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exorcismemily 's review for:
The Auctioneer
by Joan Samson
"She was swept with an awe at his power. It required a reversal of everything she wanted and believed to think that such power--whatever its devious route--could be directed at ends that were anything but right and good."
It's always terrifying when a book published over 40 years ago is eerily relevant in a political sense. Although The Auctioneer deals with a story that is particular to the town its set in, the atmosphere that Joan Samson builds hits a little too close to home.
The auctioneer, Perly Dunsmore, takes over Harlowe & claims he wants to take the town back to its roots with "Christian values" (and at some point says something about making America great). He sells them on a vision of false community with great emphasis on excluding outsiders / strangers, and leads his sheeple to believe that he can keep them safe from the scary outside world. The town eats it up, and they easily fall into his traps.
This book has gaslighting galore, and everyone who (somewhat) attempts to question what's going on is made to believe that they're wrong. That being said, nobody tries very hard, which brings me to the main message of the book (in my opinion) - silence about an act of evil is just as bad as committing the act yourself. This theme reminded me a lot of The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum, not because the plots have anything to do with each other, but both books have main characters who are dealing with the repercussions of their silence.
The main character in The Auctioneer (John) was significantly more infuriating to me than the villain (Perly). I just wanted to scream at him for putting his family at risk so that he could stay selfishly silent. This entire book is a suffocated scream coming from the reader because they can't hear you, and they wouldn't listen anyway. It's a frustrating yet intriguing read.
Harlowe, the town in which this book is set, is very well-written. It felt like a Stephen King small town story at times, which is where he really excels. It was easy to sink into this town, and horrifying to watch it fall apart.
At first I gave this book 3⭐ because I was annoyed by the ending, but upon writing my review, I've bumped it up to 4⭐ because it is a good book as a whole. Some parts of it dragged a little too much for me, but it's still a pretty short book.
Joan Samson was a talented writer, and it's unfortunate that this was her only book. The original editions of this book were difficult to find, but now Valancourt Books has re-published new editions! If you like small town horror with a political tone, pick up The Auctioneer.
It's always terrifying when a book published over 40 years ago is eerily relevant in a political sense. Although The Auctioneer deals with a story that is particular to the town its set in, the atmosphere that Joan Samson builds hits a little too close to home.
The auctioneer, Perly Dunsmore, takes over Harlowe & claims he wants to take the town back to its roots with "Christian values" (and at some point says something about making America great). He sells them on a vision of false community with great emphasis on excluding outsiders / strangers, and leads his sheeple to believe that he can keep them safe from the scary outside world. The town eats it up, and they easily fall into his traps.
This book has gaslighting galore, and everyone who (somewhat) attempts to question what's going on is made to believe that they're wrong. That being said, nobody tries very hard, which brings me to the main message of the book (in my opinion) - silence about an act of evil is just as bad as committing the act yourself. This theme reminded me a lot of The Girl Next Door by Jack Ketchum, not because the plots have anything to do with each other, but both books have main characters who are dealing with the repercussions of their silence.
The main character in The Auctioneer (John) was significantly more infuriating to me than the villain (Perly). I just wanted to scream at him for putting his family at risk so that he could stay selfishly silent. This entire book is a suffocated scream coming from the reader because they can't hear you, and they wouldn't listen anyway. It's a frustrating yet intriguing read.
Harlowe, the town in which this book is set, is very well-written. It felt like a Stephen King small town story at times, which is where he really excels. It was easy to sink into this town, and horrifying to watch it fall apart.
At first I gave this book 3⭐ because I was annoyed by the ending, but upon writing my review, I've bumped it up to 4⭐ because it is a good book as a whole. Some parts of it dragged a little too much for me, but it's still a pretty short book.
Joan Samson was a talented writer, and it's unfortunate that this was her only book. The original editions of this book were difficult to find, but now Valancourt Books has re-published new editions! If you like small town horror with a political tone, pick up The Auctioneer.