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A Fair Maiden

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A Fair Maiden

Written by: Joyce Carol Oates
Narrated by: Angela Goethals
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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 that 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 light-hearted endeavor it once was. What does he really want from her? And how far will he go to get it?

©2009 The Ontario Review, Inc. All rights reserved (P)2009 BBC Audiobooks America Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Psychological Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Heartfelt
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What the critics say

"Fans of Oates' gothic stylings will not be disappointed...and Katya's belligerent exuberance ("He wants me! Me, me!") gives the prose plenty of punch." (Booklist)
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I was disappointed by the reader. I found her very good when speaking dialogue of the various characters, but found her reading of non dialogue to be robotic. Had I not been listening to the book while on a long distance drive , I would have stopped listening and would have read the book myself instead

Great novel.

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