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paeliz's review against another edition
2.0
DNF -- Cardif, by the Sea 2/5
probably not what I was supposed to take away from this short story but it made me want to move to a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, Maine. anyways, maybe this just wasnt the right book to try to get into Joyce Carol Oates with. I didnt finish the book, though I finished the first short story, Cardiff, by the Sea. I really wanted to like it and the premise was interesting enough, but I feel as if it really suffers from being a short story instead of a full length novel. the main character is unbearably annoying (not to mention forgettable--I cannot even remember her name), always going on about how she cant trust anyone, familial or otherwise. I feel like, given time to flesh out a backstory for the reader, this wouldnt have been nearly as annoying as it was--many of the thoughts the main character has suffer this same consequence. it makes it extremely hard to empathise with the character and all of her actions. the motivation of the character, too, feels very confusing and not very well fleshed out. she suddenly finds out that she was left land in a will of her biological grandmother, whom she had never met as she was adopted at the age of two. this is fine and well, except for as soon as she heard this news, she instantly forsook her adopted family and would not stop talking (thinking?) about it. this is probably coming from a place of bias (family is family, after all), but, again, it made it very hard for me to see the character as a likeable person. also, like, girl you were two years old when your biological parents die please stop going on about how you remember seeing them killed you literally do not. you were two years old you don’t remember anything! you’re literally gaslighting yourself into creating memories!
the uncle was chill as hell though
probably not what I was supposed to take away from this short story but it made me want to move to a farmhouse in the middle of nowhere, Maine. anyways, maybe this just wasnt the right book to try to get into Joyce Carol Oates with. I didnt finish the book, though I finished the first short story, Cardiff, by the Sea. I really wanted to like it and the premise was interesting enough, but I feel as if it really suffers from being a short story instead of a full length novel. the main character is unbearably annoying (not to mention forgettable--I cannot even remember her name), always going on about how she cant trust anyone, familial or otherwise. I feel like, given time to flesh out a backstory for the reader, this wouldnt have been nearly as annoying as it was--many of the thoughts the main character has suffer this same consequence. it makes it extremely hard to empathise with the character and all of her actions. the motivation of the character, too, feels very confusing and not very well fleshed out. she suddenly finds out that she was left land in a will of her biological grandmother, whom she had never met as she was adopted at the age of two. this is fine and well, except for as soon as she heard this news, she instantly forsook her adopted family and would not stop talking (thinking?) about it. this is probably coming from a place of bias (family is family, after all), but, again, it made it very hard for me to see the character as a likeable person. also, like, girl you were two years old when your biological parents die please stop going on about how you remember seeing them killed you literally do not. you were two years old you don’t remember anything! you’re literally gaslighting yourself into creating memories!
the uncle was chill as hell though
imassardo's review against another edition
5.0
Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for granting me an advance review copy.
Four wonderful novellas from Joyce Carol Oates. "Cardiff, by the sea": A young researcher, adopted as a young child, gets in touch with her biological family after receiving an inheritance. As she gets to know her family history, things don’t seem to be quite as they appear on the surface.
Miao Dao: A young girl experiences massive changes in her life with the only constant comfort in her life being a once feral cat that she has adopted
Phantom wise:1972: A young university student struggles when a romantic relationship with a professor goes too far.
The surviving child: a stepmother tries to make a success of her new blended family and to connect with her new stepson, who has survived the tragic loss of his mother.
Reading books by Joyce Carol Oates can be quite an intense experience. This collection is no different, four compelling and deeply disturbing novellas about troubled romance, death, life, relationships. Joyce Carol Oates never disappoints.
Four wonderful novellas from Joyce Carol Oates. "Cardiff, by the sea": A young researcher, adopted as a young child, gets in touch with her biological family after receiving an inheritance. As she gets to know her family history, things don’t seem to be quite as they appear on the surface.
Miao Dao: A young girl experiences massive changes in her life with the only constant comfort in her life being a once feral cat that she has adopted
Phantom wise:1972: A young university student struggles when a romantic relationship with a professor goes too far.
The surviving child: a stepmother tries to make a success of her new blended family and to connect with her new stepson, who has survived the tragic loss of his mother.
Reading books by Joyce Carol Oates can be quite an intense experience. This collection is no different, four compelling and deeply disturbing novellas about troubled romance, death, life, relationships. Joyce Carol Oates never disappoints.
jodzy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I loved the general atmosphere of the book, I love the way she handled heavy topics and how she vividly described certain things, situations, feelings - I felt like I was there.
kcdennett's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
abroadwell's review against another edition
4.0
Joyce Carol Oates is so terrific that we take her for granted. The first novella here, "Cardiff, by the sea", is totally captivating as we follow the point of view of a an adoptee who discovers that she has inherited property in rural Maine. Meeting her odd surviving birth family and learning the tragic history drive her to either discovery or madness!
allycat23's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
curiouskatreads's review against another edition
3.0
I've never read any of Joyce Carol Oates' other works, so I came into this book, a collection of four of her novellas, with a blank slate of expectations. The title itself suggests that they will have suspense, and in the most technical way possible, I suppose you could say that, but it isn't very exciting. While the writing is good - she's particularly talented at communicating the inner monologue of someone experiencing chaotic, confused thinking - the stories, for me, bordered on dull and one-note, with each story featuring a woman in various states of psychological and/or physical distress caused either, past or present, by one or more male figures in her life.
I get it. There are some men out there who behave badly toward women. As a woman, I'm sympathetic to the situations these women find themselves in. I'm just not sure I prefer spending 400 pages dwelling on it, or demonizing maleness in the process. By displaying many of the male characters as domineering, manipulative, predatory, selfish, or cruel, depending on the story, it also has the effect of making all the female protagonists look weak, pathetic, desperate and dependent, or worse - placating the men who victimize them. I always feel a little confused when that kind of portrayal is written by a woman, because I'm not sure what my take-away is supposed to be.
Regarding the four novellas, I liked the second one, Miao Dao, (it had cats - bonus) and the final one, The Surviving Child, best, as the stories had more sense of resolution. The first one, the titular, Cardiff, by the Sea, was bizarre and confusing to me, but I liked the way Oates wrote the manic back-and-forth conversations between the two great aunts. The third story, Phantomwise: 1972, was interesting, but some aspects of it could come straight out of many current crime shows, so it wasn't particularly suspenseful. All in all, I liked the writing, just not the themes. I'd honestly rather read a book these days that lifts me up.
★★★
I get it. There are some men out there who behave badly toward women. As a woman, I'm sympathetic to the situations these women find themselves in. I'm just not sure I prefer spending 400 pages dwelling on it, or demonizing maleness in the process. By displaying many of the male characters as domineering, manipulative, predatory, selfish, or cruel, depending on the story, it also has the effect of making all the female protagonists look weak, pathetic, desperate and dependent, or worse - placating the men who victimize them. I always feel a little confused when that kind of portrayal is written by a woman, because I'm not sure what my take-away is supposed to be.
Regarding the four novellas, I liked the second one, Miao Dao, (it had cats - bonus) and the final one, The Surviving Child, best, as the stories had more sense of resolution. The first one, the titular, Cardiff, by the Sea, was bizarre and confusing to me, but I liked the way Oates wrote the manic back-and-forth conversations between the two great aunts. The third story, Phantomwise: 1972, was interesting, but some aspects of it could come straight out of many current crime shows, so it wasn't particularly suspenseful. All in all, I liked the writing, just not the themes. I'd honestly rather read a book these days that lifts me up.
★★★
pascalracobene's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75