Evil Eye: Four Novellas of Love Gone Wrong

Few authors are able to create an atmosphere of unease and terror as well as Oates, and the four novellas in this collection prove the point. In the title story, “Evil Eye,” a young woman has recently become the fourth wife of a man who is demanding. When his first wife comes to stay with them, she warns her that he is insane, and that she must protect herself.
 
 A fateful meeting in a library leads to a boy’s obsessive interest in a teenage girl in “So Near Any Time Always,” which originally appeared in the renowned mystery journal Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. In “The Flat-Bed,” which was written specifically for this volume and is in print for the first time, a beautiful young woman, for reasons she cannot comprehend or explain, struggles with frigidity. The act that finally releases her will shock readers.
 
 All the novellas in this collection feature love that is somewhat askew, just off center and, ultimately, horrifying.

Joyce Carol Oates is one of the world’s foremost chroniclers of the darkness that may lie within the human heart. In this collection of four terrifying novellas Oates shows just how far awry true love can go.

Readers know that few authors are able to create an atmosphere of unease and terror as well as Oates, a fact confirmed by the four novellas presented here.

In the title story, "Evil Eye," a young woman has recently become the fourth wife of a highly demanding man. When his first wife comes to stay with them, she warns the new bride that her husband is insane, and that she must find a way to protect herself. In "So Near Anytime Always," a fateful meeting in a library leads to a boy's obsessive interest in a teenage girl. In "The Execution," spoiled college student Bart Hansen has forgotten to factor in one person in his plan to commit the perfect, brutal crime: his mother. And in "The Flatbed," a beautiful young woman struggles with frigidity until a shocking act releases her.

All the novellas in this collection revolve around the theme of love gone wrong--horribly, shockingly wrong.

In addition to many prize-winning and bestselling novels, JOYCE CAROL OATES is the author of a number of works of award-winning gothic fiction. In 1994, Oates received the Bram Stoker Lifetime Achievement Award in Horror Fiction. She lives in Princeton, New Jersey.