Meet Quentin P.
An examination of Joyce Carol Oates' disturbing novel, Zombie, and why it matters

Meet Quentin P. He is the narrator of Joyce Carol Oates' novel, Zombie, a book that tells the story of a serial killer from inside his mind. We follow his thoughts and plans as he reminisces about the trial where he was convicted of molestation of a minor, as he finds his next victim, and the aftermath. But why would anybody want to read such a disturbing book? This novel takes readers into unfamiliar territory and so we are fascinated by the inside look at something so alien and unknown, but yet human and familiar at the same time. Also, Oates' style is intriguing because it is so convoluted and intricate; the reader is taken in by the sentences Quentin uses as well as his punctuation and chronology.

To begin with, a short plot summary is in order. The first hundred pages or so are not in chronological order; Quentin jumps around to different events in his past that have led him to where he is. He tells of his dad finding his male porn in the garage and making him burn it out back so his mother wouldn't find out. He recounts some of his sessions with his therapist, Dr. E__ and how, no matter how many times the doctor asks, Quentin never has dreams to share. He reports to his probation officer and most of the time remembers to attend his classes at Dale County Technical College. He relates the trial where he was convicted of molestation of a young black boy. He is adamant that it wasn't a racial crime, but his lawyer advises him to plead guilty because the question of race was such a tricky one.

His job as caretaker is a result of this conviction: his father, a respected university professor, and mother rent out a house to international students and appoint Quentin as caretaker after his suspended sentence. He briefly considers taking a few of the students living there, but realises that it would be too obvious; it would get him caught in a heartbeat. His grandmother dotes on him, giving him odd jobs around her house and paying him too well for them. Unfortunately, that trust will not help Quentin reform as she hopes; instead it will help him to continue with his sick "hobbies".

One day, he goes to the library and looks up transorbital lobotomies. He cuts out the page and pastes it into the journal that we're reading; these lobotomies are supposed to "flatten[and] reduce emotion, agitation, compulsive mental cognition and physical

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