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Title: Dark and Depressing
Review: The tales in this collection are certainly grotesque, and if dark and depressing is the standard for what constitutes a horror tale, then these are definintely horror. (Oates has something to say about what defines horror in her Afterword.)But I digress, and shouldn't be quibbling about whether these stories are or are not truly horror stories. Instead, I should be concentrating on whether or not they are entertaining.My answer to that is that they are beautifully written (as is most of Oates' work), and technically well-crafted. Thus, the four-star rating.But...entertaining? I'm sorry to say: not for this reader.The psychological effects of the stories, was, for me, not "chillng", but depressing.The characters droned, seemed hopeless, usually WERE hopeless (no discernable changes by the end of a story), and generally just plodded on, until the author abruptly ended their adventure.Oates is a skilled writer, but less so in crafting horror fiction than other genres.
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