Status
Available
Call number
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Publication
New York : The Mysterious Press, 2020.
Description
"From one of the most important contemporary American writers, Cardiff, by the Sea is a bold, haunting collection of four previously unpublished novellas. Starting with the title novella - in which a romantic-minded young art historian is led to (re)discover a terrifying trauma after inheriting property in faraway Cardiff, Maine - through to "The Surviving Child" - which finds the young new wife of a famous poet's widow haunted by the dead poet's voice dancing in the wind, an inexplicably befouled well, and a compulsive draw to the same garage that already took two lives - Cardiff, by the Sea is ceaselessly sinister. In these psychologically daring, chillingly suspenseful novellas, Joyce Carol Oates writes about women facing threats past and present"--Provided by publisher.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member pomo58
Cardiff, by the Sea is a collection of four novellas from Joyce Carol Oates. Oates is one of those rare writers who can move readers through novels, novellas, and short stories and these examples do not disappoint.
I'm not going to get on a self-righteous soapbox simply because Oates made a recent
The stories here can be disturbing but not gratuitously. The suspense at times is palpable and you'll find yourself pulling for the protagonists. The middle length of a novella allows for a bit more character development than most short stories and Oates uses that to her advantage. Even those we pull for are human with flaws of their own.
If you're familiar with Oates you will not be disappointed. If you're new to her writing, this will be a nice introduction. If you are new to her, whatever your opinion of this collection is, I would recommend exploring a few more of her works, you will likely find a lot to like.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
I'm not going to get on a self-righteous soapbox simply because Oates made a recent
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Twitter mistake, and I certainly am not going to spew hyperbolic nonsense to display my displeasure, I'm guessing anyone reading this is interested in the book and not some personal take on why women are portrayed in these stories as the ones needing to beware of the men in these stories, I am going to assume you know the statistics about abuse, assault, and stalking to know that this is, indeed, the world we live in. And I'm certainly no man-hater, which is really nothing more than a phrase used to change topic from actual problems to personal (faux) indignation. Okay, maybe a small soapbox, but anyway...The stories here can be disturbing but not gratuitously. The suspense at times is palpable and you'll find yourself pulling for the protagonists. The middle length of a novella allows for a bit more character development than most short stories and Oates uses that to her advantage. Even those we pull for are human with flaws of their own.
If you're familiar with Oates you will not be disappointed. If you're new to her writing, this will be a nice introduction. If you are new to her, whatever your opinion of this collection is, I would recommend exploring a few more of her works, you will likely find a lot to like.
Reviewed from a copy made available by the publisher via NetGalley.
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LibraryThing member Beamis12
Joyce Carol Oates is a versatile author and a prolific one as well. I have read her off and on for years, with varying degrees of success. Her writing style can change from book to book, but this one, consisting of four novellas, is straightforward. She uses, in the first and last story,
In the first, a young women who was adopted, receives a phone call that leads her to find out about her birth family. Needless to say, all is not as it first appears.
In the second, a young teen harassed at school because of her developing body, added to her fluctuating home life, finds comfort in the midst of feral cats. One cat in particular will figure prominently in this story.
The third and my least favorite showcases a young college student taken advantage of by an older teacher. A prominent poet also figures largely. I was, however, surprised by the ending.
The fourth, and my favorite, also features a poet, albeit a dead one. In this one a young woman married into a house with a troubled past. Secrets a plenty, and of course, things are not as they appear and secrets are abound.
These are not bloody, horrific stories, but well thought out stories with fully realized characters. Like short stories, novellas let one read in manageable time frames.
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foreshadowing, so in those two stories we get a small taste of what is to follow. Psychological thrillers, that are just chilling enough that I found them delicious. Females take center stage in all four of these novellas.In the first, a young women who was adopted, receives a phone call that leads her to find out about her birth family. Needless to say, all is not as it first appears.
In the second, a young teen harassed at school because of her developing body, added to her fluctuating home life, finds comfort in the midst of feral cats. One cat in particular will figure prominently in this story.
The third and my least favorite showcases a young college student taken advantage of by an older teacher. A prominent poet also figures largely. I was, however, surprised by the ending.
The fourth, and my favorite, also features a poet, albeit a dead one. In this one a young woman married into a house with a troubled past. Secrets a plenty, and of course, things are not as they appear and secrets are abound.
These are not bloody, horrific stories, but well thought out stories with fully realized characters. Like short stories, novellas let one read in manageable time frames.
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LibraryThing member jnmegan
In four previously unpublished novellas, Joyce Carol Oates delivers a collection of stories that evoke a sensation of lurking threats and inevitable menace aimed toward women. Cardiff, By the Sea: Four Novellas of Suspense, a new release this Fall from Mysterious Press, contains writings composed
Thanks to the author, Mysterious Press and Edelweiss for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
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during various phases of Oates’ long and illustrious career. All four showcase her ability to inspire creeping horror with a slow build of calculated tension. Each featured woman and girl in the novellas experience repression and abuse, until a breaking point is reached—erupting in a jolting realization, vengeance or violence. In the titular story, a young woman inherits a house from a family she has never met but finds that some pasts are better left unexplored. Her search for identity and sense of connection culminates in a realization that the cost of knowledge can sometimes be too high. The second tale, “Miao Dao” centers around a young girl whose extreme loneliness and abuse leads her to an unhealthy obsession and desire for vengeance. “Phantomwise: 1972” is about a young undergraduate whose dependence on men and longing for acceptance draw her into two relationships, both becoming predatory in their own way. The final tale, “The Surviving Child” most closely resembles a classic gothic ghost story in which a step-mother is haunted by a first wife whose murder/suicide is not as it first appears. The women Oates depicts are constantly on the cusp of crisis, filled with thwarted potential with promising futures that are cut short by the men in their orbit. She portrays an ingrained and skewed power dynamic, particularly within academia with all its insidious subtlety and outright entitlement. The collection in Cardiff, by the Sea addresses the tragic consequences that result when innocence and blind naivete are corrupted by the carelessly callous. It is another example of Joyce Carol Oates’ brilliance as a writer who can capture such complex ideas with gorgeous prose.Thanks to the author, Mysterious Press and Edelweiss for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.
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LibraryThing member brangwinn
What’s real, what’s supernatural? Oates latest book will make it hard for the reader to discern between the two. In these four unpublished novellas, Oates demonstrates her mastery at getting into the heads of her characters. I think actual chill went up my spine as I read the stories about
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women facing danger. This was especially true of “Miao Dao” in which a lonely young girl befriends a feral cat. Show Less
LibraryThing member kimkimkim
There was a strong, overpowering sense of foreboding in each of the novellas. Each dealt with a woman who was marginalized in some way and left to question her worth, her existence, her sanity. This heavy, uncomfortable feeling sat on my shoulders through all the pages. I found myself having to
The reviews I have read have been completely accurate and articulate.
I have little to add except several quotes from the four novellas that highlight my impressions and describe my reactions to Ms. Oates extraordinary writing:
“To be orphaned is to be never in the right place”
“Is this home? A I in the right place now?”
“Please help me. I am so lonely. Please”
Thank you NetGalley and The Mysterious Press for a copy.
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remind myself to take a breath and then to exhale, and then to shake my head and then to stare off into space. The reviews I have read have been completely accurate and articulate.
I have little to add except several quotes from the four novellas that highlight my impressions and describe my reactions to Ms. Oates extraordinary writing:
“To be orphaned is to be never in the right place”
“Is this home? A I in the right place now?”
“Please help me. I am so lonely. Please”
Thank you NetGalley and The Mysterious Press for a copy.
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LibraryThing member Stahl-Ricco
Four creepy stories, perfect for an October read! I've thought before that Oates is an excellent short story/novella writer, and this collection backs that up again! The first story, the title story, is the best, though I did not like the ending at all. It is an intricate tale of a woman's fears
The second story has a lonely girl who is dealing with puberty and her parents' divorce. At the beginning of it, she is 12 years old, the same age as my daughter, which made me a bit unsettled. That, and the cats she befriends. Very unsettling..
Story three has a college student dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. Lots of creepy in this one...
And the last story finds a new wife trying to be the stepmother to "The Surving Child" of a horrible murder/suicide. It also finds her battling with the maddness of it all. Again, creepy.
So, four stories, all creepy, and all women in impossible, sometimes horrible, life situations. I think it's a perfect complement to dark, creepy, October nights.
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and anxieties about adoption, and her coming face to face with an inheritance, and a family history, that turns her life upside down. It includes two of the worst aunts in the world, maybe worse than Roald Dahl's Spiker and Sponge!The second story has a lonely girl who is dealing with puberty and her parents' divorce. At the beginning of it, she is 12 years old, the same age as my daughter, which made me a bit unsettled. That, and the cats she befriends. Very unsettling..
Story three has a college student dealing with an unexpected pregnancy. Lots of creepy in this one...
And the last story finds a new wife trying to be the stepmother to "The Surving Child" of a horrible murder/suicide. It also finds her battling with the maddness of it all. Again, creepy.
So, four stories, all creepy, and all women in impossible, sometimes horrible, life situations. I think it's a perfect complement to dark, creepy, October nights.
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LibraryThing member Kathl33n
This is my first Joyce Carol Oates - I thought it about time to jump on the bandwagon and these short novellas seemed a good way to start. First I have to say her writing is beautiful. Regardless of the subject matter there is a soft musical quality in the words. It's a quietness that pulls you in
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closer to the words, making you feel them just a bit more. Personally I'm not sure that I agree with other readers that shelve this as horror, and even suspenseful I'm not sure about. Or maybe suspenseful fits because they are slow burning stories, but the emotion I felt most strongly was uncomfortable. The beautiful writing made me uncomfortable because I knew it was juxtaposed to the story content. I should have been relishing those beautiful words but I couldn't quite relax enough because I was leery of where the plot was going. Same thing with the pacing. Did I want it to go faster or slower? I was never really sure. Did I want to race to get to something disturbing or did I want to read slowly and maybe never reach that point. It was such an uncomfortable feeling. A bit haunting. And isn't this really the best fiction out there? The reads that make us question everything and keep us off kilter and out of our comfort zones? I think so. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read an advanced copy. Show Less
LibraryThing member Dokfintong
This is the second of Joyce Carol Oates books I have tried recently. I do not enjoy these novellas and I will not try another of her books. These stories may be well written psychological dramas but I did not find them interesting or suspenseful.
I received a review copy of "Cardiff by the Sea" by
I received a review copy of "Cardiff by the Sea" by
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Joyce Carol Oates from Grove Atlantic through NetGalley.com. Show Less
LibraryThing member sogamonk
i am a fan of JCO.
Have read many of her books, and i find them to be wonderfully written.
This book although well written, disappointed.
The stories did not "click".
Somewhat boring, repetitive, incomplete.
Too bad, i was looking forward to reading it.
Have read many of her books, and i find them to be wonderfully written.
This book although well written, disappointed.
The stories did not "click".
Somewhat boring, repetitive, incomplete.
Too bad, i was looking forward to reading it.
LibraryThing member muddyboy
The dust jacket of this book describes it as four novellas of suspense but I did not see them as suspenseful. The first two sections of the book are interconnected and they are by far the most interesting dealing with a lady who as an adult finds out the story of her family that left her an orphan.
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As the book progresses the novellas get increasingly short and less interesting. Joyce Carol Oates is a very good author and I liked reading the book but I felt like in the stories she was using a bit of a formula in their similarity. Show Less
Language
ISBN
9780802157997