The New Yorker: Fiction · The New Yorker
Akhil Sharma Reads Joyce Carol Oates
July 1, 2022·1 hr 6 min·5 clips
Akhil Sharma discovers his own name in a Joyce Carol Oates story about a serial killer, wondering if she used it deliberately.
As heard by us
A severe, chilling Oates reading, sharpened by Akhil Sharma's personal connection to the story.
Joyce Carol Oates's "Zombie" comes into The New Yorker: Fiction with an unnerving bit of personal static around it. Akhil Sharma chose the story, and he explains that Oates was once his teacher; he also remembers noticing that one of its characters shared his unusual first name.
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