Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.79 AVERAGE
3.79 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
It's a shame that Joan Samson passed before we could get another book from her. As many others have said, the story is very relevant to today's political climate and it parallels Shirley Jackson's story, The Lottery. The story follows the Moore family on a farm in New Hampshire. When a stranger comes in to auction the town's belongings for more deputies and security we find out just how much the residents are willing to give before it's too much.
Like Shirley Jackson's tales, I was continually intrigued but at times hoping for something BIG to happen. The unease and suspense is strong throughout and you find yourself being being both upset with the auctioneer and upset with townspeople for not doing more. This is definitely one of those books that gets under your skin to stay with you indefinitely. I highly recommend this book for Shirley Jackson fans and for people who find the current political situation intriguing/maddening.
Like Shirley Jackson's tales, I was continually intrigued but at times hoping for something BIG to happen. The unease and suspense is strong throughout and you find yourself being being both upset with the auctioneer and upset with townspeople for not doing more. This is definitely one of those books that gets under your skin to stay with you indefinitely. I highly recommend this book for Shirley Jackson fans and for people who find the current political situation intriguing/maddening.
Romanzo godibile, che non ha niente di horror.
Scritto nel 1975, è una sorta di metafora contro il progresso a tutti i costi, che porta via ogni cosa a chi non è in grado di stare al passo.
La figura del banditore è forse il personaggio meno afferrabile dell'intero romanzo: un uomo d'affari senza scrupoli che approfitta della gente semplice di un paesino rurale degli Stati Uniti, arrivando addirittura a vendere all'asta l'invendibile. Non si sa perché si comporti così, cosa abbia realmente in mente e dove voglia arrivare. La pulsione più probabile potrebbe essere quella di arricchirsi e espandere la propria influenza su territori sempre più vasti, ma la verità è che nessuno mai riuscirà a capirlo, né i protagonisti né i lettori.
La famiglia (e l'intera cittadina) protagonista della storia si vedrà sottrarre un pezzo alla volta ogni singola proprietà, trovandosi a vivere in una casa vuota. Per quanto assurdo possa sembrare, i 'prelievi' di oggetti sono le parti più drammatiche della narrazione, in cui il lettore viene catapultato a vivere la frustrazione di non poter fare nulla per evitare il peggio. Qui la scrittura asciutta e diretta dell'autrice è perfettamente al servizio della storia.
Peccato che tutto scivoli in un finale un po' ingenuo e che alla fine non risolve quasi niente.
Durante le prime battute del libro, mi è balzato in mente la figura di Leland Gaunt di Cose Preziose, ma ho dovuto ricredermi: il personaggio di Stephen King e l'intero impianto narrativo è completamente diverso da quello della Samson. I due autori prendono strade completamente diverse con intenti totalmente opposti.
Scritto nel 1975, è una sorta di metafora contro il progresso a tutti i costi, che porta via ogni cosa a chi non è in grado di stare al passo.
La figura del banditore è forse il personaggio meno afferrabile dell'intero romanzo: un uomo d'affari senza scrupoli che approfitta della gente semplice di un paesino rurale degli Stati Uniti, arrivando addirittura a vendere all'asta l'invendibile. Non si sa perché si comporti così, cosa abbia realmente in mente e dove voglia arrivare. La pulsione più probabile potrebbe essere quella di arricchirsi e espandere la propria influenza su territori sempre più vasti, ma la verità è che nessuno mai riuscirà a capirlo, né i protagonisti né i lettori.
La famiglia (e l'intera cittadina) protagonista della storia si vedrà sottrarre un pezzo alla volta ogni singola proprietà, trovandosi a vivere in una casa vuota. Per quanto assurdo possa sembrare, i 'prelievi' di oggetti sono le parti più drammatiche della narrazione, in cui il lettore viene catapultato a vivere la frustrazione di non poter fare nulla per evitare il peggio. Qui la scrittura asciutta e diretta dell'autrice è perfettamente al servizio della storia.
Peccato che tutto scivoli in un finale un po' ingenuo e che alla fine non risolve quasi niente.
Durante le prime battute del libro, mi è balzato in mente la figura di Leland Gaunt di Cose Preziose, ma ho dovuto ricredermi: il personaggio di Stephen King e l'intero impianto narrativo è completamente diverso da quello della Samson. I due autori prendono strade completamente diverse con intenti totalmente opposti.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"All we had to fight him with was Right, and in the end, he even took that."
There are few things that horrify me more than hopelessness. Theres a spookyness that comes from helplessness, being stuck in a house with knife-wielding slasher, but there's always a hope that someone will come in at the last minute and save the day. With hopelessness, there's no hero coming by to save the day. You're stuck. Hopelessness is hard. It has to be built well, to slowly remove every sense of escape, take away ever route of escape. Much of The Auctioneer is watching the Moores slowly lose everything, and quickly realize they have no way to stop it. Even as the book reached it zenith, I still had no idea if there was an escape, and even if the climax does dance with the hopeful, there's still such a deep sense of loss that one would never call it win. The Auctioneer is not a novel that leaves you checking under the bed for monsters. The Auctioneer is the kind of book that leaves you checking inside yourself, and at your neighbors, and the society you live in, and makes you question just how loose a hold we have on civility. I'll tell you one thing, I'll be needing something light-hearted after this one, but it's an undeniable classic.
There are few things that horrify me more than hopelessness. Theres a spookyness that comes from helplessness, being stuck in a house with knife-wielding slasher, but there's always a hope that someone will come in at the last minute and save the day. With hopelessness, there's no hero coming by to save the day. You're stuck. Hopelessness is hard. It has to be built well, to slowly remove every sense of escape, take away ever route of escape. Much of The Auctioneer is watching the Moores slowly lose everything, and quickly realize they have no way to stop it. Even as the book reached it zenith, I still had no idea if there was an escape, and even if the climax does dance with the hopeful, there's still such a deep sense of loss that one would never call it win. The Auctioneer is not a novel that leaves you checking under the bed for monsters. The Auctioneer is the kind of book that leaves you checking inside yourself, and at your neighbors, and the society you live in, and makes you question just how loose a hold we have on civility. I'll tell you one thing, I'll be needing something light-hearted after this one, but it's an undeniable classic.
Picture me confused - why is this classified as horror? This is literary Fiction at its finest. It slowly quietly snuck into my veins. Then the ending blew me away.
This is the very real story of how one single individual can change a whole town for the worse but only because they let him do it. So why did they let him do it you may ask? I see one of my GR friends starts with the quote ”Just remember this,” he said in a deep voice that cut neatly through the confusion. “Whatever I’ve done, you’ve let me do.” To which I answer in the main protagonist ’s words “Ma’am,” he said, ‘for all your schoolin’, ain’t much you do understand”. Let’s just say it sort of all creeps up on them in a perfectly understandable manner.
Centered at the heart of this novel are the love of family and the deep, deep ties to the land and what we will and will not do to keep them safe. The pace is slow and countrified. The dialogue genuine (or at least sounds so to me). The ending is satisfactory but Ma Moore’s last line will haunt me forever I think.
As this was a library book - I am going to have to find my own copy of this one!
This is the very real story of how one single individual can change a whole town for the worse but only because they let him do it. So why did they let him do it you may ask? I see one of my GR friends starts with the quote ”Just remember this,” he said in a deep voice that cut neatly through the confusion. “Whatever I’ve done, you’ve let me do.” To which I answer in the main protagonist ’s words “Ma’am,” he said, ‘for all your schoolin’, ain’t much you do understand”. Let’s just say it sort of all creeps up on them in a perfectly understandable manner.
Centered at the heart of this novel are the love of family and the deep, deep ties to the land and what we will and will not do to keep them safe. The pace is slow and countrified. The dialogue genuine (or at least sounds so to me). The ending is satisfactory but Ma Moore’s last line will haunt me forever I think.
As this was a library book - I am going to have to find my own copy of this one!
dark
slow-paced
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Though this book isn't an official entry in Valancourt's Paperbacks from Hell imprint, it's mentioned enough in the book and has received high enough praise from everyone involved with it that I figure it deserves an honorable mention. More to the point, it should have been the flagship book of the imprint, because if there's another book more representative of a lost classic of horror, this is it.
Strangely, this is a book that received a lot of praise and attention when it was first released in 1975, but its staying power seems to be less than that of, say, Stephen King or even Thomas Tryon. The story is still effective and frustrating, moreso now when you look at the current political climate, but somehow this book has been forgotten. That's a shame.
The story is about the town of Harlowe, NH, and focuses on the Moore family, hard-working farmers who live off their land. The whole town of Harlowe gets caught up in a spiral of decline when Perly Dunsmore shows up, first to ask for donations to sell at auction to support the local police force, later to support ... what? The town can't answer that question, but the more they learn about Dunsmore and his auctions, the less they like what he's doing to Harlowe.
The Auctioneer is a perfect slow burn of a story, showing how slowly and how insidiously Dunsmore is working to take over the town. The book conveys a feeling of helplessness and frustration that's unlike anything I've read in a long time. While Samson brings the story to an appropriate conclusion, she manages to make the reader feel guilty about the turn of events when she concludes with one last parting shot to make us question even ourselves.
If you like creepy, insidious stories that evoke real emotion, The Auctioneer is the book for you. I don't even think you have to be a fan of horror to appreciate how effective this book is.
Strangely, this is a book that received a lot of praise and attention when it was first released in 1975, but its staying power seems to be less than that of, say, Stephen King or even Thomas Tryon. The story is still effective and frustrating, moreso now when you look at the current political climate, but somehow this book has been forgotten. That's a shame.
The story is about the town of Harlowe, NH, and focuses on the Moore family, hard-working farmers who live off their land. The whole town of Harlowe gets caught up in a spiral of decline when Perly Dunsmore shows up, first to ask for donations to sell at auction to support the local police force, later to support ... what? The town can't answer that question, but the more they learn about Dunsmore and his auctions, the less they like what he's doing to Harlowe.
The Auctioneer is a perfect slow burn of a story, showing how slowly and how insidiously Dunsmore is working to take over the town. The book conveys a feeling of helplessness and frustration that's unlike anything I've read in a long time. While Samson brings the story to an appropriate conclusion, she manages to make the reader feel guilty about the turn of events when she concludes with one last parting shot to make us question even ourselves.
If you like creepy, insidious stories that evoke real emotion, The Auctioneer is the book for you. I don't even think you have to be a fan of horror to appreciate how effective this book is.