Dear Husband

A gripping and moving new collection of stories by Joyce Carol Oates, which reimagines the meaning of family—by unexpected, often startling means

With the unflinching candor and sym­pathy for which Joyce Carol Oates is celebrated, these fourteen stories examine the intimate lives of contemporary American families: the tangled ties between generations, the desperation—and the covert, radiant happiness—of loving more than one is loved in return. In *Cutty Sark* and *Landfill,* the bond between adolescent son and mother reverberates with the force of an unspoken passion, bringing unexpected consequences for the son. In *A Princeton Idyll,* a woman is forced to realize, decades later, her childhood role in the destruction of a famous, beloved grandfather's life. In *Magda Maria,* a man tries to break free of the enthralling and dangerous erotic obsession of his life. In the gripping title story, Oates boldly reimagines the true-crime story of Andrea Yates, the Texas mother who drowned her children in 2001. Several stories— *Suicide by Fitness Center, The Glazers,* and *Dear Joyce Carol,* —take a less tragic turn, exploring with mordant humor the shadowy interstices between self-awareness and delusion.

Dramatic, intensely rendered, and always provocative, *Dear Husband* , provides an unsettling and fascinating look into the mysterious heart of America.