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A review by netflix_and_lil
Cardiff, by the Sea: Four Novellas of Suspense by Joyce Carol Oates
4.0
I wasn't expecting this collection to be so thoroughly enthralling seeing as I picked it up without knowing anything about the author and contents. Each story has merit, but here's a breakdown on my thoughts...
CARDIFF, BY THE SEA: Deceptively, not set in Wales. All good, once I got over that I was captured by the eerie tone and unnerving characters. Politeness to the point of unease wasn't something that I thought could be done, and yet the over-enthusiasm of the main characters was genuinely frightening at times. Or maybe I relate to the asocial fear of estranged relatives being overly touchy. I thought the story was simultaneously too long and too short; I didn't think it told the complete story I would have like and some fat-adding scenes felt unnecessary. However, the author doesn't owe me a satisfying ending, just a spooky ride, and that it was. 3/5
MIAO DAO: My favourite of the collection. I found myself reminded of (elements of) Earthlings; a touch of magical realism and revenge, hyper aware protagonist, but a victim of circumstance and watches the world differently as a result. And, as things go, a much sweeter ending than I expected the further I got in. If this is Joyce Carol Oates at her core, I want more. 5/5
PHANTOMWISE 1972: My least favourite, though I didn't hate it or anything. It just felt a bit 'by the numbers' after reading the excellent Miao Dao. It reminded me of a Stan series I hate-binged, The Deceived, with all the elements I disliked in that cropping up here - student/teacher predation, poetry, naive protagonist who is liable to being annoying and indecisive, MURDER??? (though admittedly they were better executed in Phantomwise). While one of the student teacher relationships in this was portrayed as rightfully predatory, the author couldn't seem to make up her mind when it came to the other one, even though it did read to me as creepy. I liked the ending, it made me mad. 3/5
THE SURVIVING CHILD: Classic gothic vibes in this modern take on 'innocent woman marries emotionally distant man, has the shit haunted out of her'. I enjoyed the arch and the more conclusive ending (sue me I like a pay off) and Elisabeth was a more likeable character despite her sudden bouts of spinelessness, because she's not an idiot and the length of the book meant she figured things out a lot quicker the new wives who came before her in classic fiction. I wish it had been longer, because out of all of the novellas it felt like the one with the most potential to be expanded into a full-length novel. 4/5
CARDIFF, BY THE SEA: Deceptively, not set in Wales. All good, once I got over that I was captured by the eerie tone and unnerving characters. Politeness to the point of unease wasn't something that I thought could be done, and yet the over-enthusiasm of the main characters was genuinely frightening at times. Or maybe I relate to the asocial fear of estranged relatives being overly touchy. I thought the story was simultaneously too long and too short; I didn't think it told the complete story I would have like and some fat-adding scenes felt unnecessary. However, the author doesn't owe me a satisfying ending, just a spooky ride, and that it was. 3/5
MIAO DAO: My favourite of the collection. I found myself reminded of (elements of) Earthlings; a touch of magical realism and revenge, hyper aware protagonist, but a victim of circumstance and watches the world differently as a result. And, as things go, a much sweeter ending than I expected the further I got in. If this is Joyce Carol Oates at her core, I want more. 5/5
PHANTOMWISE 1972: My least favourite, though I didn't hate it or anything. It just felt a bit 'by the numbers' after reading the excellent Miao Dao. It reminded me of a Stan series I hate-binged, The Deceived, with all the elements I disliked in that cropping up here - student/teacher predation, poetry, naive protagonist who is liable to being annoying and indecisive, MURDER??? (though admittedly they were better executed in Phantomwise). While one of the student teacher relationships in this was portrayed as rightfully predatory, the author couldn't seem to make up her mind when it came to the other one, even though it did read to me as creepy. I liked the ending, it made me mad. 3/5
THE SURVIVING CHILD: Classic gothic vibes in this modern take on 'innocent woman marries emotionally distant man, has the shit haunted out of her'. I enjoyed the arch and the more conclusive ending (sue me I like a pay off) and Elisabeth was a more likeable character despite her sudden bouts of spinelessness, because she's not an idiot and the length of the book meant she figured things out a lot quicker the new wives who came before her in classic fiction. I wish it had been longer, because out of all of the novellas it felt like the one with the most potential to be expanded into a full-length novel. 4/5