In fact, this one could just as easily fall into the psychological thriller category. While everyone says this is a fantastic horror novel, perfect for Halloween reading, it is yet another one of those stories devoid of traditional supernatural elements.
The boys, while directly affected by these sad occurrences often cope by playing a game with their grandmother in which they pretend to be animals or even plants or flowers, literally transferring themselves onto these objects with their minds and imaginations.īut, as our narrator relates these events, we are uncertain if all is as we have presumed it to be, if we can even trust the storyteller, but worse still, we are held helplessly spellbound as we imagine what emotional punch will be served up next and by whom. Not only that, their family has been plagued by more and more tragedy. As a result, the boys seem to have drifted further apart, especially after Holland's disturbing tendencies escalate. Under these circumstances they are pretty much left to their own devices. Unfortunately, they lost their father in a tragic accident which has left their mother in a state of mental shock. Holland is the instigator, while Niles dutifully follows his lead. However, they have very different dispositions. As with most twins, they seem to have a certain telepathy between them. Holland and Niles are twin boys growing up during the thirties. This year I was determined to read it and boy am I glad did!! (Originally published in 1972)įor several years I’ve added this book to the pile of novels I plan to read for Halloween, but every year it missed the final cut. The Other by Thomas Tryon is a 2012 NYRB Classics publication. It is a landmark of psychological horror that is a worthy descendent of the books of James Hogg, Robert Louis Stevenson, Shirley Jackson, and Patricia Highsmith. Thomas Tryon’s best-selling novel about a homegrown monster is an eerie examination of the darkness that dwells within everyone. As the summer goes on, though, and Holland’s pranks become increasingly sinister, Niles finds he can no longer make excuses for his brother’s actions. Perry still hasn’t recovered from the shock of her husband’s gruesome end and stays sequestered in her room, leaving her sons to roam free. The Perrys live in the bucolic New England town their family settled centuries ago, and as it happens, the extended clan has gathered at its ancestral farm this summer to mourn the death of the twins’ father in a most unfortunate accident.
Holland is bold and mischievous, a bad influence, while Niles is kind and eager to please, the sort of boy who makes parents proud. They are close, close enough, almost, to read each other’s thoughts, but they couldn’t be more different. Holland and Niles Perry are identical thirteen-year-old twins.
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