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3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
I wish I could read this without KNOWING. It must be a great twist if you go in blind.
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
tense
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:
Complicated
I feel like I have read through a lot of classic horror at this point, some have aged better than others. Shirley Jackson’s works have aged well, Dracula and Frankenstein are immortal works, Levin’s “Rosemary’s Baby” was a little dated, sure, but the whole underlying idea of marital/date rape and of women’s lack of bodily autonomy still holding true, it remains a creepy read. Then there are works like “I Am Legend” and “The Exorcist” that don’t hold up so well, the latter being a reading experience I wouldn’t wish on my enemy. I am happy to report, however, that Psycho is the first “murder/horror” thriller that really stands up. Dated, sure, but still good.
What I think helps this book age well is that the narrative form is actually quite good. I have never seen the movie, but I know that basic premise regarding mother , even so I began to find myself wondering if maybe Norman was right, maybe she was still around. Her presence was so believable, so well written, that I began thinking that maybe the movie had taken a drastically different turn from the book, maybe I didn’t really know how things ended. Then there are the women- the women age well in this novel because they aren’t simpering,swooning things. They are impetuous, foolhardy, unwilling to be led. They are NOT perfect, but they are people, with the good, and the bad, and the capacity to make decisions that are both good and bad (like stumbling around in a stranger’s house during a storm). They aren’t the only ones that make questionable decisions, and I like that, for once, the people playing at detective really aren’t that good at it, they are just kind of bumbling around. Its nice when not everyone is really a secret sleuth with dome deus ex machina skills.
And at the center of everything is Norman. Norman is a fantastic character. You pity him, you cannot help it. You travel with him down paths that you know are for the insane, but you cannot help it. He has a sort of pathetic charisma and nervous energy that keeps you locked into him. The reader becomes something of a fourth personality for Norman, the one that is unable to rationalize but is missing information from the other three personalities. You become involved as a reader anytime Norman is getting time on the paper, and that’s really what makes this book go bump in the night.
A surprisingly 5 out of 5 read for what it is, which is, surprisingly enjoyable and horrible even still.
What I think helps this book age well is that the narrative form is actually quite good. I have never seen the movie, but I know that basic premise regarding mother , even so I began to find myself wondering if maybe Norman was right, maybe she was still around. Her presence was so believable, so well written, that I began thinking that maybe the movie had taken a drastically different turn from the book, maybe I didn’t really know how things ended. Then there are the women- the women age well in this novel because they aren’t simpering,swooning things. They are impetuous, foolhardy, unwilling to be led. They are NOT perfect, but they are people, with the good, and the bad, and the capacity to make decisions that are both good and bad (like stumbling around in a stranger’s house during a storm). They aren’t the only ones that make questionable decisions, and I like that, for once, the people playing at detective really aren’t that good at it, they are just kind of bumbling around. Its nice when not everyone is really a secret sleuth with dome deus ex machina skills.
And at the center of everything is Norman. Norman is a fantastic character. You pity him, you cannot help it. You travel with him down paths that you know are for the insane, but you cannot help it. He has a sort of pathetic charisma and nervous energy that keeps you locked into him. The reader becomes something of a fourth personality for Norman, the one that is unable to rationalize but is missing information from the other three personalities. You become involved as a reader anytime Norman is getting time on the paper, and that’s really what makes this book go bump in the night.
A surprisingly 5 out of 5 read for what it is, which is, surprisingly enjoyable and horrible even still.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I went into this book already biased from the movie. I’ve seen the movie a million times, and found that it follows the book fairly closely. The main difference is the description of the main character in the book as wearing glasses, heavy set,
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Norman Bates is a normal, hard-working man running a cheap out-of-the-way motel and caring for his old, sick mother. Then he gets an unusual customer. A young, pretty girl with a secret and her very presence sends Norman’s entire life into chaos.
A very fun and easy read. I love the multiple perspectives and the very fast pace of the novel. Such a simple but captivating story.
A very fun and easy read. I love the multiple perspectives and the very fast pace of the novel. Such a simple but captivating story.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I teach Psycho in a high school Film Analysis class, so I've watched it at least once (recently twice...) a year for the past dozen years. Been meaning to read it for the longest! It was fine? Here are a few musings:
1) I wonder what it would feel like to read this book without knowing exactly what was going to happen every step of the way.
2) I recently read that when this book was published in 1959, Hitchcock bought up all the copies to keep the plot twists under wraps ahead of his film's release in June, 1960.
3) Apologies to Robert Bloch, the original creator of Norman Bates, but you lost me on page 2 with the descriptors: forty, plump, and bespectacled.
1) I wonder what it would feel like to read this book without knowing exactly what was going to happen every step of the way.
2) I recently read that when this book was published in 1959, Hitchcock bought up all the copies to keep the plot twists under wraps ahead of his film's release in June, 1960.
3) Apologies to Robert Bloch, the original creator of Norman Bates, but you lost me on page 2 with the descriptors: forty, plump, and bespectacled.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes