Spend a 'Wild Night' with Joyce Carol Oates

Oates is known for her subversive taste in topics and her emphasis on the dark and unnatural, and those elements are in full force in "Wild Nights!" In this novel, Oates focuses on the last days - in essence, the climactic moments - in the lives of Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, Henry James and Ernest Hemingway. Each writer's tale is distinct from the others, but they all blend together in a distorted way that leaves the reader feeling a bit discomforted.

Dickinson's poem "Wild Nights" lends the book its title and serves as the epigraph. The segment about Dickinson, however, seems to be an outlier from the other stories, making her poem a strange choice for the title. When describing the desperate moments of Poe, Twain, James and Hemingway, Oates assumes the narrative voice of each author. Their perspectives show the lack of sanity that comes in the final moments of lives consumed with the transcendence of norms. In stark contrast to these exposed, raw thoughts, Dickinson does not relate her own tale, nor does she even exist in her own story. She is instead present in the form of a futuristic robot designed to mimic the behaviors of the 19th-century poet. Characteristically, Oates leaves the reader in the dark as to the time period of the robot, though she does relate that a "normal" couple decides to purchase the Dickinson robot to brighten their home. The Dickinson-bot's experiences delve into the issue of feminism in society.

The story of the Dickinson-bot exceeds the others in its disturbing nature, which is quite a statement, as the others include many physically and intellectually unsettling events.

When Oates guest-lectured in ENG 133: Princeton University Reads on Oct. 8, she discussed the process of presenting such emotionally charged characters. "To me," Oates said, "it was moving to immerse myself in their lives." In parallel, it was moving to read such accounts, especially because I first read the novel for the class and was surprised to find myself so fascinated by something I might not otherwise have read. The book's description seemed too "out there" for my taste, but ultimately, I enjoyed the insanity.

The stories are ordered chronologically, and each ascends in intensity, giving the book as a whole a relatively consistent structure despite its numerous, subjective voices. Poe's story comes first and is the most bizarre of the bunch. Think fantasy meets horror meets sci-fi, complete with creatures unknown in this world, one of those you-have-to-read-it-to-believe-it things. If you're not thinking "What the #@%* is going on with this book?" by the end of the first story, perhaps you need to go back and reread. The approach fits the subject's own style, as Poe's grotesque works resembled his demise.

The tragedy mounts with each successive tale. Twain develops controversial relationships with young girls - whom he calls "Angelfish" - in his exclusive club. What begins as James working at a hospital ends as a tragic account of his views as he lay on his deathbed. Hemingway's downfall is the most memorable and distressing. Oates acknowledged during her lecture that Hemingway's death was the most difficult for her to write.

The conclusions of each author's tale offer no definitive ending. They are the good kind of cliffhangers, the kind that leave plenty of room for possible escape, life and more destruction. If you're the kind of reader who wants to have the loose ends tied up, it may be best to keep away from this book.

After reading "Wild Nights!" I was left disturbed, pensive and yet still impressed by the effect such ludicrous stories could have on my opinions of feminism, domestic entrapment and the results of people needing other lives to enhance their own. I was compelled to research the subjects' lives to find the connections to their "Wild Nights!" personas, and I was shocked that many things I had been sure were made up were actually true. In this sense, Twain's character and his relationships with "Angelfish" in real life are especially noteworthy.

You will not be able to put this novel down, due in part to its shock value. It is a great read, but don't expect to ever think of Poe, Dickinson, Twain, James or Hemingway in the same way again.

Pros: never dull, fascinating, reveals depth of well-known authors

Cons: a bit too absurd at times, includes a lot of cliffhangers, though those could be pros for some

4.5/5 paws