As with most collections some stories are better than others, and these were entertaining on varying levels (Having read soooooo much of her work, I might be immunized from her suspense at this point....) ( )

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. 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. ( )

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. ( )

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 Joyce Carol Oates from Grove Atlantic through NetGalley.com. ( )

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 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. ( )