Cardiff, by the Sea

 

I've never read any of Joyce Carol Oates' other works, so I came into this book, a collection of four of her novellas, with a blank slate of expectations. The title itself suggests that they will have suspense, and in the most technical way possible, I suppose you could say that, but it isn't very exciting. While the writing is good - she's particularly talented at communicating the inner monologue of someone experiencing chaotic, confused thinking - the stories, for me, bordered on dull and one-note, with each story featuring a woman in various states of psychological and/or physical distress caused either, past or present, by one or more male figures in her life.

I get it. There are some men out there who behave badly toward women. As a woman, I'm sympathetic to the situations these women find themselves in. I'm just not sure I prefer spending 400 pages dwelling on it, or demonizing maleness in the process. By displaying many of the male characters as domineering, manipulative, predatory, selfish, or cruel, depending on the story, it also has the effect of making all the female protagonists look weak, pathetic, desperate and dependent, or worse - placating the men who victimize them. I always feel a little confused when that kind of portrayal is written by a woman, because I'm not sure what my take-away is supposed to be.

Regarding the four novellas, I liked the second one, Miao Dao, (it had cats - bonus) and the final one, The Surviving Child, best, as the stories had more sense of resolution. The first one, the titular, Cardiff, by the Sea, was bizarre and confusing to me, but I liked the way Oates wrote the manic back-and-forth conversations between the two great aunts. The third story, Phantomwise: 1972, was interesting, but some aspects of it could come straight out of many current crime shows, so it wasn't particularly suspenseful. All in all, I liked the writing, just not the themes. I'd honestly rather read a book these days that lifts me up.

★★★