A collection in which the inner lives of all of the characters are revealed to be miserable in the face of aging, full of regrets, secretly hating their friends and partners, and ready to die. Many of these intertwined stories ponder about paths not take, decisions that might have been made differently, and in each case, we read the flailings of disintegrating memory and hallucinations, bitterness and anger, and the desire to remain young and in control. AS a meditation on age, these are dark tales, but they are even darker if we consider them at all honest appraisals of humankind.

Joyce Carol Oates is the master. Be it her novels, or short stories, all are flawless. I loved this story collection, as I love EVERY Oates novel! Thanks Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this wonderful collection!

One of the best writers I’ve ever read. Masterful. Powerful. Classic of this author. Enjoyable. These stories could be developed into books. Will read them more than once.

Joyce Carol Oates if, of course, prolific -- but what is more impressing is the way she maximizes every opportunity to show us her talents. The (Other) You is a wonderful introduction or revisit to this author's work, and certainly evidence that her writing is alive and well, as is the short story form.

I want to thank NetGalley, the publisher, and author Joyce Carol Oates for providing me with an ARC of The (Other) You.

I really enjoyed this grouping of short stories; this is the perfect book to pick up if you just want a quick nip at reading here and there. I love the in depth look at how your life could change if you had taken another pathway. I also really enjoyed the subtle interconnectedness throughout, too. These stories were real, relevant, and very much so current. I can't recommend this enough!

Thank you again for allowing me to read and review this ARC!

An intimate explorations of the potentials and joys of life. This collection directly confronts what would happen if small or big factors in our lives were slightly changed - who would we be and how can we be if we were another? A deeply moving exploration of potential, happiness, and fulfillment. Definitely recommend!

It’s difficult to explain my attraction to Oates’ fiction. It’s isn’t a sort of easy instinctual connection, it’s more along the lines of recognizing unquestionable levels of quality and superb levels of emotional intelligence in her writing and being drawn to that. Oftentimes I don’t care for her characters and I can easily understand how her fiction might be criticized by others…it’s got that certain elitist thing going for it that in the time of rampant idiocy has become such a terrible thing and so her characters are frequently of the professorial sort, the moneyed upper middle classes, etc. They are often inherently imperious in their ways, but the thing is…in Oates’ stories life cuts everyone down just the same. There are certain universal clouds that rain on everyone’s parades. In this collection they do so thematically. And the theme is undeniably attractive, the roads not taken, the myriad possible yous you didn’t become, the parallel universe options, the wasted potential, the regrets, the chances. The first 50% of the book is dedicated entire to that, wherein the realizations come theoretically or as direct confrontations. The last 50% also meditates quite heavily on the business of getting old, the terrifying prospect of entropy in action, as the characters contemplate the impermanence of things, the tragic senescence of existence. Not for turtles, go turtles, way to conquer senescence, you excellent slowmo weirdos. So there you go, that’s the basic idea here. In typical Oates fashion, this isn’t a happy read in any way, it’s profoundly bleak, it’s ideologically heavy. It’s whatever the opposite of easy reading is. But it is, undeniably, good. It’s a contemplative book, minds and souls laid out bare to understand, judge, relate to. Oates skins her characters alive, metaphorically. She can be brutal. She shines the light on all the murky corners of the mind where fears and anxieties hide. It’s uncomfortable reading. But then again there is that very specific degree of realism, of compassionate understanding of the difficulty of personal journeys no matter the socioeconomic circumstances…it all somehow succeeds in making you less alone in the world. Which is really one of the best reasons to read in the first place. So an objectively difficult read, but well crafted, intelligent good one, if you can handle it. Go in with mood set to low. Thanks Netgalley.

Joyce Carol Oates never shies away from a challenge, especially if it's self-imposed. In this audacious collection, she addresses the trope of the Road Not Taken, but in such an original way, no one else could possibly have had the nerve to publish. Each story in this collection introduces a character who may or may not have led the life on the page. There is a certain amount of linkage here -- a certain vegetarian restaurant is the setting for several of the stories, and an act of violence which may or may not have occurred has affected several characters across several storylines.

I've been a fan of Ms. Oates for over 40 years and am always intrigued, if sometimes as here bemused, at her choices, and at this point in her career, her willingness to explore new, uncharted genres.

This eclectic group of short stories is nothing short of a miracle. I enjoyed this book immensely. The stories are intense and real and very current.