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cacoia's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Stalking
nglofile's review against another edition
3.0
This is an insidiously creepy read, and it works especially well for most of the narrative. The author keeps us off-balance enough that we're not certain whether Walt is a merely a socially awkward sad sack who eventually crosses boundaries or if there is something much darker at work.
The best parts are Walt's analysis of discarded grocery lists. What he can puzzle out from what is bought and the various papers on which lists are written shows just how many clues we leave about ourselves if we aren't paying attention -- and more disturbingly what can be done with that information by social media searches or 'casual' following or even by being careless with an envelope. His deductions are reasonable, which makes them all the more chilling.
Chapters with the detectives offered contrast, but their leap from disinterested to highly suspicious didn't quite feel earned. I was much more invested in the story until the final quarter, when it felt a bit rushed-to-the-end without the high tension of a standard suspense or thriller. Recommended for those who appreciate narrative technique and subtle character work, less so for those looking for outright adrenaline stories.
The best parts are Walt's analysis of discarded grocery lists. What he can puzzle out from what is bought and the various papers on which lists are written shows just how many clues we leave about ourselves if we aren't paying attention -- and more disturbingly what can be done with that information by social media searches or 'casual' following or even by being careless with an envelope. His deductions are reasonable, which makes them all the more chilling.
Chapters with the detectives offered contrast, but their leap from disinterested to highly suspicious didn't quite feel earned. I was much more invested in the story until the final quarter, when it felt a bit rushed-to-the-end without the high tension of a standard suspense or thriller. Recommended for those who appreciate narrative technique and subtle character work, less so for those looking for outright adrenaline stories.
ronjajunker's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
bmahaffy's review against another edition
4.0
Well. That was a creepy little read. A really interesting concept and developed in a way that leaves you guessing throughout. And even afterwards. Anything else I can say feels like it might be a spoiler because it is pretty twisted.
_sabrinasbooknook_'s review against another edition
2.0
Walt ist ein Mann mittleren Alters, arbeitet als Hausmeister in einem Supermarkt und lebt seit dem Verschwinden seiner Frau allein. Er ist vollkommen unscheinbar, was ihm nur recht ist. Sein liebstes Hobby: Einkaufslisten sammeln. Als wäre diese Vorliebe für fremde Listen nicht schon merkwürdig genug, geht er sogar so weit, die Verfasser zu verfolgen um zu sehen, ob er mit seinen Einschätzungen über diese richtig liegt. Wie weit wird er gehen, bevor es zu viel wird?
Der Klappentext dieses Thrillers hat mich sofort neugierig auf "Walt" gemacht. Der Protagonist ist, wie erwartet, ein äußerst unheimlicher Kerl. Aber das allein reicht für mich nicht aus, um dieses Buch als guten Thriller anzusehen.
Die Idee der Handlung ist an sich sehr interessant und verspricht Gänsehaut, aber die Umsetzung ist meiner Meinung nach nicht geglückt. Statt mich vor Aufregung nicht mehr vom Buch losreißen zu können, entwischte mir mehrfach ein Gähnen. Leider enttäuschend!
Der Klappentext dieses Thrillers hat mich sofort neugierig auf "Walt" gemacht. Der Protagonist ist, wie erwartet, ein äußerst unheimlicher Kerl. Aber das allein reicht für mich nicht aus, um dieses Buch als guten Thriller anzusehen.
Die Idee der Handlung ist an sich sehr interessant und verspricht Gänsehaut, aber die Umsetzung ist meiner Meinung nach nicht geglückt. Statt mich vor Aufregung nicht mehr vom Buch losreißen zu können, entwischte mir mehrfach ein Gähnen. Leider enttäuschend!
indiepauli47's review against another edition
2.0
2-2.5 stars.
Un peu mitigée sur celui-ci..
L'idée de départ est bonne, très originale et intrigante; malheureusement, j'ai perçu ce livre comme inachevé, et n'ayant pas atteint le but recherché par l'auteur.
Ça se lit très vite, et certains passages sont très bons, d'autres plus lents, mais au final, on avance. Ce qui est une bonne et une mauvaise chose; j'ai eu le sentiment qu'en voulant laisser du mystère et de la subtilité, certaines intrigues peuvent être mal interprétées, voire même incomprises totalement.
Cette fin me laisse donc un peu perplexe, et peut-être que la troisième personne aurait dû être utilisée au lieu de la première, ça aurait eu un peu plus de sens, vu le mystère entourant Walt.
Mais sinon, je vais m'en tenir aux listes shopping sur le téléphone, maintenant.
Un peu mitigée sur celui-ci..
L'idée de départ est bonne, très originale et intrigante; malheureusement, j'ai perçu ce livre comme inachevé, et n'ayant pas atteint le but recherché par l'auteur.
Ça se lit très vite, et certains passages sont très bons, d'autres plus lents, mais au final, on avance. Ce qui est une bonne et une mauvaise chose; j'ai eu le sentiment qu'en voulant laisser du mystère et de la subtilité, certaines intrigues peuvent être mal interprétées, voire même incomprises totalement.
Cette fin me laisse donc un peu perplexe, et peut-être que la troisième personne aurait dû être utilisée au lieu de la première, ça aurait eu un peu plus de sens, vu le mystère entourant Walt.
Mais sinon, je vais m'en tenir aux listes shopping sur le téléphone, maintenant.
whunder's review against another edition
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
notsarahconnor's review against another edition
2.0
I wanted to like this book so much. It's Canadian, it gives off a completely creepy vibe, what more do I really need in a book? More than Wangersky can provide apparently.
Walt works at a grocery store, looked over by most of the customers but Walt sees them all through the slips of paper they write their shopping lists on. On discarded mail, old banking statements, letterheads Walt can piece together their lives from more than just the groceries they're picking up. Walt is content with his life, living alone since his wife Mary left him years ago, though her leaving is seen as mysterious by the local police who won't leave him alone about it. When the police start looking into past disappearances and see Walt as a possible connection between them, the stories between them may collide as Walt continues his collect of notes.
A story about a creepy middle-aged guy who collects grocery lists and stalks some of the shoppers should be interesting. It should make you never want to write a shopping list again, should make you look twice at the clerk bagging your Cheetos, should make me want to do all my shopping online but Walt doesn't do that. While the psychology of the main character is interesting so much of the story is just his ramblings about how he sees people, what others do and how they act, and his own peculiarities. While some of these things are definitely horrifying the more I read the more I wanted something, anything to happen. But nothing did!
The police storyline was boring considering they're the investigators, and the switch from the first person of Walt to the third person of the detectives was jarring, considering a first person of one of Walt's stalkee's Alisha is also told in first person through diary entry's. The switch was jarring at times and it seemed like I was reading two different books. Also why even include Alisha's diary entry's when everyone just talks about how she feels like she's being watched?
And to top it all off the ending was completely unsatisfying that by the end I couldn't even be angry, I was just happy it was over.
If you're looking for voyeuristic horror, Walt is not the one to read. While I haven't read any more books similar to this I'll recommend you watch One Hour Photo because it succeeds where Walt fails.
Walt works at a grocery store, looked over by most of the customers but Walt sees them all through the slips of paper they write their shopping lists on. On discarded mail, old banking statements, letterheads Walt can piece together their lives from more than just the groceries they're picking up. Walt is content with his life, living alone since his wife Mary left him years ago, though her leaving is seen as mysterious by the local police who won't leave him alone about it. When the police start looking into past disappearances and see Walt as a possible connection between them, the stories between them may collide as Walt continues his collect of notes.
A story about a creepy middle-aged guy who collects grocery lists and stalks some of the shoppers should be interesting. It should make you never want to write a shopping list again, should make you look twice at the clerk bagging your Cheetos, should make me want to do all my shopping online but Walt doesn't do that. While the psychology of the main character is interesting so much of the story is just his ramblings about how he sees people, what others do and how they act, and his own peculiarities. While some of these things are definitely horrifying the more I read the more I wanted something, anything to happen. But nothing did!
The police storyline was boring considering they're the investigators, and the switch from the first person of Walt to the third person of the detectives was jarring, considering a first person of one of Walt's stalkee's Alisha is also told in first person through diary entry's. The switch was jarring at times and it seemed like I was reading two different books. Also why even include Alisha's diary entry's when everyone just talks about how she feels like she's being watched?
And to top it all off the ending was completely unsatisfying that by the end I couldn't even be angry, I was just happy it was over.
If you're looking for voyeuristic horror, Walt is not the one to read. While I haven't read any more books similar to this I'll recommend you watch One Hour Photo because it succeeds where Walt fails.
fictionophile's review against another edition
5.0
My most recent reading journey took me to Newfoundland – or to what we in Atlantic Canada affectionately call “The Rock”. Set in modern day St. John’s, Newfoundland’s capital city, the novel features a solitary, fifty-something grocery store janitor named “Walt“.
Walt is one of the invisible members of society. Quietly and unobtrusively pushing his broom, cleaning up other people’s messes. Dressed in a uniform which people tend to ignore – until they need his cleaning services and then they don’t look him in the eye…
He lives alone in a house on McKay Street in east end St. John’s. A house that he once shared with his wife Mary – though now she is gone… Theirs was a volatile and childless marriage. Mary left him? Moved back to her parents? Went out West? Died? – we don’t know. All we know is that she isn’t there anymore. Now Walt lives a solitary existence, moving from his house to the grocery store where he works and taking long walks around his home city. He loves to fish and deems fishing to be an almost religious experience.
Walt has a very keen interest in human nature. He is a rapt observer of everyone who enters his store. In fact in everyone he encounters. This is in part due to his loneliness. He feels stifled by his insular life, but can not see his way to make the changes necessary to lift him from his routines.
Told almost all from the point of view of Walt, with the odd short chapter told from the point of view of two members of the RNC (the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary), the novel describes Walt’s daily life and his obsession with the grocery lists that the customers from his store discard with abandon. He collects these lists. In fact he has bankers’ boxes full of them. Why? you might ask. Because they reveal SO much about the writers. Also, many are written on used envelopes, business stationery, etc. – so in addition to speculation about the writer from the content of the list, Walt often also culls more pertinent information about them… like their home addresses. Walt has made the study of others habits his doctoral thesis. He sees his lists as puzzle pieces of a puzzle only he can complete. His abundance of free time and his dogged determination to discover things about his ‘targets’, make him ideally situated to succeed in his mission. Is he a stalker? Yes most certainly. Is he guilty of more serious crimes? We don’t know…
A week or so after Mary ‘left’, Walt reported her missing. Now, years later, two members of a ‘cold case’ squad of the RNC have taken up the task of tracing her whereabouts and closing the case. They suspect Walt of foul play, but there is absolutely nothing to base this suspicion upon. They have searched his home so many times that Walt actually has a box of ‘search warrants’ in addition to his myriad boxes of grocery lists.
Yes Walt is ‘different’. But is this why the police suspect him? Because he is not ‘like’ everybody else, he is misunderstood. He admits he is peculiar. He recognizes this about himself. He doesn’t react to events in the same way that others do. The police find him unfathomable. But is he guilty?
Told in the simple yet strangely astute voice of Walt, the novel will keep most reader’s guessing until the last chapter. A simple, yet deceptively deep psychological thriller that will remain in the reader’s memory. Once you meet Walt, you are unlikely to forget him. Highly recommended!
Walt is one of the invisible members of society. Quietly and unobtrusively pushing his broom, cleaning up other people’s messes. Dressed in a uniform which people tend to ignore – until they need his cleaning services and then they don’t look him in the eye…
He lives alone in a house on McKay Street in east end St. John’s. A house that he once shared with his wife Mary – though now she is gone… Theirs was a volatile and childless marriage. Mary left him? Moved back to her parents? Went out West? Died? – we don’t know. All we know is that she isn’t there anymore. Now Walt lives a solitary existence, moving from his house to the grocery store where he works and taking long walks around his home city. He loves to fish and deems fishing to be an almost religious experience.
Walt has a very keen interest in human nature. He is a rapt observer of everyone who enters his store. In fact in everyone he encounters. This is in part due to his loneliness. He feels stifled by his insular life, but can not see his way to make the changes necessary to lift him from his routines.
Told almost all from the point of view of Walt, with the odd short chapter told from the point of view of two members of the RNC (the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary), the novel describes Walt’s daily life and his obsession with the grocery lists that the customers from his store discard with abandon. He collects these lists. In fact he has bankers’ boxes full of them. Why? you might ask. Because they reveal SO much about the writers. Also, many are written on used envelopes, business stationery, etc. – so in addition to speculation about the writer from the content of the list, Walt often also culls more pertinent information about them… like their home addresses. Walt has made the study of others habits his doctoral thesis. He sees his lists as puzzle pieces of a puzzle only he can complete. His abundance of free time and his dogged determination to discover things about his ‘targets’, make him ideally situated to succeed in his mission. Is he a stalker? Yes most certainly. Is he guilty of more serious crimes? We don’t know…
A week or so after Mary ‘left’, Walt reported her missing. Now, years later, two members of a ‘cold case’ squad of the RNC have taken up the task of tracing her whereabouts and closing the case. They suspect Walt of foul play, but there is absolutely nothing to base this suspicion upon. They have searched his home so many times that Walt actually has a box of ‘search warrants’ in addition to his myriad boxes of grocery lists.
Yes Walt is ‘different’. But is this why the police suspect him? Because he is not ‘like’ everybody else, he is misunderstood. He admits he is peculiar. He recognizes this about himself. He doesn’t react to events in the same way that others do. The police find him unfathomable. But is he guilty?
Told in the simple yet strangely astute voice of Walt, the novel will keep most reader’s guessing until the last chapter. A simple, yet deceptively deep psychological thriller that will remain in the reader’s memory. Once you meet Walt, you are unlikely to forget him. Highly recommended!
penny_literaryhoarders's review against another edition
4.0
Wangersky must have spent hours and weeks observing inside a grocery store! Guaranteed I will not be grocery shopping the same ever again. The downright, incredibly astute observations made about the common grocery list, to the way people shop, the differences between the sexes...incredibly observant and written about in an excellent manner.
Walt is the janitor in a grocery store - he collects all those discarded lists and is able to describe the creator of those lists with pinpoint accuracy. Trouble with Walt is that his wife is missing, the police won't leave him alone, another girl has gone missing and yet one more is making frequent calls to the police about feeling that someone has been watching her, been in her home and she can never shake the feeling she is being followed.
While the ending comes to an abrupt, seemingly unresolved finish, this was quite a creepy read! There were times when I was reminded of [b:Martin John|25074204|Martin John|Anakana Schofield|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440457543s/25074204.jpg|44759433], but Walt is written in a far more linear (and pleasing to me) manner.
I have to go to the grocery store today, and I can honestly tell you I'm quite creeped out by it.
This is also another Bingo square completed for the CBC Books Bingo Challenge! Walt will fill in the Bookie Awards square.
Walt is the janitor in a grocery store - he collects all those discarded lists and is able to describe the creator of those lists with pinpoint accuracy. Trouble with Walt is that his wife is missing, the police won't leave him alone, another girl has gone missing and yet one more is making frequent calls to the police about feeling that someone has been watching her, been in her home and she can never shake the feeling she is being followed.
While the ending comes to an abrupt, seemingly unresolved finish, this was quite a creepy read! There were times when I was reminded of [b:Martin John|25074204|Martin John|Anakana Schofield|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1440457543s/25074204.jpg|44759433], but Walt is written in a far more linear (and pleasing to me) manner.
I have to go to the grocery store today, and I can honestly tell you I'm quite creeped out by it.
This is also another Bingo square completed for the CBC Books Bingo Challenge! Walt will fill in the Bookie Awards square.