Sixteen-year-old Katya Spivak is out for a walk on the gracious streets of Bayhead Harbor with her two summer babysitting charges when she’s approached by silver-haired, elegant Marcus Kidder. At first his interest in her seems harmless, even pleasant; like his name, a sort of gentle joke. His beautiful home, the children’s books he’s written, his classical music, the marvelous art in his study, his lavish presents to her — Mr. Kidder’s life couldn’t be more different from Katya’s drab working-class existence back home in South Jersey, or more enticing. But by degrees, almost imperceptibly, something changes, and posing for Mr. Kidder’s new painting isn’t the lighthearted endeavor it once was. What does he really want from her? And how far will he go to get it?
****Rate this 4/5. Like most of Joyce Carol Oates' books, this one is odd but kept my interest nonetheless. It is a dark tale about a very lonely, misguided young lady who is deceived by an elderly man. I did enjoy it, but I never know what Miss Oates will come up with in her next book.
No comments:
Post a Comment