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Summary: Little's Take on Homeowners Associations
Review: I enjoyed this book, and not just because I have some horror stories of my own to tell regarding those socialist homeowners associations. Little's take is exaggerated, weird, sick, outrageously over the top, satiracle and just plain fun.We're talking about a group of older men who worship article 90 in the ccr handbook, who murder children, minorities and gays. An association that can watch your every move, that dictates not only which color you may or may not paint your house with, but that dictates who your friends are, how you are allowed to wear your hair, etc. There are some gruesome butchery scenes described as well, and some loveable characters, like Stumpy, the limbless man who lives in the forest. If you are familiar with Bentley Little, then I need say no more. If you are not, well all I can say is that you will most likely either love or hate him. His stories are extremely exaggerated, gory and full of satire. If you are easily offended, then you'll do well to avoid his works. If you happen to enjoy stories about talking macaroni, crazy James Dean cults and Wicked gated communities, then give his stuff a try, you'll be in for a treat.
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Summary: You can't put this book down!!!
Review: I thought this book was incredible! It kept me on the edge of my seat!A real nail biter!! Bentley Little is an amazing artist with the ability to combine such horrific scenes and undescribable fear into those of his readers within a fictitous story of such believable real life circumstances. It would actually give you the impression that the "good life" isn't so good after all. And with all the great; comes all the terrifying!! This book is a must read for all you horror fanatics out there who like the gruesome and grotesque details of a superbly put together novel. Congratulations Bently Little on a fantastic book!!
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Summary: GUILT BY ASSOCIATION
Review: This kind of book is what Little has done best in the past---remember "The Store" (an obvious attack on Wal-Mart) and "The Mailman," and others. He takes one of those annoying little life necessities (such as a Homeowner's Association) and turns it upside down, blows it completely out of proportion, and adds all kinds of sexual and pseudopsychological trappings, and voila, out comes "The Association." Barry and Maureen are both frustrating and likeable; whiny and proactive; snooty and self-absorbed. Although the novel takes it time in reaching its totally whacko finale, it held my interest mainly in the fact of all the stupid rules the Association came up with. Definitely, read your association's bylaws before you sign that dotted line. I wish I could have a more tangible feel for exactly who the Board of Directors were, but suffice to say, they do get their just desserts, and unlike many of Little's works, there is an upbeat ending.
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Summary: Didn't Know How to End It
Review: When I first saw this book I bought it immediately because I had never such a great, original premise for a horror novel. The first third of the book does a great job of setting up the characters into a genuinely creepy, psychotic situation. I was all set for a great ride of psychological terror.
Unfortunately, the final few chapters were a great letdown as the true nature of the villain was revealed, it all seemed rather... silly.
The other thing that really held me back from really enjoying the novel was Little's occasional editorializing. The main character, Barry, is himself a not-quite-famous horror novelist, and through him Little seems to vent on topics ranging from the state of the book publishing business, to religion, and a couple of other things in scenes that add nothing to the story.
This is the first Bentley Little book I have read, and while I enjoyed his style enough to pick up something else by him in the future, I would say this book was more of a catharsis for him personally than it was a novel to be read by others.
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Summary: The Association Not a Horror But a Comedy
Review: This was the first Bentley Little novel that I have read. The book has a far fetched plot with so many association by laws that will make you laugh. The book is NOT scary. The read is not bad (It moves quick) but to be honest there is really no point to the book. I finished the novel because I was curious of how it ended. If your looking for a book that is funny and the plot is off the wall then pick this up.
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Summary: Avoid this book
Review: This is the second Bentley Little book I have read. The first was The Store, wich was a bad book. This book though I thought was much worse. I decided to give this author a shot, and maybe some of his stuff is good, but going by The Store and this book I will never read anything by him again. This book is ridiculous from beginning. The premise is laughable. The characters are annoying. I wanted Barry and his wife to die in the worst way possible, especially Barry! The lead character could not have been more unlikable. Little comes up with situations that are so over the top and he always has the characters behave in an unbelievable manner. The story has no credibiblity because the story reads like a bad episode of the twilight Zone. I think Little may have some fun books, but the 2 I have read are horrible so I am done with reading Bentley Little. I am waring you, this book is a big waste of time and money
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Summary: I enforce CC&Rs for a living....
Review: ....it's nowhere near as scary as this - IT IS a reminder to check out the CC&Rs before buying a planned community home. Don't let your realtor skip over the CC&Rs - this couldn't happen really - or could it! READ!!!!!
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Summary: For "Sale," and the Use of Other Four-Letter Words
Review: Let's face it. Homeowner's Associations can be a tool dispensing a veritable fountain of useful dictations - provided that you want to follow them. They, the police policing policy, look through all the little things we do and they create bylaws to keep them from becoming too overwhelming. In some cases, that means that you wouldn't be allowed to have a basketball behind your house, keep a flagpole in your yard, or build that utility shed you wanted. In others, it could mean fines because you paint your house some strange color or because you put too many plants in your yard. And some, as Barry and Maureen Welch soon find out as they acquire a home in Bonita Vista - gated community in the middle of nowhere (the ultimate desire of the extremely wealthy to either live or vacation in) -, go farther, making life a miserable little game of limb loss and bully tactics. What begins with an infraction for having a yard sale soon introduces the reader to a world that isn't such a nice place. Here, an Association lords over everything, hatching sinister plots while using a tome of laws they use like some kind of suburban bible. It is suspected of poisoning animals, of making people leaving int he middle of the night, and other rumors are spoken of about people always watching other people. This makes the residents therein all distrust one another, all thinking they're quite possibly spies for the Association. But why? What horror could possibly motivate people to think like that? Well, in answering that, you need to add in townsfolk living outside of the gated community that hate the residents therein for their own reasons, cats stuffed into mailboxes and tales of a man named Stumpy because of his lack of appendages, and monstrosities. Now, I'm a fan of Little's work, having liked his creation of The Collection and The Walking, and I expected a lot out of him. Well, after absorbing this book and the way it all came together, I would have to say that I walked away a little disappointed but that I got a nice laugh out of the way this was set up. I liked the fact that there was an Association of Homeowners becoming the pivot in the master plan for terror, and I loved the fact that it laughed at the life hidden behind those tarnish-proof gates.
My problem here came because the ending seemed rushed, like the bizarre was approached too quickly for a build that took quite a bit of time only to ultimately disappoint. It was a shame, too, because it seemed as if the story were going to go somewhere for a while, with the characters meshing well and Little's writing style panning out. Unfortunately, some of the description began to drag and the book began to drone a little, making me long for something to punctuate it all. That said, I was still hooked, wanting to know how the Association was going to try to up its hand and if it had a garden where it grew baby stumpies.
And, in a way, this compulsive "knowing" disease I've somehow acquired, the one that makes me keep reading, gave me some mixed emotions. If you want some of Little's better works, you could try The Walking (although the ending is a little anticlimactic) or you could obtain The Collection first to see what you think on it. Personally, The Collection would be the choice I would recommend and I would say that you might want to work up to this piece, unless you can see the humor in the horror that an Association could provide.
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Summary: Where does he get this stuff?
Review: Another great book from Bentley Little! I'm always amazed at how the author takes the everyday things in life, and makes them so outrageously scary! Although I agree with another reviewer in that he does go overboard at times - where the 'believable' becomes unbelievable quickly (ie, Stumpy). I have a hard time with main characters believing that the existence of 'stumpy' is a normal thing. A great read none-the-less, recommended!
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Summary: GOES OVERBOARD
Review: BENTLEY LITTLE'S WRITING STYLE IS AMAZING. HIS BOOK'S ARE SO SUSPENSEFUL YOU CAN HARDLY READ FAST ENOUGH. THE PROBLEM I HAVE WITH HIM THOUGH IS THAT HE ALWAYS GOES OVERBOARD. HIS BOOKS START IN A VERY REALISTIC FASHION. THAT IS WHAT MAKES THEM SO SCARY, THESE THINGS COULD ACTUALLY HAPPEN. THEN ABOUT HALF WAY THROUGH HE STARTS THROWING IN SOME STUFF THAT SEEMS REALLY FAR FETCHED AND NOT INKEEPING WITH THE STORY. BY THE END OF THE BOOK HIS PLOT HAS USUALLY TURNED INTO COMPLETE NONSENSE.
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