would have liked a little bit of a shorter collection; a 500 page collection is pretty unusual. I did enjoy the stories, as they were very well-written, dark, and exciting!

Joyce Carol Oates is consistently a master of many genres, is prolific, and is still at the height of literary craft. I enjoyed this exploration of the mystery genre from a major talent.

This is a huge collection of short stories by acclaimed author Joyce Carol Oates, most of which were previously published in magazines and other media over time. There are 24 stories total, and several are not exactly all that short, so this book is a time investment! In typical Joyce Carol Oates style, the stories are well-written and many are dark and. unexpected. She always keeps me on the edge of my seat! “Family” stuck out to me, so deliciously, creepily good! I really liked the collection for overall, although I think I may have liked it better divided into two smaller volumes to be enjoyed on separate occasions! I am big fan of this author and will continue to read anything she publishes!

Thank you very much to NetGalley and Penzler Publishers for the advanced reader’s copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This book was, overall, fine. In my opinion at over 500 pages it was way too long for a short story collection -- I usually pick up short story collections that are around 250-300 pages maximum. After that, they often get a bit repetitive and the book starts to drag, which is what I experienced with Extenuating Circumstances. This was particularly unfortunate because I thought the stories in the second half of the book were on average much more enjoyable than the stories in the first half. A lot of these stories were very similar and some definitely could have been left out (the first story particularly rubbed me the wrong way). Other than my gripes with the length and amount of stories, the writing was well done and lovely.

Thank you NetGalley for giving me an ARC!

Love anything by this author and this one did not disappoint! Absolutely fantastic. Thank you to publisher and NetGalley for access to ARC.

4.25 stars
A fantastic collection of short stories written by a master
I thoroughly enjoyed this whole book. Most were wonderful but a couple I didn’t connect with as much! I highly recommend.