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A review by watercolorstain
Cardiff, by the Sea: Four Novellas of Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates
4.0
Thematically, the four stories collected here all deal with different types of predatory men, and the ways in which they corrupt or control women. I've discovered Oates, an exceptionally prolific writer, this year, but after two massive novels, these were my first exposure to her short(er) form writing, and I'm glad to see that she apparently excels here, too. I just love the crisp yet hauntingly raw and often uncomfortably intense way she writes about feminist issues. These novellas didn't only go well together thematically, but they also had a very uncanny atmosphere in common, without it ever feeling recycled—each story managed to evoke its own special kind of oppressive, quiet dread. A rounded up 3.5 stars!
Cardiff, By The Sea · ★★★
An art historian who'd been adopted when she was barely three years old receives a call saying that her biological grandmother has left her a bequest. She travels to Cardiff, Maine, to sort things out, but the past and layers of hidden trauma she dredges up in the process make her wish she'd never answered the phone. This titular story makes up almost half of the collection, and while I loved the beginning, it sort of lost me the further we went along. It is reasonably suspenseful and gave me some strong Shirley Jackson vibes in that there is a vague but strong sense of distress permeating the narrative, but the bickering great-aunts irritated the hell out of me and drained the story of all enjoyment whenever they were in a scene. Despite being someone who enjoys open endings, the utter lack of resolution left me dissatisfied; maybe it went over my head.
Miao Dao · ★★★★½
Mia, a lonely pubescent girl dealing with her parents' divorce, her mother's new marriage, and school boys bullying her for her changing body, finds some comfort in visiting and putting out food for a colony of feral cats in her neighborhood. When the colony gets eradicated by the department of public health, she rescues a kitten, which becomes her protector from the increasing predatory male aggression she faces. I read this story in one sitting with my own two kittens purring on me, and I just wanted to kiss them all over, and felt the silly need to tell them that I'd protect them from all harm; I love the way Oates writes about kitties, she's a cat lady after my own heart! There were parts in this story—which is essentially about the power and control men enact upon women and other living beings—that were hard to read, but the ending was chillingly satisfying while also remaining utterly ambiguous in a way that I loved.
Phantomwise: 1972 · ★★★★
A smart but shy college student has an affair with a professor, and gets pregnant. Distraught at her lack of options, she decides to confront the state she finds herself in with denial, and welcomes it when a distinguished older professor takes her under her wing as his archivist, even though he clearly has more in mind. Yet another tale about the type of control men in powerful positions can exert over women that still resonates today, even though life on a college campus in the early 70's was quite different, as was the state of women's reproductive rights. Considering this, I felt more sympathy for the somewhat helpless protagonist than I would've felt if this tale had been set in contemporary times. The line between reality and nightmare is thin here, and the ending was eerie and heartbreaking.
The Surviving Child · ★★★½
A famous feminist poet killed herself and her daughter, leaving no suicide note, and evidently decided to spare her eldest son from the same fate. A couple years later, the surviving child's father remarries and moves the young wife into the house where the tragedy happened. She desperately wants to connect with the shy, elusive child, but finds herself haunted by his dead mother's poetry. This story had something almost archetypal about it—Bluebeard comes to mind. I found it predictable (or maybe inevitable is the better word), which however doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the story's unfolding. Out of the four included, it's the one with the most obvious supernatural influence.
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Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Cardiff, By The Sea · ★★★
An art historian who'd been adopted when she was barely three years old receives a call saying that her biological grandmother has left her a bequest. She travels to Cardiff, Maine, to sort things out, but the past and layers of hidden trauma she dredges up in the process make her wish she'd never answered the phone. This titular story makes up almost half of the collection, and while I loved the beginning, it sort of lost me the further we went along. It is reasonably suspenseful and gave me some strong Shirley Jackson vibes in that there is a vague but strong sense of distress permeating the narrative, but the bickering great-aunts irritated the hell out of me and drained the story of all enjoyment whenever they were in a scene. Despite being someone who enjoys open endings, the utter lack of resolution left me dissatisfied; maybe it went over my head.
Miao Dao · ★★★★½
Mia, a lonely pubescent girl dealing with her parents' divorce, her mother's new marriage, and school boys bullying her for her changing body, finds some comfort in visiting and putting out food for a colony of feral cats in her neighborhood. When the colony gets eradicated by the department of public health, she rescues a kitten, which becomes her protector from the increasing predatory male aggression she faces. I read this story in one sitting with my own two kittens purring on me, and I just wanted to kiss them all over, and felt the silly need to tell them that I'd protect them from all harm; I love the way Oates writes about kitties, she's a cat lady after my own heart! There were parts in this story—which is essentially about the power and control men enact upon women and other living beings—that were hard to read, but the ending was chillingly satisfying while also remaining utterly ambiguous in a way that I loved.
Phantomwise: 1972 · ★★★★
A smart but shy college student has an affair with a professor, and gets pregnant. Distraught at her lack of options, she decides to confront the state she finds herself in with denial, and welcomes it when a distinguished older professor takes her under her wing as his archivist, even though he clearly has more in mind. Yet another tale about the type of control men in powerful positions can exert over women that still resonates today, even though life on a college campus in the early 70's was quite different, as was the state of women's reproductive rights. Considering this, I felt more sympathy for the somewhat helpless protagonist than I would've felt if this tale had been set in contemporary times. The line between reality and nightmare is thin here, and the ending was eerie and heartbreaking.
The Surviving Child · ★★★½
A famous feminist poet killed herself and her daughter, leaving no suicide note, and evidently decided to spare her eldest son from the same fate. A couple years later, the surviving child's father remarries and moves the young wife into the house where the tragedy happened. She desperately wants to connect with the shy, elusive child, but finds herself haunted by his dead mother's poetry. This story had something almost archetypal about it—Bluebeard comes to mind. I found it predictable (or maybe inevitable is the better word), which however doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy the story's unfolding. Out of the four included, it's the one with the most obvious supernatural influence.
—————
Note: I received an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.