{"id":1457,"date":"2022-07-30T01:00:24","date_gmt":"2022-07-30T06:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/?p=1457"},"modified":"2025-01-19T21:01:57","modified_gmt":"2025-01-20T01:01:57","slug":"book-dis-mem-ber","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-dis-mem-ber\/","title":{"rendered":"DIS MEM BER and Other Stories of Mystery and Suspense"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"book-14\" class=\"bdb-book-info\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/book_dismember.png?fit=250%2C381&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"DIS MEM BER and Other Stories of Mystery and Suspense\" class=\"alignright\"\/><strong>Title:<\/strong> DIS MEM BER and Other Stories of Mystery and Suspense<br \/><strong>Author:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/author\/joyce-carol-oates\/\">Joyce Carol Oates<\/a><br \/><strong>First Published:<\/strong> <span content=\"2017-06-06\">June 6, 2017<\/span><br \/><strong>Publisher:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/publisher\/mysterious-press\/\">Mysterious Press<\/a><br \/><strong>Pages:<\/strong> 256<br \/><strong>Genre:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/horror\/\">Horror<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/mystery\/\">Mystery<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/short-stories\/\">Short Stories<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/genre\/suspense\/\">Suspense<\/a><br \/><strong>Format:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/format\/hardcover\/\">Hardcover<\/a><br \/><strong>Source:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/source\/library\/\">Library<\/a><br \/><strong>Rating:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/book-database\/rating\/3\/\"><span class=\"bdb-font-awesome-star-wrap\"><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"fas fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><i class=\"far fa-star\"><\/i><\/span><\/a><br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/32508641-dis-mem-ber-and-other-stories-of-mystery-and-suspense\" target=\"_blank\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/addtogoodreads.png?ssl=1\" align=\"left\" border=\"0\"\/><\/a><br \/><br \/><strong>Synopsis:<\/strong> <p>In the title story, a precocious eleven-year-old named Jill is in thrall to an older male relative, the mysterious, attractive black sheep of the family. Without telling her parents Jill climbs into his sky-blue Chevy to be driven to an uncertain, and unforgettable, fate. In \u201cThe Drowned Girl,\u201d a university transfer student becomes increasingly obsessed with the drowning\/murder of another female student, as her own sense of self begins to deteriorate. In \u201cGreat Blue Heron,\u201d a recent widow grieves inside the confines of her lakefront home and fantasizes about transforming into that great flying predator\u2014unerring and pitiless in the hunt. And in the final story, \u201cWelcome to Friendly Skies,\u201d a trusting group of bird-watchers is borne to a remote part of the globe, to a harrowing fate.<\/p>\n<strong>Get the Book:<\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/4dtPvxw\" target=\"_blank\">Amazon<\/a>\r\n<hr \/><\/div>\t\t<script type=\"application\/ld+json\">\n\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Review\",\n\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2022-07-30T06:00:24+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\"description\": \"DIS MEM BER and Other Stories of Mystery and Suspense\",\n\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Radical Dreamer\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"url\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-dis-mem-ber\\\/\",\n\t\t\t\t\"itemReviewed\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Book\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"DIS MEM BER and Other Stories of Mystery and Suspense\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"author\": [\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t{\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Joyce Carol Oates\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/book-database\\\/author\\\/joyce-carol-oates\\\/\"\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t],\n\t\t\t\t\t\"isbn\": \"\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"numberOfPages\": 256,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"publisher\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Organization\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Mysterious Press\"\t\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\t\"image\": \"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/book_dismember.png?fit=250%2C381&ssl=1\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"datePublished\": \"2017-06-06T00:00:00+00:00\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/www.goodreads.com\\\/book\\\/show\\\/32508641-dis-mem-ber-and-other-stories-of-mystery-and-suspense\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"genre\": \"Horror\"\t\t\t\t},\n\t\t\t\t\"author\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Person\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"name\": \"Jamie\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"sameAs\": \"https:\\\/\\\/pastelgoth.net\\\/blog\\\/\"\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \"reviewRating\": {\n\t\t\t\t\t\"@type\": \"Rating\",\n\t\t\t\t\t\"ratingValue\": 3,\n\t\t\t\t\t\"bestRating\": 5\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t}\n\t\t<\/script>\n\t\t\n<h2>Review<\/h2>\n<p>Joyce Carol Oates really knows how to write deeply uncomfortable fiction, she is a master of psychological horror. <em>DIS MEM BER and Other Stories<\/em> is a collection of disturbing short stories, with many of the stories exploring the way that women acquiesce to the abuses of men, whether out of self-preservation or fear. Oates&#8217; writing remains ever sharp and a range of characters teetering on the edge of self-destruction. The stories were overflowing with characters&#8217; feelings of insecurity, fear, bitter jealousy and the often stream of consciousness narratives can feel overwhelming.<\/p>\n<p>My favorite was easily the titular <strong>DIS MEM BER<\/strong> followed by <strong>Great Blue Heron<\/strong>, they are both strong stories that made me fly through the pages. In all this is a good collection, with the exception of the last story, they all felt fairly cohesive. Perhaps not the authors&#8217; strongest, but it solidifies my interest in Oates&#8217; writing.<\/p>\n<h4>Individual Story Notes:<\/h4>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>DIS MEM BER:<\/strong> The titular story sets the tone early for the dark themes of moral decay in this book. It was reminiscent of <strong>Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?<\/strong> This story was brutal in its portrayal of gaslighting and grooming, as an 11-year old becomes the target of an older male relative.<\/p>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>The Crawl Space:<\/strong> This story was claustrophobic and overwhelming. It follows the story of a widow, longing for the house she used to live in for twenty years with her husband. The confines of her marriage are made terrifyingly literal, a smart character study.<\/p>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>Heartbreak:<\/strong> It was an interesting family drama, focusing on two sisters who twist and become different people, bitterly jealous over the attentions of a boy. The character work in this story was good, but I didn&#8217;t care so much for the ending.<\/p>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>The Drowned Girl:<\/strong> Follows a struggling older university student that becomes obsessed over the mysterious death of another university student she had never met. The incident takes heavy inspiration from the unsettling Elisa Lam case from 2013, which was unsatisfyingly ruled an accident. The main character&#8217;s spiral into madness, brought on by unexpected debt and the pressures of higher education, begins to liken herself to the drowned &#8220;victim.&#8221; I liked the ideas in this story, but I couldn&#8217;t stand the main character, and this made the story feel like it dragged a bit.<\/p>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>The Situations:<\/strong> This story was really three tiny shorts in one, about boys and fathers that exert violent control, these stories are short but felt like a hard slap.<\/p>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>Great Blue Heron:<\/strong> Honestly this was one of the best stories out of the bunch, following a grieving widow and the mounting pressure placed upon her, particularly from a gold-digging relative. She is unsettled but drawn to the predatory Great Blue Heron that hunts in the lake by her house. This story was wickedly vicious and I adored it.<\/p>\n<p>&hearts; <strong>Welcome to Friendly Skies!:<\/strong> A satire about airline flights, it had its amusing parts but did not leave much of an impression on me.<\/p>\n<h2>Rating Breakdown<\/h2>\n<table align=\"center\" width=\"100%\">\n<tr>\n<td width=\"34%\">DIS MEM BER: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<br \/>\nThe Crawl Space: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606<br \/>\nHeartbreak: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/td>\n<td width=\"33%\">The Drowned Girl: \u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<br \/>\nThe Situations: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606<\/td>\n<td width=\"33%\">Great Blue Heron: \u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605\u2605<br \/>\nWelcome to Friendly Skies!: \u2605\u2605\u2606\u2606\u2606<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<table align=\"center\" width=\"100%\">\n<tr>\n<td width=\"100%\"><center><strong>Favorite Story:<\/strong> DIS MEM BER<\/center><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n<h2>Quote<\/h2>\n<p><center><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>&#8220;And if a man hurts you, and you show that hurt, and your eyes lock with his, <em>he will never forgive you<\/em>. For always you will be <strong>the girl he has hurt<\/strong>, which means you are the girl <strong>he can always hurt again<\/strong>.&#8221;<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/center><\/p>\n<h2>Content Warnings<\/h2>\n<span class=\"ubb-spoiler\"><a class=\"ubb-view-spoil\">View Spoiler &raquo;<\/a><span style=\"display: none;\" class=\"ubb-thespoil\">Abortion, Animal Cruelty, Child Physical Abuse, Child Sexual Abuse, Divorced Parents, Fat Shaming, Graphic Descriptions of a Decaying Corpse, Grooming, Gaslighting, Gore, Gun Violence, Kitten Deaths, Mutilation, Sexual Assault, Underage Drinking <a class=\"ubb-hide-spoil\" style=\"cursor: hand; cursor: pointer;\">&laquo; Hide Spoiler<\/a><\/span><\/span>\n<h2>About the Author<\/h2>\n<div class=\"ubb-about-author\">\n<h3>About Joyce Carol Oates<\/h3>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_joycecaroloates.png?fit=200%2C200&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft ubb-about-author-photo\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_joycecaroloates.png?w=200&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_joycecaroloates.png?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/author_joycecaroloates.png?resize=75%2C75&amp;ssl=1 75w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 100vw, 200px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Joyce Carol Oates is a recipient of the National Book Award and the PEN\/Malamud Award for Excellence in Short Fiction. She is also the recipient of the 2005 Prix Femina for The Falls. She is the Roger S. Berlind Distinguished Professor of the Humanities at Princeton University, and she has been a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters since 1978. She also writes under the pseudonyms Rosamond Smith and Lauren Kelly.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ubb-author-links\"><a href=\"https:\/\/celestialtimepiece.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Website<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joycecaroloates\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Twitter<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/joycecaroloatesofficial\/\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Facebook<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/author\/show\/3524.Joyce_Carol_Oates\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Goodreads<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3Y3rjh8\" target=\"_blank\" class=\"\">Amazon<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Review Joyce Carol Oates really knows how to write deeply uncomfortable fiction, she is a master of psychological horror. DIS MEM BER and Other Stories is a collection of disturbing&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1456,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[9],"tags":[70,4401,4693],"book-author":[141],"book-illustrator":[],"book-series":[],"book-publisher":[],"book-genre":[],"book-source":[],"book-format":[],"class_list":["post-1457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-book-review","tag-american-literature","tag-plane-awful-flight","tag-we-used-to-live-here","book-author-joyce-carol-oates"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/book_dismember-header.png?fit=1080%2C540&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1457"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23267,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1457\/revisions\/23267"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"book-author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-author?post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"book-illustrator","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-illustrator?post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"book-series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-series?post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"book-publisher","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-publisher?post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"book-genre","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-genre?post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"book-source","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-source?post=1457"},{"taxonomy":"book-format","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pastelgoth.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/book-format?post=1457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}