Finished The Other by Thomas Tryon. I received a copy from the publisher on Edelweiss.
The Other is a classic horror novel, which came out around the same time as Rosemary’s Baby and The Exorcist. It’s now being brought back in print.
Niles and Holland are twins. You know that old cliche about the evil twin? That’s Holland. Niles is the good one and Holland…well, when Holland’s around, accidents happen. They’re young boys and that’s what makes this even creepier. (It’s actually like that cheesy movie The Good Son, only it’s really, REALLY creepy. So I guess really, it’s more like The Omen except Holland’s just evil, not the devil’s son.)
This is such a scary book. I’ve heard of the movie (but haven’t seen it yet) but didn’t know that much about it (beyond “creepy child”). There are a ton of twists in the story but there’s also the fact that the way it’s narrated means that as a reader, you don’t really know what’s going on and how much of what you’re being told is real.
The whole book really feels like a fever dream, honestly, or like when you’re really tired and you think you see things out of the corner of your eye but they’re not really there. (I really hope that doesn’t just happen to me, because that is not a fun thing.)
Anyway. This is an incredibly fun book, but probably not something you should read before bed.
It is being re-released on October 2 but I’m running the review early because (a) you can probably find it in used bookstores and (b) so you can preorder it. This would be ridiculously fun to read on Halloween. (Provided, I guess, you don’t scare too easily.)
Recommended.
