Short cuts

oyce Carol Oates’ latest, BABYSITTER (Fourth Estate), a psychological thriller of sorts set in 1970s Detroit among a group of characters following a series of child killings, is likely raved: “Definitely one of Oates’s finest achievements to date, is an unforgettable portrait of an ‘oblivion beyond even evil’.” The demurred: “By having Hannah return to a man who has assaulted her gruesomely, twice … Oates strains credulity to its breaking point.” The found the plot and theme bleak and indulgent, but said it “is nigh impossible to fault Oates’ style”.