Night, Neon

Night, Neon: Tales of Mystery and Suspense

First edition
Author	Joyce Carol Oates
Language	English
Genre	Mystery, Suspense
Publisher	The Mysterious Press
Publication date	2021
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardback)
Pages	299
ISBN	978-1-61316-230-9

Night, Neon: Tales of Mystery and Suspense is a collection of short fiction by Joyce Carol Oates published in 2021 by The Mysterious Press . The volume comprises eight short stories and a novella, "Night, Neon."

The story "Parole Hearing, California Institution for Women, Chino, CA" won the Pushcart Prize, XLVI: Best of the Small Presses and was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense , 2021. ^[1]

Stories

• "Detour" ( Harper's Magazine , March 2021)
• "Curious' ( Salmagundi , Spring/Summer 2021)
• "Miss Golden Dreams 1949" (Collectibles, ed. by Lawrence Block, May 17, 2021)
• "Wanting" (Narrative Magazine, Winter 2018)
• "Parole Hearing, California Institution for Women, Chino, CA" ( Boulevard , Spring 2020)
• "Intimacy" ( Vice , December 4, 2017)
• "The Flagellant" (in At Home in the Dark, ed. Lawrence Block, April 30, 2019)
• "Vaping: A User's Manual" (in The Nicotine Chronicles - Akashic Drug Chronicles. ed. Lee Child, September 15, 2020)
• "Night, Neon" ( American Short Fiction )

Reception

Reviewer Ben East at The Guardian regards the collection as classically Oatesian in theme and style; in other words "a disquieting snapshot of American life on the verge of individual or ideological collapse." ^[2]

Kirkus Reviews regards the stories as less plot-driven and more a collection of horror fantasies presented through "flashbacks, reflections, or complications of their powerful opening tableaux." Indeed, "nightmares is an even more apt term than usual for these stories." ^[3]

Theme

According to Publishers Weekly , "Abuse, madness, confinement, and flight are prominent themes in this strong collection of nine varied, dark, and disquieting stories from Oates." ^[4]

Footnotes

1. Oates, 2021 p. 299: Acknowledgments
2. East, 2022: "You tend to know what you're getting with an Oatesian short...and these nine additions to her oeuvre don't disappoint."
3. "Neon, Night". Kirkus Reviews. April 15, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2025.
4. "Neon, Night". Publishers Weekly. April 26, 2021. Retrieved March 3, 2025.

Sources

• East, Ben. 2022. "Night, Neon and Other Stories of Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates review – nuanced, not neat, thrillers." The Guardian , March 27, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/books/2022/mar/27/night-neon-and-other-stories-of-suspense-by-joyce-carol-oates-review-nuanced-not-neat-thrillers Accessed 2 March 2025.
• Oates, Joyce Carol. 2021. Night, Neon: Stories of Mystery and Suspense. The Mysterious Press, New York. ISBN   978-1-61316-230-9