The Girl Next DoorJack Ketchum
I am not a person easily disturbed. Halloween is my favorite time of year, and I love nothing more than watching a scary movie simply to scare the living hell out of myself. I pride myself on being able to handle the goriest of scenes with a snicker – unless, of course, the gore involves an eyeball. Even I have my line in the sand.
So when I heard Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door was “really really disturbing,” I was interested, but certainly not daunted. I mean, gimme a break. Dude’s practically got ketchup for a last name. How twisted could he be?
Apparently, very.
The Girl Next Door is the story of two young girls who, having recently been orphaned, have come to live with their Aunt Ruth and her three sons. Although at first glance they appear as normal as any other family in this small town (not that that’s saying much), there is plenty of foreshadowing to indicate otherwise. These boys are just plain weird.
At first, Meg and her sister manage well enough, but it’s clear from the start they don’t fit in well with Ruth and her brood. Over time, however, their relationship disintegrates, devolving from a patronizing tolerance to out-right abuse, all of which is witnessed by David, their next-door neighbor and our narrator.
David, retelling this story as an adult, has never fully recovered from the events of the novel, and he explains at the novel's onset that he will finally bring their sins to light. And what sins they are. What Ruth and her family do to those two young girls is truly stomach-churning; worse still is the fact that Ketchum based his tale on a true story, the murder of Sylvia Likens.
Like Stephen King (who appears to be a fan of our featured author), Ketchum’s strength lies in his ability to tell a good tale; also like King, Ketchum’s prose is simple and not without its flaws. Furthermore, Ketchum is none too subtle at planting information that will become all-too-relevant as the story develops. It’s almost as though he’s marked each important area with a nice red flag, as if to say, “This is gonna be really important, kids; just you wait until you see how these twisted fucks apply this little scenario to their cousin.” It's a forgivable sin, though, since we’re prepared for the worst from the first chapter; still, it would be better if the groundwork had been a little better hidden so that it wasn’t so easy to see where it was all leading.
Flaws aside, The Girl Next Door is a fascinating, disturbing story that almost made me physically ill. Almost. I’m no goddamn poontang.
So when I heard Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door was “really really disturbing,” I was interested, but certainly not daunted. I mean, gimme a break. Dude’s practically got ketchup for a last name. How twisted could he be?
Apparently, very.
The Girl Next Door is the story of two young girls who, having recently been orphaned, have come to live with their Aunt Ruth and her three sons. Although at first glance they appear as normal as any other family in this small town (not that that’s saying much), there is plenty of foreshadowing to indicate otherwise. These boys are just plain weird.
At first, Meg and her sister manage well enough, but it’s clear from the start they don’t fit in well with Ruth and her brood. Over time, however, their relationship disintegrates, devolving from a patronizing tolerance to out-right abuse, all of which is witnessed by David, their next-door neighbor and our narrator.
David, retelling this story as an adult, has never fully recovered from the events of the novel, and he explains at the novel's onset that he will finally bring their sins to light. And what sins they are. What Ruth and her family do to those two young girls is truly stomach-churning; worse still is the fact that Ketchum based his tale on a true story, the murder of Sylvia Likens.Like Stephen King (who appears to be a fan of our featured author), Ketchum’s strength lies in his ability to tell a good tale; also like King, Ketchum’s prose is simple and not without its flaws. Furthermore, Ketchum is none too subtle at planting information that will become all-too-relevant as the story develops. It’s almost as though he’s marked each important area with a nice red flag, as if to say, “This is gonna be really important, kids; just you wait until you see how these twisted fucks apply this little scenario to their cousin.” It's a forgivable sin, though, since we’re prepared for the worst from the first chapter; still, it would be better if the groundwork had been a little better hidden so that it wasn’t so easy to see where it was all leading.
Flaws aside, The Girl Next Door is a fascinating, disturbing story that almost made me physically ill. Almost. I’m no goddamn poontang.
there are no words
Finally, I learned while writing this review that the film will be out soon. You may visit the website here, if you're interested.
In a nutshell: Squeamish readers and mothers beware; this one might be too much for you.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4.5 out of 6 stars
In a nutshell: Squeamish readers and mothers beware; this one might be too much for you.
Bibliolatry Scale: 4.5 out of 6 stars
7 comments:
I agree, I find this extremely disturbing. I didn't care much for it. Some of those scenes will likely stick with me forever. This isn't why I didnt care much for the book, though. It's just Ketchum and I don't seem to have much chemistry.
The name is a bloody pseudonym.. There was no WAY a writer would have the name "Jack Ketch" - London's most famous 17th century executioner..
This man is Dallas Mayr... Sounds downright NASTY tho. Don't think i'll be reading this one.
What's interesting is that a movie is being made based on Ketchum's book (The Girl Next Door), while another movie is being made directly based on the real-life events that inspired Ketchum (An American Crime). I'm sure both will be equally disturbing.
Good review.
Yes, Dallas Mayr is his real name...I still can't help but think ketchup every time I read Ketchum. Ketchup and I do share a great and long-abiding love, though, so perhaps that's why.
On a side note, if you type ketchup enough times, it ceases to look like a word. Huh.
Hmmm...this actually sounds like one I need to add to my list!
I may actually read this book now. Silly as it sounds, the scary house cover gave me the eye roll response instead of interest. Thanks as always, for your engaging review.
I recently saw a promo for this at October's Florida screamfest and watched the first ten minutes of the movie after the director gave us an intro and conference. Nothing disturbing happened yet but I'm curious on the movie now.
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