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

3.0

A breathy collection of short novellas by Oates, these are less "novellas of suspense" and more novellas of gendered trauma and building fears of violence and loss. Intensely dark and ultimately depressing, Oates illuminates the trauma of puberty, of loss of parents, of the creeping and leering gaze of males in positions of power, all through the lens of women and girls. Like many of her other works, Oates shows us the world of women and girls and makes us wonder how any of us are so lucky to get out alive.