Reviews

Cardiff, by the Sea: Four Novellas of Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates

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imbook_ed's review against another edition

2.0

I really enjoyed the first novella about Clare. I wish the author went more in depth with that story and less about the others. If the whole book was based off of that one novella, I would definitely be rating this book much higher. I was totally into that story line and I never wanted it to end. It left me wanting more and I wouldn’t be opposed if she came out with a book with a similar, if not the same story line and fleshed it out. The second and third novellas really didn’t capture my attention the same way the first and last one did. I would find myself zoning out constantly. However, the last one about Stephen had me hooked. I couldn’t wait to find out what happened to the child and I was happy with the ending, although I do again wish there was more to that story. I wasn’t as upset with the ending as I was with the first novella. There are multiple potential triggers in regards to suicide and child abuse so just be aware if that is something that you as a reader are sensitive to.

kate_schafer's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

3.5

jolis79's review against another edition

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4.0

I have read my share of Joyce Carol Oats. And from book to book, it can sometimes feel like you are engaging with a different facet of her as a writer. This is actually one of the strengths of this collection of novellas. Initially on jumping in, I was waiting for things to edge a bit more on the side of horror, which is somewhere that we never really went. And while some of these stories are quite suspenseful, I personally want to put these in the category of Female Body Gothic. Is that a genre? If not, it should be. Even with the main character of the final story “The Surviving Child” being male, the focus and suspense, like the other three stories is centered around the women and the threats to their bodies. Overt violence or gore isn’t the order of the day here, but the dread, the uncertainty, and the haunting landscapes that Oats creates is. I will say though, in the story “Miao Dao” I actually found myself rooting for a bit more killing and death. So no, I probably wouldn’t recommend this book as the super spooky Halloween read or anything, but I would recommend this book a lot.

Oats writing is, as always, beautiful, descriptive, and enthralling. Even in stories where I felt like I already knew where the story was going, I wanted to stick around to see how Oats got us there.

gadilibe's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

bookishpages's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

4.0

Content Warnings

redbluemoon's review against another edition

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4.0

Thanks to NetGalley and Mysterious Press for providing an ARC! So excited!!
_____________________________________
4.5 stars

When I saw this book on NetGalley, I was SO glad, I immediately requested it ... and was so excited when I got an ARC! Joyce Carol Oates is one of my favorite authors; my favorite books of hers are [b:Bellefleur|18996438|Bellefleur|Joyce Carol Oates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385533170l/18996438._SY75_.jpg|171826] and [b:The Accursed|20737002|The Accursed|Joyce Carol Oates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394327005l/20737002._SY75_.jpg|21546059], but I also loved [b:A Bloodsmoor Romance|19079313|A Bloodsmoor Romance|Joyce Carol Oates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385886240l/19079313._SY75_.jpg|1271611] or [b:Blonde|15975|Blonde|Joyce Carol Oates|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1334350083l/15975._SY75_.jpg|1393722]!

In Cardiff, by the Sea, the reader gets back to Oates' writing-style: dense but great, immersive. It won't be read in a day or two: you have to soak in it and it gets to you. You start, you think you won't get in easily, and then, there you are and you're trapped in the story: you want to know!

Before writing about each story individually, I have to say each one is clever and each ending is striking. That's also what I really like in Oates' stories, and what I look for in short stories: I want to remember it and to be left gaping at the end of it!
The subjects broached are often hard, and imply violence of some sort. Each one focuses on a woman: something happens to her and the story unfolds from there. That's also what I love about Oates - but I guess you understood I practically love everything about her books!
Finally, every story in this book is unsettling: what is real? what is imagination? is the narrator reliable? is it really happening? what is really happening? I loved that, because it helped provide these surprising endings!

- "Cardiff, by the Sea"
This story deals with family and adoption. I think I never read a book/story about this topic in particular. It was both striking and ... deeply sad. The narrator, Ellen, can't help but think she wasn't wanted by her biological parents, and that her adoptive parents kind of think they "bought" her: she has to be grateful and can't go against the grain, she has to be just as her parents want her to be. So, she has no anchor and doesn't feel like she belongs anywhere. Until something happens: her biological grandmother dies and Ellen is in the will. From there, she'll have to decide if she wants to connect with her biological family or if she'd rather not.
As I said before, the reader can't be sure if the narrator is reliable - we're in a third person narrative, but the point of view is internal - and so he tries to guess what's truth and what's just speculations. I loved this treasure hunt! I had multiple theories, and nothing says which one is the best... or which one is the right one! Because, yes, there is something to discover there for Ellen and the reader, a shameful family secret nobody told her.
Of course, this story deals with bonds, family and what it means, trauma - I thought the way of showing how Ellen was traumatised was great because it was subtle

Spoiler

she doesn't bond with anyone because nobody's reliable for her, as even her parents didn't want her in their lives according to her

-, adoption and how the child involves can live the situation. Really gripping at some point!

- "Miao Dao"
This one gets a little "fantastique", a little paranormal, if the reader wants to tread this path.
As her parents divorce, a little girl is drawn to cats. I don't want to say too much but this story deals with the relationship of this girl with her father and with men in her mother's life.

Spoiler

She didn't feel loved by her father, she thought it was her fault he went away and divorced her mother, that she wasn't enough.

She wanted her mother to be happy

Spoiler

but she couldn't help but understand she wasn't happy with her new companion... and she doesn't know how to deal with his unwanted attention... I was disgusted by some scenes in this story, but I loved that the girl doesn't let the man get the upper hand!

This story also deals with violence, but I can't say too much about it without spoiling it. It's not physical violence, but psychological. Nearly harrassment at some point. Because it also deals with growing-up, puberty, how the body and the eyes on it change, mostly on the female body. How the girl feels shame because of these changes, how she feels unloved and dirty because of it... mostly because of others, what they might think, how they speak of this body or look at it.
The ending was great!! I really didn't expect it!!

Spoiler

I was convinced that the cat was killing men that threated the young girl! And I really loved the relationship of the girl with her cat. And that the mother seemed to know what her daughter was doing and was like: "Okay, I'll just help her clean!"

- "Phantomwise 1972"
This one follows a young woman, Alyce, in university. In the opening scene, the reader gets to understand that she is a brilliant student and that she has an affair with one of her professors. She encounters an old poet and her life changes.
I particularly loved this story, even if it was as unsettling as the other ones. It deals with heavy topics like

Spoiler

unwanted pregnancy, abortion - illegal in 1972 in the US -, what this young woman considers because of this situation, be it performing the abortion herself, arranged marriage or suicide.

It also deals with the relationship that grows between two people from different generations.

Spoiler

The poet calling Alyce his "Alice", refering to Alice Liddell, was a bit creepy at times!

The ending completely got me by surprise, I wasn't expecting this AT ALL!

Spoiler

I was also deeply sad after reading it: she died because of him. He got away with it. And does the scene just before the article mean that the poet died just before her and greets her after she died?

Spoiler

because Stefan, the young boy, seems to be able to disappear and reappear out of the blue and without adults seeing it, and he is traumatised by what he did/saw; he acts strangely sometimes, like he knows things he shouldn't, a bit like Miles in the short story - and they both have a housekeeper called Ana/Hannah

Spoiler

because Elisabeth is slowly getting obsessed with N.K., the first wife and wants to be better, to be chosen by both her (now) husband and his child. The house also seems to be haunted, whereas it is not the case in Rebecca but the feeling was alike: Manderley is cosy and immense, just like the house on Oceanview Avenue!

!
Elisabeth gets to meet the surviving child of her fiancé: Stefan, whose mother killed herself and her daughter while sparing his life for no apparent reason. Elisabeth wants to get accepted by this child while being slowly interested in his mother's life, the great poet N.K.
I loved that this story played even more on the paranormal/fantastique vibe! The reader can choose to believe that there is something paranormal in all that, or that it is just normal stuff.
Once more, the author deals with violence here: the act of the mother, of course, but also

Spoiler

Alexander's behaviour and, mostly, the diary Elisabeth discovers at the end of the story and which reveals that her husband pushed N.K. to commit suicide knowing she had mental issues - and because the second child wasn't his.

It also deals with female writers and the way they are portrayed, mental health and how it is "glamourized" sometimes when it is really such a pain to live through.
I won't say I guessed the ending but I was on the right track!

So, I really loved this book! Took me a while, but I got immersed and I should definitely read Oates at least once a year! She's clearly one of the greatest!

onmalsshelf's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Thank you Grove Atlantic, Mysterious Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for a review.

This novella collection was my first Joyce Carol Oates read and it will certainly not be my last. Each novella was eerie and atmospheric with an amazing sense of place. I good picture myself in each sign and each story was unique.

My breakdown of the four novellas:
Cardiff, by the Sea - title story. 4.5 stars. Atmospheric story that takes place in Cardiff, Maine about a woman who returns to Cardiff after was adopted as a child after her family died.

Miao Dao - 3.5. Honestly this one was hard for me to read at times as it deals with animal abuse, and step fathers being creepy. However it was very atmospheric and I felt like in the moment with

Phantomwise: 1972-4 stars. Takes place on a college campus where a female freshman is pursued by two predators. I didn't see the ending coming at all. Finally a suspenseful college campus story that didn't disappoint me (it's no secret that nothing can live up to The Secret History to me).

The Surviving Child - 4.5 stars. A supernatural suspense that takes place in Boston.

If you're looking for some suspenseful short stories or novellas, look no further - you've found them!

Content Warnings

manda_d's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

addicusmarie's review against another edition

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4.0

Phantomwise stayed with me for days

jillmlong's review against another edition

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2.0

I listened to the audiobook of Cardiff, bye the Sea: Four Novellas of Suspense. As far as the narration goes, the narrator did a good job creating distinct characters. However, this book was not for me. I found the stories depressing and slow.

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