Evil Eye: Four Novellas of Love Gone Wrong

These four exquisitely suspenseful novellas from Oates (The Accursed) offer sharp characterizations, whether it be the naïve and romantic 16-year-old Lizbeth Marsh; the deeply spoiled, deeply disturbed Bart Hansen; or Mariana Mohr, the fourth wife of an accomplished intellectual. The last named is in the title story, which is by far the volume’s strongest. The eye in question is both a beautiful glass nazar—a valuable talisman that’s in Austin Mohr’s art collection—and the missing eye of his diminutive, mesmerizing first wife who comes to visit. In “The Execution,” Bart Hansen’s plan to murder his parents is as inadequate as his father believed all his plans were. “So Near Anytime Always” has a surprise ending to the relationship of Lizbeth Marsh and the unfathomable Desmond Parrish. The relationships between the damaged, sometimes monstrous individuals who people these pages will keep the reader riveted. Agent: Warren Frazier, John Hawkins & Associates. (Sept.)