Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.99 AVERAGE
3.99 AVERAGE
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn’t realize the movie was such a direct adaptation. It was really exciting reading the original source material, it was insane, scary, and deranged- just what I love!
The Norman of Robert Bloch's book is the same yet different when compared to the Norman of the Hitchcock classic and of Bates Motel. Reading this after watching both was really very interesting. There are tidbits in the TV series that clearly came from the book and those were fun to find.
Norman in the book is more similar to Ed Gein (the real life serial killer whom he is based upon) than to Anthony Perkins or Freddie Highmore which really makes it even more scary. It's a quick read that's hard to put down due to it's intensely weird tone.
Norman in the book is more similar to Ed Gein (the real life serial killer whom he is based upon) than to Anthony Perkins or Freddie Highmore which really makes it even more scary. It's a quick read that's hard to put down due to it's intensely weird tone.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked how this book highlighted women’s intuition about odd behaviors (even if that wasn’t the original intent that was how it read for me). The ways in which psychological phenomena were described were also very interesting given the time period the novel was written in. Seeing the justifications and inner workings of Norman’s warped perspective was really intriguing. I hadn’t known it would be written from multiple perspectives but that also added a lot to the story (there’s always a chance that style of writing will take away from the story). It was a very short, concise, but suspenseful and exciting story with a pretty clear cut ending which is nice sometimes (sometimes ambiguous endings can be fun but other times you just want things to be open and shut lol). Overall I really enjoyed this book and its take on unhealthy mother-son relationships and how that can negatively impact a person – makes sense as it was based on Ed Gein’s life.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I easily read this pulp in 24 hours. To me this is what pulp can be, the reason it was invented.
I was surprised how closely the movie stuck to the book, with a couple things actually making more sense in the book. Mary was changed to Marion for the movie. In the book Mary lives hours away from Sam and leaves town to drive to him. He has debts that need paying off and she takes the money to help him. In the book they live in the same town, and it's really unknown where she's going when she takes the money, she appears to be leaving Sam and her sister and her life for no reason that's ever explained. So I preferred the book explanation which actually made sense. I guess it would have been harder to show the relationship as flashbacks in the movie.
Even little things in the movie that I never realized didn't make sense are explained in the book. For example, Sam and Lila are outside the church talking to the Sheriff and his wife about Bates and their suspicions. In the book they were up all night worrying and there was a robbery in town taking much of the police out of commission. In the movie they're at a church for no reason.
The only thing that wasn't great about the book of course was Norman's appearance. I much preferred Anthony Perkins and put him in the lead role when I read the book.
A quick, enjoyable supplement to the movie. Recommended.
I was surprised how closely the movie stuck to the book, with a couple things actually making more sense in the book. Mary was changed to Marion for the movie. In the book Mary lives hours away from Sam and leaves town to drive to him. He has debts that need paying off and she takes the money to help him. In the book they live in the same town, and it's really unknown where she's going when she takes the money, she appears to be leaving Sam and her sister and her life for no reason that's ever explained. So I preferred the book explanation which actually made sense. I guess it would have been harder to show the relationship as flashbacks in the movie.
Even little things in the movie that I never realized didn't make sense are explained in the book. For example, Sam and Lila are outside the church talking to the Sheriff and his wife about Bates and their suspicions. In the book they were up all night worrying and there was a robbery in town taking much of the police out of commission. In the movie they're at a church for no reason.
The only thing that wasn't great about the book of course was Norman's appearance. I much preferred Anthony Perkins and put him in the lead role when I read the book.
A quick, enjoyable supplement to the movie. Recommended.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Much better than the movie in my opinion. It give better insight into the characters and what really is going on in thier heads. All in all a good read for a creepy story.
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-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