Zombie (novel)

Zombie
First edition cover art
Author	Joyce Carol Oates
Cover artist	Leonard Telesca
Language	English
Genre	Fiction, Horror, Thriller
Published	1995 (Dutton)
Pages	181 pp
ISBN	0-525-94045-6
OCLC	32168426
Dewey Decimal	813/.54 20
LC Class	PS3565.A8 Z43 1995
Preceded by	What I Lived For
Followed by	We Were the Mulvaneys

Zombie is a 1995 novel by American writer Joyce Carol Oates, which explores the mind of a serial killer. It was based on the life of Jeffrey Dahmer.

Dahmer stated in an interview with Stone Phillips, "The only motive that there ever was to completely control a person, a person I found physically attractive, and keep them with me as long as possible, even if it meant keeping a part of them."^[1]

A short-film adaptation starred Bill Connington, developed from his successful one-man stage adaptation, was directed by Tom Caruso.^[2]

Plot[]

The protagonist, Quentin P, seeks to create a zombie out of an unsuspecting young man. He intends to find a perfect young male companion and re-wire his brain, thereby turning the victim into a mindless sex slave.^[3] His several attempts at creating a zombie, by doing improvised surgery on the victim's brain, all end in failure, however, as the men he abducts, rapes and tortures all die at his hands. By the end of the novel, he has begun to enjoy killing for its own sake.

Adding to his frustrations is his increasingly suspicious family, particularly his father.

Awards[]

The book won the Bram Stoker Award for Superior Achievement in a Novel.^[4]

References[]

^ Stone, Phillips. "Jeffrey Dahmer Interview - Extended Footage". Interview. Archived from the original on 2021-12-19. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
^ [1]
^ Johnson, Greg (1998). Invisible Writer: A Biography of Joyce Carol Oates. New York City: Dutton. p. 201.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on November 10, 2006. Retrieved October 23, 2006.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) Boston Book Review's Fisk Fiction Prize

v t Works by Joyce Carol Oates
The Wonderland Quartet	A Garden of Earthly Delights (1967) (1968) Them (1969) Wonderland (1971)
The Gothic Saga	Bellefleur (1980) (1982) (1984) My Heart Laid Bare (1998) The Accursed (2013)
Other novels	With Shuddering Fall (1964) (1973) (1975) (1976) Son of the Morning (1978) (1979) (1979) (1981) (1985) (1986) You Must Remember This (1987) American Appetites (1989) Because It Is Bitter, and Because It Is My Heart (1990) Foxfire: Confessions of a Girl Gang (1993) (1994) Zombie (1995) We Were the Mulvaneys (1996) Man Crazy (1997) (1999) Blonde (2000) Middle Age: A Romance (2001) I'll Take You There (2002) (2003) The Falls (2004) (2005) Black Girl / White Girl (2006) The Gravedigger's Daughter (2007) My Sister, My Love (2008) Little Bird of Heaven (2009) Mudwoman (2012) The Sacrifice (2015) (2020)
Novellas	Black Water (1992) First Love: A Gothic Tale (1996) Beasts (2001) The Corn Maiden: A Love Story (2005) A Fair Maiden (2010)
Short story collections	By the North Gate (1963) Upon the Sweeping Flood and Other Stories (1966) The Wheel of Love and Other Stories (1970) Marriages and Infidelities (1972) The Goddess and Other Women (1974) Crossing the Border (1976) (1988) Demon and Other Tales (1996) I Am No One You Know: Stories (2004) High Lonesome: New & Selected Stories, 1966–2006 (2006) The Museum of Dr. Moses: Tales of Mystery and Suspense (2007) Wild Nights! (2008) Dear Husband (2009) The Corn Maiden and Other Nightmares (2011) (2016)
Short stories	"Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" (1963) "Stalking" (1972) "The Temple" (1996)
Young adult fiction	Big Mouth & Ugly Girl (2002) Small Avalanches and Other Stories (2003) Freaky Green Eyes (2003) Sexy (2005) After the Wreck, I Picked Myself Up, Spread My Wings, and Flew Away (2006)

v t Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel
1987–2000	Misery by Stephen King and Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon (1987) The Silence of the Lambs by Thomas Harris (1988) Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons (1989) Mine by Robert R. McCammon (1990) Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon (1991) by Thomas F. Monteleone (1992) by Peter Straub (1993) Dead in the Water by Nancy Holder (1994) Zombie by Joyce Carol Oates (1995) The Green Mile by Stephen King (1996) by Janet Berliner & George Guthridge (1997) Bag of Bones by Stephen King (1998) Mr. X by Peter Straub (1999) by Richard Laymon (2000)
2000–2009	American Gods by Neil Gaiman (2001) by Tom Piccirilli (2002) by Peter Straub (2003) In the Night Room by Peter Straub (2004) by Charlee Jacob and Creepers by David Morrell (2005) Lisey's Story by Stephen King (2006) The Missing by Sarah Langan (2007) Duma Key by Stephen King (2008) by Sarah Langan (2009) by Peter Straub (2010)
2011–2020	Flesh Eaters by Joe McKinney (2011) The Drowning Girl by Caitlín R. Kiernan (2012) Doctor Sleep by Stephen King (2013) by Steve Rasnic Tem (2014) A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay (2015) The Fisherman by John Langan (2016) by Christopher Golden (2017) The Cabin at the End of the World by Paul Tremblay (2018) Coyote Rage by Owl Goingback (2019) The Only Good Indians by Stephen Graham Jones (2020)
Novel (1988–) First Novel (1988–) Young Adult Novel (2012–) Graphic Novel (2012–) Long Fiction (1999–) Short Fiction (1999–) Fiction Collection (1999–) Best Screenplay (1999–2005, 2012–) Anthology (1999–) Non-Fiction (1988–) Poetry Collection ((2001–) Lifetime Achievement (1988–)

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