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A Fair Maiden

de Joyce Carol Oates

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4102861,028 (3.38)45
Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

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 â?? 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?

In the tradition of Oates's classic story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" A Fair Maiden is an unsettling, ambiguous tale of desire and contr… (més)
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This book tackles a difficult subject matter, that of a young girl who is groomed by a 68-year-old wealthy man who has picked on her as his 'soul mate' and wants her to fulfil a particular role. She is from a poor background with a neglectful, exploitative mother and an absent father - and sisters who all got out by marriage as soon as they could leave home.

Katya has a summer job as a live-in nanny to two young children, and desperately craves affection and validation/being seen as a person in her own right. So she is set up to be the victim of Marcus Kidder, prominent citizen of the seaside town where she is working, and all round dilettante. In the course of the story we learn that he once recorded as a tenor, but did not pursue that, at some point made a lot of blown glass flowers which now decorate his house, has in the past written four picture books for children but then decided he had said everything he wanted to say, and more recently dabbles in music composure and arrangement, and in sketching and painting young women. His display of portraits of these women make not only Katya, but the reader also, wonder if he is in some sense collecting these women with her as the latest in a long line.

Kidder approaches and 'courts' her and gradually she falls under his spell, feeling that he 'loves' her although she is also repulsed at times by his physical decrepitude. But he starts making himself indispensable, first coming through with a 'loan' when Katya's gambling-addicted mother needs money fast, and later in paying Katya for sessions posing for him. But to keep him content she must go further each time - posing in daring undies and later in the nude, with disturbing scenes that at one point imply he has drugged and sexually assaulted, perhaps actually raped her. Meanwhile, so mixed up is Katya that she is drawn back to her abusive older cousin who has just been released from jail for armed robbery and who she also has recollections of raping her while getting her high on drugs.

Apart from Kidder's being rather pathetic when she becomes angry with him at times, and his obvious veneer of culture, there doesn't really seem to be much difference between the two men in their attitude to Katya. To neither of them is she an actual human being with hopes and needs of her own. And eventually the three characters end up on a collision course.

The book was quite short and a quick page-turning read. I did find it repetitive at times, especially Katya's monologues in which she often refers to herself by her full name in the third person. None of the characters is that sympathetic, even Katya herself. It has to be said though that she is the least culpable, being a minor at the receiving end of mistreatment from her employers, mother, cousin and Kidder.

The ending is pretty odd, especially with the seeming acquiescence of Kidder's chauffeur and housekeeper - is there no penalty for aiding/abetting suicide? And aren't they doing themselves out of a job, even if this is just anticipating either Kidder's death from old age or a recurrence of the cancer he is currently in remission from. If the latter did not reoccur, he might live to a ripe old age and they would enjoy many years of gainful employment so it is odd how they go along with it. And despite the marriage night motif and mention of a pre-nuptial, Katya is not actually married to him, so unless he has made her his beneficiary in a will, it isn't clear how she is going to financially benefit.

Altogether, and with that weird ending, the book for me balanced out at an 'OK' read, no more, so I am awarding it 2 stars. ( )
  kitsune_reader | Nov 23, 2023 |
La vida de Katya Spivak, una adolescente de dieciséis años, cambia el día en que conoce a Marcus Kidder. Esa mañana de verano ha salido a dar un paseo por las refinadas calles de Bayhead Harbor con los dos pequeños que tiene a su cargo, cuando se le aproxima un elegante y canoso caballero de apariencia inofensiva e incluso agradable. Su preciosa casa, los libros infantiles que ha escrito, su música clásica, las maravillosas obras de arte de su estudio, los generosos regalos que él le hace: la vida del señor Kidder no puede ser más distinta de la monótona existencia de Katya en el entorno obrero de su hogar, ni más tentadora. Sin embargo, con el correr de los días, algo cambia de forma casi imperceptible. Ella sabe lo que hay en juego: él la desea pero, ¿qué es lo que quiere en realidad de su «hermosa doncella»? Y ¿hasta dónde llegarán ambos para alcanzar sus metas?
  Natt90 | Feb 16, 2023 |
Disturbing and well written. I first encountered Oates many years ago with her short stories in horror anthologies and she made a brilliant impression. I was not disappointed with this novella. ( )
  paroof | Nov 27, 2022 |
Dark, Suspenseful, with a Subtext

Katya Spivak, sixteen, comes from the wrong side of the tracks, Vineland, NJ, where she feels unloved and badly used, by a father who deserted her, a mother who neglects her, brothers and sisters who have little to do with her, and a sometimes boyfriend who abuses her. So, you can imagine, working as a nanny for a well-off couple in Bayhead, NJ, a wealthy summer community, would be a welcome escape from her normal life.

However, even here, though she loves the little girl and boy she minds, she feels the mother takes advantage of her and the husband, when around, leers at her. So you can imagine how the attention paid to her by wealthy and refined Marcus Kidder, sixty-eight, appeals to her, at least initially. That is, until their budding relationship, predicated on his belief he knows her, perhaps from another time, and his use of her as a model, for Marcus Kidder not only is rich, he is a painter, sculptor, composer, and writer of children’s books, strikes you as decidedly wrong. It gives nothing away to say readers will almost immediately suspect Marcus Kidder’s intentions, heightened when he tells Katya that she will one day, when properly prepared, assist him on special mission.

JCO’s writing style, here at its most affected, especially in the speech of Marcus Kidder, works superbly establishing character and building the reader’s wariness: something very bad is going to happen. You’ll easily recognize the pattern here, called grooming, and you’ll be even more suspicious of Marcus Kidder, as you observe, along with Kayta, that he has painted and lined his studio walls with numerous young women like her. But things may not be entirely as you fear them to be, and this includes your worst fears.

And, upon reflection, after journeying with Katya and Marcus Kidder, you may discover the seemingly simple tale a bit more layered and complex. This is because Oates, consciously or not, raises questions in your mind regarding moral exceptions for artists and the strictures on one’s personal control of one’s life, not to mention the involvement of others, even on a voluntary basis. ( )
  write-review | Nov 4, 2021 |
Dark, Suspenseful, with a Subtext

Katya Spivak, sixteen, comes from the wrong side of the tracks, Vineland, NJ, where she feels unloved and badly used, by a father who deserted her, a mother who neglects her, brothers and sisters who have little to do with her, and a sometimes boyfriend who abuses her. So, you can imagine, working as a nanny for a well-off couple in Bayhead, NJ, a wealthy summer community, would be a welcome escape from her normal life.

However, even here, though she loves the little girl and boy she minds, she feels the mother takes advantage of her and the husband, when around, leers at her. So you can imagine how the attention paid to her by wealthy and refined Marcus Kidder, sixty-eight, appeals to her, at least initially. That is, until their budding relationship, predicated on his belief he knows her, perhaps from another time, and his use of her as a model, for Marcus Kidder not only is rich, he is a painter, sculptor, composer, and writer of children’s books, strikes you as decidedly wrong. It gives nothing away to say readers will almost immediately suspect Marcus Kidder’s intentions, heightened when he tells Katya that she will one day, when properly prepared, assist him on special mission.

JCO’s writing style, here at its most affected, especially in the speech of Marcus Kidder, works superbly establishing character and building the reader’s wariness: something very bad is going to happen. You’ll easily recognize the pattern here, called grooming, and you’ll be even more suspicious of Marcus Kidder, as you observe, along with Kayta, that he has painted and lined his studio walls with numerous young women like her. But things may not be entirely as you fear them to be, and this includes your worst fears.

And, upon reflection, after journeying with Katya and Marcus Kidder, you may discover the seemingly simple tale a bit more layered and complex. This is because Oates, consciously or not, raises questions in your mind regarding moral exceptions for artists and the strictures on one’s personal control of one’s life, not to mention the involvement of others, even on a voluntary basis. ( )
  write-review | Nov 4, 2021 |
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Fiction. Mystery. HTML:

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 â?? 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?

In the tradition of Oates's classic story "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" A Fair Maiden is an unsettling, ambiguous tale of desire and contr

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