[poohbear_nc]

Joyce Carol Oates has channeled Stephen King and written a short homage of sorts -- Jack of Spades -- a well written psychological suspense tale with a most unreliable narrator, who happens to be a writer that critics are comparing to Stephen King.

Oates has written in other authors' styles/voices [see Wild Nights] - but AFAIK this is her first novel using a living author's voice. It was reviewed in the NYT BR as part of Marilyn Stasio's new mystery collage column, but I wished King had reviewed it.

As you read it, and the narrator compares himself to King, you begin to wonder what Oates' purpose was .... trying to show that anyone can write like King, taking a scholarly poke at King, celebrating King's writing, .... or just having fun.


IMHO Oates' oeuvre has been denigrated by 'experts' - partly b/c cause of its volume, partly b/c of its uneven quality, and perhaps mostly b/c of its uncomfortable content focused largely on violence amongst very nasty or unlikeable characters. The absence of The Accursed from any major literary award list well illustrates the reluctance of the literary establishment to value her writings.
[off my soapbox now]