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Summary: A Suburban Ghost Story
Review: "The Night Country" is a modern ghost story about the aftermath of a car crash which kills three teens and injures two others. This is a ghost story for readers who appreciate the artistry of Ray Bradbury's "Something Wicked This Way Comes," who are interested in the causes of sadness and despair lurking behind the happy facade of suburban America. This suburb is Avon, Connecticut, and readers who know that area, like myself, will particuarly appreciate O'Nan's skill in re-creating the town, its ambience, its peculiar mix of upward and downward mobility; but, still, this story could take place in any suburb, in any American town where kids smoke dope and drive too fast and mothers suffer the heartache caused by their untimely passing. A sad tale, yes, but true and honestly told. If you haven't discovered Stewart O'Nan yet, this is a good place to start, as is "A Prayer for the Dying."
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Summary: Atmospheric, psychological tale of demonic possession
Review: An aura of menace gathers around narrator Amanda as strange mood swings and irritating tapping-thumping noises in the walls begin to disrupt her happily married life. Small things gather momentum. She begins fighting with her husband, resumes smoking, goes out drinking after work. The imaginary playmate from her childhood returns. It's quite some time before she realizes the seductive, insistent third voice inside her head (after the initial voice of temptation, and after the sober rejoinder of the voice of reason and resistance) isn't her own. Or is it?Gran's ("Saturn's Return to New York") short novel is a fairly straightforward tale of demonic possession, made chillingly delicious by the spare, unadorned voice, quick pace, and subtleties of psychological desire. Amanda's fate is not inevitable; there are ways to counter the demon, but does she have the faith required, or the strength of mind? Does she perhaps prefer to give in? Thoughtful as well as scary, Gran's tale evokes the lonely fears of adulthood.
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Summary: This multi-faceted ghost story is satisfyingly spooky
Review: At midnight on Halloween in New England, five teens are killed in a car wreck. A year later the three who died come back, summoned by memories of their friends, on a last mission. This multi-faceted ghost story is satisfyingly spooky and has a haunting plot fueled by powerful characterization. Highly recommended.
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Summary: So real. So depressing. So enjoyable. Want more.
Review: I absolutely just loved this book! It's funny that I give this book 5 stars. There's not much suspense (since you know that what will happen is inevitable from the beginning), the story kinda moves along slowly. It was sort of depressing. And nothing really happens till the end. But i read the member reviews and was dying to read this book. The characters are so likeable, that I wish they were apart of it more. It was so interesting reading these ghosts in the lives of the living. And the book was not scary, but it was creepy at times, and it had many humorous parts in it.
While reading this book, I just kept thinking about it, and wondering if the spirits of our loved ones really are with us when we think of them. Kinda spooky, yet comforting at the same time. And this book shows that side of it. The ghost characters in this book, seemed to have more life in them than the living characters. It was truly like the ghostly characters were more normal and real. They joked, they argued, they had fun, they were at times mischievous, and they cared and comforted--the best they could. It was also neat how the author showed how another spirit could frighten another ghost.
Now I read this book, and while it is obvious that this is a more depressing book, I must say that it is so true to life. The realism in these characters have a way of connecting with the readers. I found this book much more enjoyable than depressing. You don't come away from reading this book feeling depressed and sad. My only complaint about this book was that it was much too short. I remember halfway through, saying to myself, that I could easily read this book forever. I was too intrigued and involved in this book, though, and I finished it in 2 days. And I was disappointed that it was over, and wanted to read more. I contemplated reading it all over again. Decided not to. But 3 days later, this book is all I can think about. It really was too short, though. Could easily have been another 2 or 3 hundred pages. The author could have included the family's of the 3 ghosts and written more dialogue between the ghosts. Bring them more to life, so to say. But I give this book a 5 star, anyway. It was that good. I hope all who glance at this book will buy it and read it.
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Summary: It just left me not caring....
Review: I have a hard time understanding the great reviews for this book. I'm an avid reader of many different authors and while I can see O'nan has a gift for writing true-to-life dialogue, I found myself simply not caring about the story or any of the characters. They were written a bit too thin. I finally stopped around page 150. It felt more like work than pleasure to read it.
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Summary: a great story
Review: I live in Avon Ct, and this book captures my town perfectly. It is not that i live in Avon that i love this book, it really is moving and powerful, without being too sappy and unreal. It sort of takes a very real situation, a deadly car crash on old farms road, and shows how much the living and dead are effected by the tragedy. i read this book any time i had the chance because it was so phenomonal. it is a quick read, but it leaves lasting impressions. powerful book. i recommend this book, if you have ever lived in a small suburb, you can understand this book.
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Summary: Too bleak for me
Review: I picked up this book somewhat by accident and, after reading the cover reviews, figured I would really enjoy it, as I have read other books by O'Nan and enjoyed them. Although it is interesting and extremely heart-tugging, it was just way too bleak for me. Not one person in this book is - or was - happy, contented, or peaceful. I felt much compassion for all of them (with the possible exception of "Toe" - a seemingly selfish, malicious teenager - both dead and while he was alive.) Although the crushing hopelessness, regret, and resignation ring 100% true, I came away wondering "why?" Why did the ghosts insist that Brooks "pay?" Why didn't Tim even try to overcome the horrific hand he was dealt as the only survivor (not counting Kyle, who did not really survive)--as most victims of such events do, with the help of family and therapy? This book was almost too painful to read. As the mother of two adolescent boys, I guess it just came a little too close. I could actually feel the parents' all-consuming heartache and understand each reaction. I could feel the guilt, despair, and hopelessness of Brooks--a man who did not mean harm but was thrust into a continuing downward spiral to the inevitable end. Ghosts or no ghosts--Brooks was doomed from the beginning. When I figured out how things were going to end, all I could think of were the poor parents--never knowing what happened and why, for the rest of their sad lives. Whew. Quite a downer.
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Summary: Ghosts of guilt
Review: In the first chapter of this poignant ghost story, the (as yet unnamed) narrator invites the reader to come along on Halloween. "Come then, come with us, out into the night....come stalk the dark backroads and stand outside the bright houses, calm as murderers in the yard, quiet as deer." The narrator, we learn, is a dead boy; one of three teens killed the Halloween before in a car crash. Two survived, along with a guilt-ridden cop. Tim was unharmed but his girlfriend died. Kyle was brain damaged, transformed from angry young man to perpetual innocent. The dead teens flit from person to person, drawn by thoughts of themselves. But the cop, Brooks, and Tim, and Kyle's grieving, overburdened mother, all of them sad with guilt, draw them the most. There are lots of creepy possibilities here, but O'Nan chooses a bleaker route and after a while the suspense can't hold up under the atmosphere of fatalistic realism. Though beautifully written, with well-drawn characters, the story loses momentum long before the inevitable conclusion.
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Summary: A Modern Horror Story???
Review: More like a modern ghost story. This story is skillfully written, expressing images of a small town, its inhabitants, and its fears. Five kids were a part of a car crash a year ago from the time set in the book on Halloween. Three of them do not make it (Marco, Toe, and Danielle), one is barely alive (Kyle), and one is living with the guilt of just being alive (Tim). The three that die are ghosts, and they follow the lives that were affected by their tragic end. The true goal of this book is slowly revealed, dropping hints as to why Marco, Toe, and Danielle are following a mother, a cop, two teenagers, and the only two survivors of the car crash. At first, it seems to just move along, but the more you read, the more you understand. A plan is in motion, and not much is said about the plan. It is simply revealed by the character's actions. It is a good story. A lot of up to date passages, some funny inserts, and some sad events. I wouldn't call it scary, but it is "haunting." Enjoy. Joy.
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Summary: Masterful and unsettling
Review: O'Nan is well known for his disturbing novels that manage to hook the reader and tighten his emotions to the breaking point. The Night Country manages to do this in "real time", the bulk of the story taking place on Halloween one year after a tragic car wreck that left a group of friends decimated. Three have died and are ghosts haunting the town, while a fourth is brain-damaged, and a traumatized fifth suffers suvivor's guilt. Told from the perspective of one of the ghosts, who can get "into the heads" of all other characters, we learn the details of the crash and the fears, sorrows, and heartaches of the townsfolk. Disturbing, complex, and very human, this book will touch you to your core.
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