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

3.0

Now I have never read a Joyce Carol Oates story before and while We Were the Mulvaney's is her most know novel I liked getting an introduction to her via these four novellas. The first novella, Cardiff, by the Sea is about a woman who receives a call from Cardiff, Maine informing her that a grandmother she never heard of left her property. But is this new relative the only new thing she will learn. This is followed by Miao Dao in which a 12 year old girl, Mia, has her life turned upside down with a divorce, puberty, and a step-father. The third novella is Phan-tomwise: 1972 centers around Alice, a college student, who gets involved with the wrong man and now has to find a way forward. The last story is the Surviving Child about the son of a famous poet who killed herself and her daughter but the boy lived. Now Stefan has a new step-mother and weird things start to happen.

There is an element of violence, finding yourself, and mystery that runs through these stories. I really enjoyed them and will definitely look into some of her other stories.