A Librarian and Her Books

This book was quite fittingly the October book pick for Read Between the Wines. Let’s face it, this is a classic horror novel. Though, if I’m being honest, I hear a lot more about the movie than I do the book. I feel like there’s a reason for that. Don’t get me wrong, there’s only one person to thank for what was, at the time, the most frightening thing anyone had ever seen. This story, loosely inspired by true events (a fact I find utterly terrifying) is the brain child of none other than Blatty. I’ve heard numerous people of that generation say that The Exorcist haunted both their waking and sleeping hours after having seen it. Perhaps it’s that hype. Perhaps it’s the fact that I expected so much that left me a little wanting upon finishing this book. So let’s get into it, shall we?

I don’t really feel the need to do much of a synopsis here. We all know the story. Little girl gets possessed by a demon and mother seeks the assistance of the Catholic church to exorcise the demon. Both expletives and pea soup are hurled, and the rest is history. I’m going to jump right into it and tell you why I think I didn’t really enjoy this as much as I thought I would. It all comes down to the fact that it’s a bit dated at this point in time. I found the dialogue a bit odd, almost hokey, and I was often frustrated by decisions made by the characters. Maybe it would be better to say I was frustrated by the reactions of characters over the course of the novel to events as they unfolded. I felt the medical portions droned on a bit. I mean, it was quite ridiculous at a certain point that they were still trying to find a medical reason for her floating on the ceiling and shit like that.

At the time this came out, I’m sure it was quite shocking to read. These days, however, people of my generation have been sort of desensitized to shock value. Graphic language? Have you ridden with me in traffic? Sex and violence? Turn on the TV even for a second and I’m sure you’ll find something that would have made your Grandma’s toes curl. True, in any era reading about a little girl masturbating with a crucifix is extremely disturbing, but it still doesn’t change the fact that the shock value in this has faded over the years. Take away the automatic visceral reaction to that kind of stimuli and you just find yourself a little bored. Add to that the fact that these characters aren’t really that likeable, and there’s not much to keep your attention. The only character I really felt a connection to was Father Damian. And that may only be because the mental image I crafted for him was my gynecologist dressed as a priest. He’s really quite a nice and endearing man, so it helped.

So, really, I’m not saying this a bad book. This is a classic story that will never fall out of the horror canon. It, in fact, revolutionized the world of horror and deserves an immense amount of respect, as does Blatty for its creation. Unfortunately for me, however, it just didn’t pack the same punch I expected, and this was sort of the general consensus among our members. I still give it 3 stars as a deeply original story for its time that is well written, despite the fact that I didn’t really draw much enjoyment from it.

I will try to do this review justice, as I read it back in October and then fell off the face of the Earth and made no progress with reviews. It’s not because I didn’t enjoy this book, because I really did. Probably because I have never really read a whole lot of horror in the past, Jones is a name in the literary world that was new to me. He visited the Springfield-Greene County Library for their Halloween horror series, so I wanted to make sure to read this book prior to his talk so I could be familiar with his work. And what a refreshing new-to-me author he is. It was a real pleasure getting to meet him and listen to him talk about his work, and I managed to pick up a copy of The Only Good Indians and get him to sign it. I look forward to reading it after the start of the new year.

Synopsis

Jade Daniel isn’t like other kids in her school. People see her as a bit troubled and weird, and she’s not just a fan of slasher films. Slasher films are her lifeblood. If she isn’t watching slashers, she’s writing about slashers, thinking about slashers, or talking about slashers. When bodies start turning up in her sleepy little town, Jade realizes she’s found herself in a slasher of her very own. Using her wits and extensive knowledge of the formula of the slasher, she will follow this real-life movie to its dramatic conclusion. Step #1, she has to convince the town’s archetypal final girl that she must embrace her role in the drama to come if they are destined to vanquish the evil forces at play.

Review

This is such a refreshingly unique piece of horror. It’s a celebration of a really popular genre of film, one to which I’m not incredibly familiar, but I still enjoyed the story. At times, the narrative is very twisty and complicated, and there’s always a pervasive psychological element. Jade is someone we want to trust, but we truly aren’t sure that we can. As the reader, I could tell Jade has a special place in Jones’ heart, because he crafted her with such depth and careful consideration. It’s pretty clear that there’s a part of Jade that IS Stephen Graham Jones, that he left a piece of his soul in the pages of her story. She’s just the right mix of imperfect human qualities to qualify as a perfect character. She feels real and raw, like honey fresh from the hive. You want to reach it, but if you try you might get a nasty sting. Underneath, though, is a sad little girl who was never given the opportunity to thrive, and she’s merely looking for her place in an unforgiving world. By the end of the book, if you don’t love her a little bit, there’s something wrong with you. But just like the people I love in real life, Jade’s obsessive nature could get a little annoying from time to time and I wanted to shake some sense into her.

The plot is quite twisty. The novel moves at a pretty rapid pace throughout. On audio, I sometimes found myself losing track of things, which I think was my fault more than the fault of the book, as I’m often trying to multitask. Don’t multitask with this one. Grab the reins and hold on for dear life, because your full attention is required. As far as the horror element is concerned, Jones does not hold back. This book is gruesome, gory, and at times just plain gross. Unless rotting elk carcasses are your thing, you might find yourself making the eww face more than a few times.

Frankly, there’s not a whole lot I can say about this book without giving away too much about the plot or the direction, so I’m really just going to leave it at that. If you are looking for a good horror novel with pretty superb writing and a fascinating main character, this is the book for you. And check out some more of Stephen Graham Jones’ work while you’re at it. He has a refreshing mix of eclectic literary horror from which to choose. Overall, I give this one 4 out of 5 stars.

Published August 31, 2021 by Simon and Schuster Audio. ISBN: 1797123327. Runtime 12 hrs 25 mins. Read by Cara Gee.