Thriller | Book Chatter

Night Film
By Marisha Pessl
(Random House, Hardcover, 9781400067886, August 20, 2013. 624pp.)

The Short of It:

A completely absorbing literary thriller that’s both smart and alluring.

The Rest of It:

Ashley Cordova is found dead in an abandoned building on a cold October night. Her death is ruled a suicide but investigative journalist Scott McGrath thinks otherwise. As the daughter of Stanislas Cordova, known for his horror films and his reclusive nature, Ashley’s mysterious death sparks the interest of many, including all of the fans who call themselves Cordovites. As Scott assembles a team to assist him in the investigation, his love of Cordova’s work and his obsession over the director himself, puts him front and center. Danger lurks everywhere and as they dig deeper into a life that has basically been in hiding for more than twenty years, the answers they find surprise them.

This novel will most likely be my favorite book of the year. I felt it within the first fifty pages and after 600+ pages, the feeling stuck This is the type of novel that makes reading an experience. I can’t deny it, I totally ignored my family while reading this one. The kids and Hub were left to forage for food, laundry piled up and the Otter Pup tried to sit on my head to get my attention. It’s hard to say if everyone will have this same reaction. I’ve seen a few reviews and some were less enthused by it, but there was much to love.

I’ll point out just a few of the things that made this a five-star read for me:

Top-notch writing
Engaging, likable characters
The puzzle aspect of the story
It’s all dark and drizzly and the cult-horror thing worked for me
The inclusion of web pages, articles and the like to move the story along
The fact that the films within the story were all made-up yet seemed fully fleshed out
The back story of all the key players
Pessl’s ability to toss red herrings in over and over again and somehow not lose the reader along the way
Reading it felt absolutely forbidden which made it all the more appealing

In the midst of all this darkness, there is humor. McGrath’s self-deprecating nature made for some humorous moments and his love of the genre shines through, which makes his quest to find the truth even more plausible. it could have been edited down a bit but I didn’t mind since I ended up stretching it out for as long as I could anyway. In fact, I didn’t want it to end. As soon as I finished, I immediately had to talk about it with others who read it and that conversation even included possible casting choices for the movie, because I know it will be made into a film. Actually, I did see a listing for it on IMDb but I am not seeing it as of this writing.

That said, this entire review is based on how it made me feel while reading it. it sent shivers up my spine and there were times where I gasped out loud. It’s the type of book that will make you fall in love with reading all over again. I will say this, the inclusion of photos and news articles makes this book one that you want to read in print. Turning the page and seeing an obituary is quite startling. I don’t think you’d have the same reaction if someone just read it to you (audio) and I am not sure how those pages would translate in e-book form.

If you pick it up, let me know. I’d be interested in your thoughts.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher via Library Thing
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Carrie
By Stephen King
Read By Sissy Spacek
(Simon & Schuster Audio, 2005)

The Short of It:

I enjoyed this years ago in print form, but it was even better on audio.

The Rest of It:

Carrie White is an outcast and a misfit but she has special powers which flare-up whenever she gets angry or upset. Living in a small town, under the roof of her religious mama, Carrie is the butt of every joke there is. So when she is asked to the prom by the most popular boy in school, she is skeptical but also hopeful. Is it possible to be like the other kids? To have friends and to go to parties and be normal?

The beginning of this book includes an introduction by King, explaining how he came up with the character of Carrie White. Apparently, she is the combination of two kids that he knew in school. Both of them painfully awkward and the focus of much ridicule. Oddly enough, both of them are no longer living so there is no update to share. At first, I was surprised to hear that Carrie was a hybrid of these two girls, but after revisiting this classic it’s clear that he has a special place in his heart for this character. Additionally, Carrie was a result of a short story that was tossed into the trash. King’s wife fished it out and encouraged him to continue with it. Can you imagine? Would King be who he is today had that story remained in the trash?

Listening to this on audio was a real treat. It’s read by Sissy Spacek who also played Carrie in the movie adaptation. It was fabulous! The movie stayed very close to the book and only had a few changes. None of them large enough to really stick out but the reading of the book on audio… it blew me away. Especially the shower scene. Those who have read the book or have seen the movie know how horrible that shower scene is. Well, listening to it was no exception! Those girls are horrid and Carrie… you want to protect her from the horror but at the same time, throttle her for being so spineless. King is really good at exposing humans for what they are.

Since participating in the IT-along (read-along for IT), I’ve been revisiting King’s previous works. I haven’t found them all to be as wonderful as the first read, but I’ve been enjoying the stories and his style of writing. I find that reading his writing is a good way to “cleanse the palate” before I begin my next read. Oh, and of course I am gearing up for Doctor Sleep, the sequel to The Shining.

As big of a fan as I am, I haven’t read all of his books or stories. I try to space them out so I will always have something to read but after checking out his website, I see that there’s quite a bit left to read and with him being such a prolific writer, I should never run out.

Source: Borrowed

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