Second Nature
By Joyce Carol Oates
- Second Nature
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Author: Joyce Carol Oates
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Publisher: Titan Books
- ISBN: 9781835415474
- Published: September 2026
- Pages: 640
- Format reviewed: Paperback
- Review date: 08/10/2026
- Language: English
Noir can come in many flavours, but what makes the genre so delicious is that the taste notes are not bland or obvious. The best noir is subtle, leading the reader down some dark and twisted alleys. The genre can leave you exhilarated, but it can also leave you disturbed. These books are often well written, skirting the line between literary fiction and genre. Joyce Carol Oates writes works of fiction but also applied these skills to noir as Rosamond Smith. Some of the results are found within Second Nature, two full length novels and two short stories. All will make you think.
Terence Green, Dr Blouin, Maggie Blackburn, Edith; four people who seem to live life from a distance, one step removed from the rest of us. For some of them it is of their choosing, others not. Terence is a man whose has fallen in love with another woman, Dr Blouin becomes fascinated by the woman’s whose life he saved, Maggie cannot believe that one of her students is a killer, and poor Edith just went round to a teacher’s house for a meal. Four twisted tales.
Stories can be pretty straight forward; a protagonist or protagonists going about their business, but what happens if the character telling the story do not know themselves? This is the type of protagonist that Oates features in Second. Terance could be considered a normal man, a little detached from his friends and family, but normal. That is how Terance see’s himself, but we are following his life, and it feels different to us. We see his obsession with a younger woman. We see the people that happen to slip and fall near him. We see Terrance.
In Nemesis, Maggie is not as disturbing as Terrance, but she too has that same way of feeling removed from those around her. Whilst Terrance is only a sympathetic character to himself, Maggie is someone who wants the best for her students. Terrance’s Double Delight tale hides the noir behind an untrustworthy protagonist; Maggie’s tale is more linear but does deal with strong subject matter such as rape and murder.
Perhaps the most disturbing tale is Edith’s short story First Death about a student manipulated by their teacher. It is a heartbreaking situation that Edith finds herself in. As a whole, Second has many triggers, but they are handled with intelligence.
This is a book that poses many questions to the reader, and it is up to you to decide if you want to read them. I would recommend the book to fans of hard-hitting noir, of books that challenge a reader, leaving them uncomfortable, but satisfied they have read a good book. As a rule, you should not step lightly into the noir genre unless you are prepared, Second is just a book in the genre that leans a little closer to the dark side of humanity than some people will be comfortable with.
Written on 8th October 2026 by Sam Tyler .
Topics and themes
Tone & Pace
Themes
Content/Warnings
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