Dark Eyes on America

<p>"A sound and engaging book that creates a balanced overview of Oates's career while tackling the question of her role in the wider community." -- Modern Fiction Studies</p><p>Joyce Carol Oates is America's most extraordinary and prolific woman of letters. In Dark Eyes on America Gavin Cologne-Brookes illuminates the vision of this remarkable master of her craft finding evidence in her novels of an evolving consciousness that ultimately forgoes abstract introspection in favor of a more practical approach to art as a tool for understanding both personal and social challenges. With her clear-eyed perception of human behavior Oates has for decades offered unhesitating explorations of genre topic and style -- making her an inevitable if somewhat elusive subject for critical assessment. Cologne-Brookes's conversations and correspondence with Oates his close textual study of her novels and abundant references to her essays stories poetry and plays result in a work that critically synthesizes the layers of her writing. This comprehensive yet accessible study offers an essential analysis of one of the twentieth century's most significant writers.</p><p>"A thoughtful thorough study which... encourages readers to re-examine Oates's novels within a philosophical context" -- Journal of the American Studies Association of Texas.</p>