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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
What can i say about this besides it’s a classic? I would have loved more Norma & Norman backstory/childhood
I was a bit worried about reading another horror classic after reading [b:Jaws|126232|Jaws (Jaws #1)|Peter Benchley|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1533963881l/126232._SY75_.jpg|2318370], but I actually think the novel and the film complement each other well. The novel gives more of Norman's psychology and expands on Lila and Sam, though I think the film does a bit better with Marion's mounting paranoia. The film also plays with genre in some fun ways. If you like the film, read the novel.
Beautifully creepy. Short, sweet, and gripping. Loved it.
“I think perhaps all of us go a little crazy sometimes.”
It’s very obvious to me why this story is such a cultural touchstone and a staple of the horror genre. Bloch mesmerizes. Even knowing the twist ending from the films, I see all the clever ways in which it was concealed until the end.
I highly recommend this one to any fan of horror and psychological thrillers.
“Why, she wouldn’t even hurt a fly…”
It’s very obvious to me why this story is such a cultural touchstone and a staple of the horror genre. Bloch mesmerizes. Even knowing the twist ending from the films, I see all the clever ways in which it was concealed until the end.
I highly recommend this one to any fan of horror and psychological thrillers.
“Why, she wouldn’t even hurt a fly…”
Wow. What a great read! I of course saw the movie when I was a kid, but it was great to read the book. I thought Robert Bloch did a good job with the "twists" in this one and I like how he develops all of the characters in this one from Norman, his mother, sisters Mary and Lila, and a man that is close to Mary, Sam. I will say that things that happen in the movie are not things that show up in the book. Also the Norman in the book is overweight, has acne, and needs glasses.
"Psycho" follows motel owner Norman Bates. Norman is stuck running a motel that he didn't want, but his mother insisted on. Now the two of them live in a home together behind the motel with Norman growing resentful of his mother, but also realizing that he doesn't know what to do without her to command him. When a woman comes to the stay at the motel on a rainy deserted night, things change forever for Norman.
I definitely pitied Norman while reading this one. It's hard to come into this story cold, so many readers are going to already know what will finally be revealed. I have to say that I liked the way it was done in this one.
Mary I also felt sorry for since we know how close she could have been to getting the life that she wanted. I loved how she is developed in Bloch's story so you can see why she took the chance she did.
I know that a lot of readers could not stand Lila, but I did. I liked how she wasn't going to be pushed aside anymore when Mary goes missing and she decides she's not going to keep letting a lot of men tell her to just wait.
Sam...I did like him. He seemed too soft I think at times and though the book ends in a certain way we are supposed to guess at what happens next, I think readers saw the signs there earlier in the book.
I think the writing in this one was great and the shifting perspectives of Norman, his mother, Mary, Mary's sister Lila, and Sam really added to the story. The flow works really well too.
The motel feels like such a desolate place. Reading the first part of the book with things happening on a dark and deserted night made me want to keep rechecking my door. It doesn't help that it has rained in VA for the past 4 days. I miss the sun.
I read this book for the "Classic Horror" square. You also could read it for a few other squares too like "Pysch", "Mystery", "Genre: Suspense", "Film at 11" and "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night".
"Psycho" follows motel owner Norman Bates. Norman is stuck running a motel that he didn't want, but his mother insisted on. Now the two of them live in a home together behind the motel with Norman growing resentful of his mother, but also realizing that he doesn't know what to do without her to command him. When a woman comes to the stay at the motel on a rainy deserted night, things change forever for Norman.
I definitely pitied Norman while reading this one. It's hard to come into this story cold, so many readers are going to already know what will finally be revealed. I have to say that I liked the way it was done in this one.
Mary I also felt sorry for since we know how close she could have been to getting the life that she wanted. I loved how she is developed in Bloch's story so you can see why she took the chance she did.
I know that a lot of readers could not stand Lila, but I did. I liked how she wasn't going to be pushed aside anymore when Mary goes missing and she decides she's not going to keep letting a lot of men tell her to just wait.
Sam...I did like him. He seemed too soft I think at times and though the book ends in a certain way we are supposed to guess at what happens next, I think readers saw the signs there earlier in the book.
I think the writing in this one was great and the shifting perspectives of Norman, his mother, Mary, Mary's sister Lila, and Sam really added to the story. The flow works really well too.
The motel feels like such a desolate place. Reading the first part of the book with things happening on a dark and deserted night made me want to keep rechecking my door. It doesn't help that it has rained in VA for the past 4 days. I miss the sun.
I read this book for the "Classic Horror" square. You also could read it for a few other squares too like "Pysch", "Mystery", "Genre: Suspense", "Film at 11" and "It Was a Dark and Stormy Night".
dark
fast-paced
I came into this story knowing the whole truth of Norman Bates from watching Hitchcock's adaptation of Psycho. That being said, the twist was not shocking to me since I was aware of it. However, if I were reading this with no prior information, it would have been such an amazing twist. This classic story helped fuel so many other horror characters and for that, I am thankful. I enjoyed the writing style, but it definitely read more as a short story than a full novel (which is completely fine). I do wish there would have been a little more back story written out. BUT this is why I love the show Bate's Motel so much!
Given the legacy of this book, I wasn't sure what to expect from this slim volume. I now understand Hitchcock's fascination with this book. Bloch's narrative is crisp, spare, and to the point; not a word is wasted. Even though I know the story well and how it ends, I was drawn in and engaged right until the final page. On a side note, the TV series Bates Motel did an excellent job of fleshing out the characters and providing an alternate perspective.
Sometimes you have to check out the classics, even if you basically know all about them already. I've obviously seen Hitchcock's adaptation, and I've heard people discuss the original novel a few times. But again, sometimes you just have to see for yourself, and I consider it an accomplishment in life to have finally read this one.
I've also been curious about Robert Bloch in general, as he's also written some episodes of the original Star Trek series (I'm a huge Trekkie), and to think that the Trek franchise and the Psycho franchise are connected based on him is very cool.
In simple terms, this was an awesome read. As mentioned, I already knew the main plot of the story - especially the big twist - but this only helped me be aware of some clever bits of foreshadowing early on in the novel. Subtle enough that someone unfamiliar with the overall story might not immediately catch it, but retrospectively nice enough easter eggs for those who know.
One thing that struck me as fascinating was how daring this felt for a book published in the late 1950s. Because sometimes you have to take the time period into consideration. It's quite similar to Hitchcock's movie; by today's standards, it could be considered a not-too-gruesome little horror story, but it was still sort of the predecessor to the 1980s wave of slasher flicks, and even such a simple thing as showing a toilet being flushed was new and controversial at the time. Also, the whole third-act exposition scene where everything is explained to us may seem redundant today, but again, at the time, the movie did present some brand new ideas in cinema history.
So, in a similar way, I'd think some of the topics Bloch has written about in this novel would be borderline too deviant and controversial back then. The kills, even though they are still heavily implied rather than graphically described, are still slightly more brutal than how they were presented in the movie (it of course makes sense why they were toned down in the movie just for that reason, as the visual brutality would have been too much back then). But again, even some topics that are discussed and described stood out to me as more shocking than they might have done if it was from a much more recent novel. It caught me off guard that Bloch managed to write about these things back in 1959.
For example, Norman's unhealthy connection to his mother is also more deeply explored here. There's even a direct reference to the Oedipus complex, giving the story some highly uncomfortable subtext. There are also indications of his mother being aware of his sexual impulses, so the line between what's inappropriate or not among family members is somewhat blurred. Given how Psycho is one of the stories inspired by real-life serial killer Ed Gein (along with Silence of the Lambs and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), these elements of the book, with the whole Norman/mother relationship, are clearly a watered-down yet still disturbing portrayal of Gein's own morbid mother/son relationship.
Some parts of the novel also explore a general theme of dark secrets, raising the question of how well you really know another person. It creates a sense of uneasiness, almost like a social paranoia that's rather deep for a 1950s novel. Maybe that's my impression being warped by the happy, sunny Hollywood movies of that era. But Bloch's novel is like a counterpoint to that, exploring the possibility that someone you have known for a long time may suddenly turn out to have done something horrific. That in and of itself may also have been somewhat inspired by the real-life reactions to Ed Gein since his neighbors would say in interviews that he always struck them as a nice, quiet fella who never seemed capable of hurting anyone.
Moreover, as we get a better insight into Norman's mind than we do in the movie, it's interesting to see how he actually wonders about his own mental health a bit more actively. Just a tad more self-aware compared to in the movie, but obviously still quite unwell and oblivious.
Hitchcock was known as the master of suspense, but one could certainly say that the road was somewhat paved for him with this novel, as Bloch very skillfully creates a sense of tension and urgency. All the questions and uncertainty around Mary's disappearance, the way we almost start sweating along with Norman when Arbogast starts applying a bit of pressure when questioning him, and so on.
I also like how Bloch has sometimes grouped two chapters together, in the sense that these two chapters combined describe two sides of the same scenario. Thus, the second of those two chapters does a tiny jump backward in time and sort of restarts a specific moment, only from someone else's perspective, until it's caught up with where the previous chapter left off. It's a neat way to establish the whereabouts and activities of everyone involved.
Stephen King once explored some of his favorite opening lines in novels, and how important that first sentence is; the way it has to grab your attention immediately. I also think that a book will leave you with something lasting if it has the perfect closing line as well. And I truly feel that Psycho has one of the most classic closing lines in history.
I've also been curious about Robert Bloch in general, as he's also written some episodes of the original Star Trek series (I'm a huge Trekkie), and to think that the Trek franchise and the Psycho franchise are connected based on him is very cool.
In simple terms, this was an awesome read. As mentioned, I already knew the main plot of the story - especially the big twist - but this only helped me be aware of some clever bits of foreshadowing early on in the novel. Subtle enough that someone unfamiliar with the overall story might not immediately catch it, but retrospectively nice enough easter eggs for those who know.
One thing that struck me as fascinating was how daring this felt for a book published in the late 1950s. Because sometimes you have to take the time period into consideration. It's quite similar to Hitchcock's movie; by today's standards, it could be considered a not-too-gruesome little horror story, but it was still sort of the predecessor to the 1980s wave of slasher flicks, and even such a simple thing as showing a toilet being flushed was new and controversial at the time. Also, the whole third-act exposition scene where everything is explained to us may seem redundant today, but again, at the time, the movie did present some brand new ideas in cinema history.
So, in a similar way, I'd think some of the topics Bloch has written about in this novel would be borderline too deviant and controversial back then. The kills, even though they are still heavily implied rather than graphically described, are still slightly more brutal than how they were presented in the movie (it of course makes sense why they were toned down in the movie just for that reason, as the visual brutality would have been too much back then). But again, even some topics that are discussed and described stood out to me as more shocking than they might have done if it was from a much more recent novel. It caught me off guard that Bloch managed to write about these things back in 1959.
For example, Norman's unhealthy connection to his mother is also more deeply explored here. There's even a direct reference to the Oedipus complex, giving the story some highly uncomfortable subtext. There are also indications of his mother being aware of his sexual impulses, so the line between what's inappropriate or not among family members is somewhat blurred. Given how Psycho is one of the stories inspired by real-life serial killer Ed Gein (along with Silence of the Lambs and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre), these elements of the book, with the whole Norman/mother relationship, are clearly a watered-down yet still disturbing portrayal of Gein's own morbid mother/son relationship.
Some parts of the novel also explore a general theme of dark secrets, raising the question of how well you really know another person. It creates a sense of uneasiness, almost like a social paranoia that's rather deep for a 1950s novel. Maybe that's my impression being warped by the happy, sunny Hollywood movies of that era. But Bloch's novel is like a counterpoint to that, exploring the possibility that someone you have known for a long time may suddenly turn out to have done something horrific. That in and of itself may also have been somewhat inspired by the real-life reactions to Ed Gein since his neighbors would say in interviews that he always struck them as a nice, quiet fella who never seemed capable of hurting anyone.
Moreover, as we get a better insight into Norman's mind than we do in the movie, it's interesting to see how he actually wonders about his own mental health a bit more actively. Just a tad more self-aware compared to in the movie, but obviously still quite unwell and oblivious.
Hitchcock was known as the master of suspense, but one could certainly say that the road was somewhat paved for him with this novel, as Bloch very skillfully creates a sense of tension and urgency. All the questions and uncertainty around Mary's disappearance, the way we almost start sweating along with Norman when Arbogast starts applying a bit of pressure when questioning him, and so on.
I also like how Bloch has sometimes grouped two chapters together, in the sense that these two chapters combined describe two sides of the same scenario. Thus, the second of those two chapters does a tiny jump backward in time and sort of restarts a specific moment, only from someone else's perspective, until it's caught up with where the previous chapter left off. It's a neat way to establish the whereabouts and activities of everyone involved.
Stephen King once explored some of his favorite opening lines in novels, and how important that first sentence is; the way it has to grab your attention immediately. I also think that a book will leave you with something lasting if it has the perfect closing line as well. And I truly feel that Psycho has one of the most classic closing lines in history.
Gave incredible insight into the inner workings of the characters from my favorite movie! I've been meaning to read the book that inspired Hitchcock's Psycho since high school, I'm so glad I did!