Scan barcode
sapphirestars's review against another edition
3.0
The disturbing tale of Katya Spivak and the elderly Marcus Kidder.
jaymesnoyce's review against another edition
2.0
Unsettling
I have read a lot of JCO’s work in the past and found it disturbing, yet enthralling. This novella, however, just left me feeling *yuck* even though it is beautifully written.
I have read a lot of JCO’s work in the past and found it disturbing, yet enthralling. This novella, however, just left me feeling *yuck* even though it is beautifully written.
kelmeckis's review against another edition
2.0
fruktansvärd bok! den gjorde bra i att beskriva hur samhällets maktpositioner såg ut. jag gillar att den inte låtsades som att katya och gubben (som jag redan glömt namnet på) är jämlikar utan ofta påminde om maktförhållandet mellan dom, men slutet var helt värdelöst.
slammy90's review against another edition
2.0
Nella mia vita letteraria, lunga, stupenda e costellata di libri di ogni genere, mi sono sempre chiesta quale fosse il mio 'limite' e cosa mi avrebbe fatto dire "No, non fa per me".
Ecco, Una brava ragazza della Oates mi ha messo addosso talmente tanto disagio e a volte schifo che penso di averlo trovato.. La lettura del libro mi ha veramente disturbato!
Se un rapporto malato tra una 16enne e un 68enne non vi crea problemi, il libro è scritto magistralmente. D'altronde parliamo della Oates, vecchia carogna ♥
Ecco, Una brava ragazza della Oates mi ha messo addosso talmente tanto disagio e a volte schifo che penso di averlo trovato.. La lettura del libro mi ha veramente disturbato!
Se un rapporto malato tra una 16enne e un 68enne non vi crea problemi, il libro è scritto magistralmente. D'altronde parliamo della Oates, vecchia carogna ♥
luaucow's review against another edition
2.0
This was a really bizzare book. Normally I wouldn't root for a teenager to sleep with an old man, but I was interested in seeing how the author was going to get us to the point where it would seem like an ok thing to do. Know what I mean?
ld2's review against another edition
3.0
Soft and manipulative kind of horror. Exactly what one would expect of Joyce Carol Oates.
debshelf's review against another edition
2.0
Oates is always a bit hit or miss for me; I've always preferred her short stories to her novels/novellas. That being said, if you handed me this book without any form of identification and asked me to name the author, I would probably have gotten it in one or two guesses. Oates has a very particular style and the same themes of gender, sexuality and power run through all of her works that I've read.
More than anything, Oates' observations regarding female/male relationships and cultural perception always feel spot-on, to me. There's a part in chapter three of this novel where Katya thinks about the difference between women and men where she says something to the extent of "men can be many things, not just their body. Women are only their bodies." This is maybe the part of the novel that stuck with me the most, especially since it seems to keep reappearing in the relationships between Katya and every other character in the book. The women fear her and disdain her because of her beauty, the men--even Marcus Kidder, who proclaims her his soul's mate--see only her physical being.
I wouldn't say this is an enjoyable book to read if only because the sinister feel of it that's present from the very beginning. From the moment Kidder approaches Katya at the beginning of the story, we have an inkling of his intentions and that inkling sticks with us as a sinister unsettling feeling until the end.
What I liked most about the novel was that it didn't end as expected, and I found the last few pages quite beautiful with their dream-like atmosphere.
More than anything, Oates' observations regarding female/male relationships and cultural perception always feel spot-on, to me. There's a part in chapter three of this novel where Katya thinks about the difference between women and men where she says something to the extent of "men can be many things, not just their body. Women are only their bodies." This is maybe the part of the novel that stuck with me the most, especially since it seems to keep reappearing in the relationships between Katya and every other character in the book. The women fear her and disdain her because of her beauty, the men--even Marcus Kidder, who proclaims her his soul's mate--see only her physical being.
I wouldn't say this is an enjoyable book to read if only because the sinister feel of it that's present from the very beginning. From the moment Kidder approaches Katya at the beginning of the story, we have an inkling of his intentions and that inkling sticks with us as a sinister unsettling feeling until the end.
What I liked most about the novel was that it didn't end as expected, and I found the last few pages quite beautiful with their dream-like atmosphere.
More...