Book Review: "A Darker Shade of Noir" ed. by Joyce Carol Oates

Joyce Carol Oates is probably one of the foremost voices on women's fiction in the modern age and is perhaps one of the most influential women writers in the 20th century. Her writing of horror in the everyday world of being a woman is amazing and in this anthology, she forms a book of some of the best writers of her own era and those after her on the same subject. It's all about the body horrors of being a woman and with each story, there is a new perspective and a new idea. These stories are often horrifyingly addictive and have a special quality of being some kind of universal experience for women whether that be literally or through the metaphor that the story presents. The narratives are dark and often reflect the writings of Joyce Carol Oates and the way she interweaves the woman's body with her dangers and horrors.

One of the first stories I enjoyed because of its weird metaphors and the satisfaction it brought me upon reading it was called Frank Jones and was a version of a Frankenstein story, directly referring to the text it was inspired by. It is about a woman who makes a sort of doll, however it is not actually a doll but a person made from...well that would spoil it. She then is blamed for being the weirdo and tormenting her work colleagues who are, altogether hateful and vapid human beings who pretty much get what the deserve. In this first of many 'good for her' stories, the author Aimee Bender creates something horrifying, fantastic and very intelligent. It becomes even better when you find out what the extended metaphor is.

Another story I enjoyed was called Scarlet Ribbons by Megan Abbott. It is about a house in which a man murdered his wife and child before killing himself and how, many years later, this murder turned into a form of a community-based urban legend. The main character has been forbidden from visiting the home even though other students at her school have. She hears the rumours and the gossip of people still talking about the house and how it has been abandoned. In a classic Haunting of Hill House style, nothing really stops the main character from wandering in against her parents wishes. Her own father is a kindly man who talks in his sleep and her mother is a caring woman with boundaries. But everything might change for the worse once their daughter steps foot in that house. Or perhaps, it will stay the same and just exacerbate itself. In a wonderful metaphor for the silence and yet, media-based sensationalism of violence against women, the author weaves a near-perfect nightmare.

The final story I will tell you about is called Dancing with Mirrors by Lisa Lim. Now, this one might be quite short in comparison to the others and yet, it still packs a real punch about how women are mainly valued for their looks before anything else. It is about a woman who is remembering her mother and she remembers her as this hyper-feminine entity that is barely human. Her mother cannot possibly have one wrinkle on her face, her husband is abusive and her life revolves around getting plastic surgeries and making herself beautiful as by her own mother, this was taught to be her only advantage. This twists into a horrific story of psychological abuse passed on through generations and honestly, it was pretty shocking for such a short story. Well written and atmospheric, this story makes a great symbolic analysis on how women are taught to value their looks before everything else and if they don't, they will be cast out of being included and will not be deserved of any kindness or respect.

Joyce Carol Oates has probably formed one of the most incredible short story anthologies of women's body horror in this book. Yes, some of the stories may not be as strong as other ones and some of the stories may start off really quite slow and not be as frightening. But the big deal here is the metaphors which reflect a universal experience of quite possibly all women everywhere. This is both fascinating and terrifying.