Cardiff, by the Sea : Four Novellas of Suspense

Four brand-new novellas by the #1 New York Times -bestselling, National Book Award-winning “grand mistress of ghoulishness” ( Publishers Weekly ). An academic in Pennsylvania discovers a terrifying trauma from her past after inheriting a house in Cardiff, Maine from someone she has never heard of. A pubescent girl, overcome with loneliness, befriends a feral cat that becomes her protector from the increasingly aggressive males that surround her. A brilliant but shy college sophomore is distraught to discover that she’s pregnant, and the professor who takes her under his wing may not have innocent intentions. And a woman who marries into a family shattered by tragedy finds herself haunted by her predecessor’s voice, an inexplicably befouled well, and a compulsive attraction to a garage that took two lives. In these psychologically daring, chillingly suspenseful pieces, the author of We Were the Mulvaneys and Blonde writes about women facing threats past and present, once again cementing her reputation for “great intelligence and dead-on imaginative powers” ( Los Angeles Times Book Review ). Joyce Carol Oates, the grand mistress of ghoulishness ( Publishers Weekly ), showcases her mastery in four deeply disturbing novellas that will leave the reader both quaking and pining for more In the titular novella, an academic in Pennsylvania discovers a terrifying trauma from her past after inheriting a house in Cardiff, Maine from someone she has never heard of. Mia, the protagonist of Miao Dao, is a pubescent girl overcome with loneliness, who befriends a feral cat that becomes her protector from the increasingly aggressive males that surround her. A brilliant but shy college sophomore realizes that she is pregnant in 1972. Distraught, she allows a distinguished visiting professor to take her under his wing, though it quickly becomes evident that he is interested in more than an academic mentorship. Lastly, The Surviving Child is Stefan, who was spared when his mother, a famous poet, killed his sister and herself. Stefans father remarries, but his young wife is haunted by dead poets voice dancing in the wind, an inexplicably befouled well, and a compulsive draw to the same gar-age that took two lives. In these psychologically daring, chillingly suspenseful pieces, Joyce Carol Oates writes about women facing threats past and present. "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 "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 Collects four novellas including the title novella, in which a romantic-minded young art historian is led to rediscover a terrifying trauma after inheriting property in faraway Cardiff, Maine