Each of these four novellas is suspenseful and gripping. I was eager to return to reading them every night.

These four short stories are the first works I've read of Joyce Carol Oates. I like reading short stories because I can usually finish a story in one sitting, which is satisfying to know the end of the story right away. I also like the way Joyce Carol Oates writes. I'm not sure how to describe it. Choppy sentences. Dialog without the "he said," or "she answered," included. The writing definitely appealed to me because it is so different from most authors. I recommend this volume for book clubs who don't normally read short stories and/or enjoy Joyce Carol Oates or want to be introduced to her.

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.

Thank you Netgalley and the publishers and the author for this GEM! Oh wow, this book had me on edge from the beginning of each Novella. There are 4 short stories in this book, and I never would’ve thought that I would love all 4 of these short stories. I have never read a book by this author and I am not disappointed.

Each and every single short story is very different, it feels like if there are 4 very different authors in this, but its not, its all one person, she is a genius. The first Cadiff by the sea, is about this young woman named Clare, who is adopted, and out of nowhere her grandmother’s attorney reaches out to her to let her know that her other family is looking for her and she has inherited something, and the things she uncovers, about her family, and why she was set up to be adopted had my jaw on the floor.

Miao Dao, this one is about Mia, a young girl, going through divorce, and feeling very unsafe in her new world, then she discovers there is an alley way with these feral cats, she starts to feed them, but then something happens, one of the cats becomes very close to her, and it protects her, in ways that it took all the way towards the end of this novella, to realize that there is more going on here than the cat protecting her, I was SHOOK.

Phantomwise, this title was a little confusing for me, but at the end I realized what it meant, and this novella really made me very sad. This 19 year old girl names Alyce, is in college, she falls in love with a professor, whose DOUCHE, and I won’t give too much away, but lets say she gets into a little bit of trouble with this first professor, and then she meets the second one whose very much like her, but he is a lot older, he’s a poet, just like her, and he is willing to solve all of her problems for her, but towards the end things change and drastically, I didn’t expect that ending at all.

Finally, The Surviving Child, Stefan is the surviving child, which is a strong title for Elisabeth to even take in, who’s his new stepmother. Stefan was almost killed by his own mother who is a famous poet, but the mystery is “why kill one kid and save the other?” Stefans mother has been battling a lot of issues, and being married to his dad was not easy, this book was so trippy and crazy, it was very short, but was that house haunted?? I sure think it was, lol, you must read this book.

All of these short novels are so atmospheric, feel so true to human nature, yet are so perfect at building psychological terror that I was aware of my increased heart rate when nearing the end of each of them. Great reading experience thanks to an exceptional author.

Thanks to NetGalley and Mysterious Press for the ARC to read and review.

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 women facing danger. This was especially true of “Miao Dao” in which a lonely young girl befriends a feral cat.

What can I say that will do these stories justice? This is a book of 4 novellas/short stories as only JCO is able to do. Each story is better than the rest!

My thanks to Netgalley and Grove Atlantic for this advanced readers copy. This book is due to release on October 6, 2020.

4 stars / This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com on 24 October 2020.


Joyce Carol Oates has given us another collection of short stories, or novellas. Each has its own elements of suspense, some frightening, some not so much. I truly enjoy the short story format, as it’s nearly possible to finish an entire “book” in an evening. Of the four, I must say that Miao Dao was my favorite. Perhaps it’s because I currently am trying to befriend my own feral cats.

The title of the book refers to the first novella. In it, a young woman receives a phone call that leads her to find her biological family, but not in the best way. In the town Cardiff, By the Sea, she has inherited the family home. When she makes the trip from her home in Pennsylvania to Maine, she finds that Cardiff can be a little unsettling, as is the story of her biological family. Because she is a researcher, she feels the need to get to the bottom of her history. But sometimes, some things are better left unlearned.

Miao Dao finds a young girl named Mia in the midst of puberty and family upheaval. When she finds a feral kitten in the vacant lot next to her home, she sneaks the kitten into the house. Raising the kitten, which she names Miao Dao, she feels one with it, and feels it is the closest thing to family that she has, in spite of living with her mother. Things start to go awry when her mother has a new boyfriend. Plus, the boys at school become obsessed with girls and torment Mia. Will Miao Dao be her savior?

A young female literature student befriends a visiting professor, becoming his archive assistant. Another professor seduces the student but then quickly acts as though nothing has happened. When things go horribly wrong in the student’s life, the visiting professor professes his true feelings to make the student his companion. She finds a book of his poetry in the archives and wonders if perhaps the best thing would be to take the elderly visiting professor up on his offer. Suddenly the other professor reappears to try to make things right with the student. His behavior is quite unexpected, but thrilling to the student. She has a choice to make.

Lastly, a young boy named Stefan loses his mother and sister in a horrible tragedy. His father finds a lovely new woman to marry and bring into their sad, ancestral home. However, this home seems to have a mind of its own - with a toxic well and a garage with secrets. Stefan simply wants to be loved and taken care of. Secrets abound, and it’s up to this woman to figure out if her imagination has gone wild, or if the house is truly evil.

After reading this collection, I am compelled to read my other Joyce Carol Oates collection of short stories. All of these stories will give you a bit of a chill. Put on another cup of tea.

Cardiff by the Sea by Joyce Carol Oates

These four unrelated novellas carry similar themes. Female protagonists of varying ages are all highly intimidated by male figures. At some point, they all gain a degree of strength and growth.

Knives, suicide, death, hiding or running away, physically or figuratively, play a role in each story. All leading characters are tiny in size or make themselves small to not be seen. There is an element of magical realism or escapism as well.

I highly recommend this book for readers who like something quite different from what they usually read. I found it very thought provoking, and Oates has a knack for story telling that just flows. A solid four stars from this reviewer.

My thanks to #TheMysteriousPress and #NetGalley for an ARC for my review.

Cardiff, by the Sea is a collection that tells the stories of women who find themselves in violent situations. Oates is a master of plot, but her writing style is unengaging and distracting.

<b>4.25 Stars</b>

All four novellas are vintage Joyce Carol Oates, classic literary fiction. These stories are perfect for a cold, rainy night or a Halloween read...I highly recommend them...and that cover is so beautiful and haunting. The theme here seems to be that males are predators and the females have had enough...how very timely.

<b>Cardiff, by the Sea: ☆☆☆☆ </b>
This is the way a story should be...creepy, suspenseful and entertaining. I love everything about the novella...creepy house, weird relatives, bumps in the night. I could see it in my head happening in every chilling detail. Great story with great writing, excellent plot and characterization. I was completely immersed in this one.

<b>Miao Dao: ☆☆☆☆☆</b>
This story is narrated by 13 year old Mia. Her parents have divorced, her father has moved away and she is developing into a young lady. She is being bullied at school and becomes friends with a bunch of feral cats. Someone complains about the cats and they are removed but for one white kitten, that Mia rescues and takes home. I felt so bad for Mia as her story is so similar to my own. My heart was breaking for her. This story read like poetry and I loved it so much, maybe is it because I felt the connection but the story was so beautiful in it's sadness.

<b>Phan-tomwise, 1972: ☆☆☆☆ </b>
I read this story in one sitting. Interesting characters with unusual motivations. I liked the style of writing and storyline and I was completly engaged through the end. Makes you think...does anyone ever really win in situations like these?

<b>The Surviving Child: ☆☆☆☆ </b>
Fantastic story, and the characters instantly became alive to me through the author's writing, I felt emotionally connected with all of them, and at times wanted to shout at them, console them, encourage them but always felt part of them. A very dark and thought provoking tale, and a story that I would definitely read again.

<i>Thank you NetGalley, Joyce Carol Oates and Grove Atlantic/Mysterious Press for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an impartial review; all opinions are my own.</i>

#CardiffbytheSea #NetGalley

disclaimer – i received a copy of this book via grove atlantic/mysterious press in exchange for an honest review.

each of the novellas in cardiff, by the sea, by joyce carol oates, features a character at a crossroads. the woman in the title story inherits property from a relative she has never heard of and the property comes with a secret and a mystery that must be solved within a set timeframe. in miao dao, a young girl is dealing with her parents divorce, bullying at school, an abusive stepfather and a stray cat that seems to be more concerned for her well-being than any adult in her life. a college student finds herself pregnant in phan-tomwise: 1972 and enters into a mentorship with a professor who wants more from her than just a mentor/mentee relationship. finally, in the surviving child, a mother kills her daughter and herself but lets her son live with repercussions that touch everyone in his house.

oates is a remarkable author and the characters in these stories are compelling. it's incredibly easy to connect with these characters and become completely invested in their stories. each story is at times frantic and disjointed but this makes the story that much richer and makes the characters that much more sympathetic. the overwhelming feeling in all of these stories is a sense of being trapped. these characters are all searching for answers and hoping for help, a solution is possible but even when the right choice is made, the price is incredibly high.

four out of five stars

As ever, Joyce Carol Oates is a masterful storyteller. So gently she engages your imagination and then you are hanging on for dear life as she sends you on a soaring magic carpet through the minds and hearts of her characters. Her uncanny ability to write from the perspective of the stream of consciousness of her characters remains unparalleled. If you are a fan, you will love this collection. So very juicy, but short enough that each can be read in a single sitting without keeping you up all night. Unless, of course, your resultant dreams do.

Vintage Joyce Carol Oates.

Anyone that has read a Joyce Carol Oates anthology will enjoy these novellas.
These stories are filled with such foreboding that I had to put the book down on multiple occasions. I found myself wanting to yell at each protagonist as their situations worsened. To tell them to beware. To tell them to hide, to run, to wake up. Very real and surreal at the same time.
By the way, my favorite is Miao Dao. What a comeuppance!

Thanks to NetGalley, Mysterious Press, and Joyce Carol Oates for an ARC in return for an honest review.

Cardiff, by the Sea is an anthology of four previously unpublished novellas by Joyce Carol Oates. Ms. Oates is a world-renowned and prolific author. Her talent is unquestionable, but I have to be honest and admit that these novellas left me cold. The novellas are all written in third-party prose that kept me from gaining anything other than a surface-level understanding any of the characters. There was no depth, no empathy. Further, the main character in each of the stories is a woman, but they are women who lack confidence and come across as passive observers of life. I couldn't connect to any of them. Also, each story builds to an appropriate ending, but then in the final paragraph(s), that ending is questioned. It's hard to explain what I mean here, but I found all the endings to be unsatisfying. Finally, I'm not sure when these novellas were written, but they read as dated to me. Perhaps why this is the first time the are being published.

Fans of JCO will no doubt love Cardiff, by the Sea, and I know I'm in the minority, but I have to be honest. My thanks to NetGallley and The Mysterious Press for providing me with a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I received a free advanced ebook of Cardiff, by the Sea from NetGalley in exchange for an unbiased review.

Anyone who has read Joyce Carol Oates knows that there will be equal parts pain and pleasure in reading her work. Cardiff, by the Sea is a collection of four novellas, each of which is centered on a female protagonist. Each young woman is solitary by nature and hesitant to express herself. Each finds contentment in poetry and art but the realities of life are a bit more difficult.

The first and longest novella for which the collection is named, concerns a young woman, Clare, who unexpectedly inherits a house in Maine from her grandmother by birth. Clare had been adopted as a toddler and knows nothing about her birth family. Upon traveling to Maine, she meets some rather eccentric great aunts and begins the painful search for her family past. There is no easy way to accept or understand family annihilation and Clare's survival when the rest of her family has died sets her reeling. What, if anything, does she remember and can her memories be trusted?

The second novella, Miao Dao, was the most painful to read. Mia is a preteen whose parents are going through a divorce. Her father wanders away from his family to a new one out of state and her mother is initially incapable of forward movement. Mia feels out of sorts in her changing body and the cruel chaotic nature of middle school only exacerbates her separateness. She hides her maturing body with large clothing and slumped shoulders but silly and crude middle school boys are fascinated. Mia's only solace is a feral kitten, Miao Dao, that she brings home after the cat colony is destroyed. Her new stepfather makes Mia uneasy and she has no outlets to express her emotions. Unhappiness and uncertainty ooze out of her.

Phantomwise reveals a naive college-age woman who becomes the date rape victim of an older teaching assistant. Alyce is is his apartment because she doesn't know what to say to get out of there. She doesn't want to be rude and their continued relationship is indicative of her uncertainty.
Not rape. Nothing so physically coercive. Instead he'd made her feel shame, that she had caused him to misunderstand her...Her heart was beating rapidly, as the heart of a creature that is trapped, yet has not quite acknowledged it is trapped...Not rape. Not - precisely.

Finally, there is The Surviving Child where a young woman marries an older widower with a child and moves into the lovely home where wife #1, the mysterious poet known as N.K., had killed herself and one of her children. Elizabeth longs to connect with the quiet surviving child but there are specters of mystery about the murder-suicide.

As always, Oates' work is spectacularly written. #NetGalley #CardiffbytheSea

5 "how the heck do you doit?" stars !!

Thank you to Netgalley, the author and Grove Atlantic for an advance ebook in exchange for my honest review. This will be released in October 2020.

I am absolutely astonished that in a collection of 4 novellas that ALL OF THEM WOULD BE FUCKIN BRILLIANT !!

Ms. Oates' collection is hypnotic, mesmerizing, terrifying, astute and true. I will list the novella's title and a brief little review of each. These mini-reviews were written right after I read the piece and are collected here.


Cardiff, by the Sea (5 stars)

This novella is so moving, so thrilling, so astute. A young woman receives a call from a lawyer in Maine. She has inheritance ! But she is adopted. Who were her parents ? On this quest she meets her great-aunts, her uncle. This little ditty does not do this novella justice. It is likely one of the best little psychological pieces I have ever read....as good as yes....Shirley Jackson ! That says it all !

I will revisit this novella for sure but more for its prose and structure to help me with my own creative writing. I felt short of breath, afraid and thrilled reading this one !

Fuck fuck fuck this was so damn good Ms. Oates !

Miao Dao (5 stars)

Mia is turning 12, 13, 14. Mia is deeply hurt by her mother, her departing father, her distant unsupportive friends. The boys at school are both silly and brutish, the stepfather is.....

Mia loves the feral cats and one beautiful white one is angelic yet terrible....

This is a terrifying and deeply sad story that has wisdom and rhythm.

Ms. Oates you are astounding me !

Phan-tomwise, 1972 (5 stars)

A 19 yo undergrad in humanities is so very lonely, so very bright, so very naive. She tangles with two malignant narcissists (one paternalistic, one sneering) and the results are not just frightening but terrifying, horrifying.

One of the most ruthless tales about misogyny that I have ever read. I was breathless and hopeless reading this.

Ms. Oates....just stop....you are so bloody good !

The Surviving Child (5 stars)

A new stepmother for Stefan. His mother killed herself and murdered his sister ! The new stepmother is haunted by the new seaside house, by strange happenings, by the notoriety of the brilliant first wife. Her love for Stefan is fierce but will that save her from succumbing to....

This is a brilliant psychological ghost story. Chilling, everyday, horrifying. Amazing !!

Ms. Oates I bow down to your ghoulish brilliance !

As you can probably tell ....these are novellas to both frighten and tantalize and are the PERFECT ADDITION to your autumn and especially Halloween reading list.

There are four novellas in this book including the one that is the title of the book. I have read several of Oates’s books in the past and taken her writing class on Masterclass so obviously I admire her work.

But, of the four novellas I only found the last two satisfactory. The first two felt like the start of novels that were given up and quickly given ‘an ending’. Of course this may not be true but I do wonder about how prolific Oates is and whether her work suffers because of this.

Overall I was disappointed with all of the stories and how dark they were. I quite like authors dealing with dark topics but these lacked nuance and felt a bit relentless.

I received an ARC of this book, after having seen the title and description. Cardiff? I've been to Cardiff, I like Wales. Mysterious Press? I've read and enjoyed lots of other Mysterious Press books, especially by Donald Westlake. Mystery, thriller, haunting? Sounds great! Short fiction? I love short fiction!

Unfortunately, these stories just didn't speak to me. I'm sure they're fine, but they weren't my cup of tea.

Multiple stories included haunting elements, but there was no real resolution about them. Were spiders somehow nefariously involved in life-changing experiences, or were they simply present? Was any poisoning being done? The characters simply don't seem _smart_. Their lives are full of sensations, and what appear to be absurd choices - if they're being manipulated, are they truly weak, or are they facing challenges that they simply are incapable of responding to effectively? To the extent that there are mysteries, they generally don't seem to be resolved, at least not in a way that I considered satisfying.

Some of the characterizations were definitely carefully sketched. But, again, some of them were excessively nasty. This can be explained by the perspective of the heroine, I suppose, but people who appear so distasteful yet the heroine seems to not observe their faults, or to respond to forces that appear to dominate their lives, it just didn't make much sense to me. She does have extremely clear descriptions, I can definitely envision the houses, dresses, etc that she describes.

I'm a guy. Maybe this book will speak to women in a completely different way. I haven't read much else by Joyce Carol Oates, so perhaps this is precisely the kind of book that her fans will love. For me, though, it didn't succeed in making me a fan, and I don't expect to read much else by her. I'm grateful to have received an ARC, though!

I received an ARC of this collection of novellas from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I love the stories of Joyce Carol Oates. Her raw portrayals of life and the ugliness alongside the beauty and hopefulness of existence is compelling.