A novella by the endlessly prolific Joyce Carol Oates, "First Love" is at once an exploration of the darkness that sometimes suffices for family life (familiar Oates territory) and a Christian allegory for the modern age of incest, child abuse, and bondage and discipline. The heroine is a not-quite adolescent girl named Josie who suffers physical and sexual abuse at the hands of her demonic cousin, a divinity student named Jared, and psychological abuse at the hands of her neglectful mother. Jared"s work includes binding, gagging and other unsavory acts in which blood plays an important role. The mother works her damage through means that are less spectacular but somehow manage to be far more sinister. The big question--is Jared snake or savior?