As much as I hate to quibble over small things, there were a few that kept jarring me out of the narrative.
First, I know it was written in 1972, when you could get by on one income, but the math does NOT hold up. They can raise a kid on one high school teacher's salary WITHOUT his needing to work every summer, with Marian only taking temp jobs to pay for luxuries?? And when they decide to look at summer homes, the price of (mild spoiler, sorry) $900 for two months is AFFORDABLE for them? Sure, it is a lot of house for the price, but that's like $5000 in 2019 money! Do you know any high school teachers who can pay that without wrecking their budget? The reader is asked to squander far too much suspension of disbelief on this nonsense far too early in the book, and for no good reason.
A less economic concern was the just-often-enough-to-bug-me moments where the point of view migrates from one character's thoughts to another and back again within the same scene. That's usually the sign of an inexperienced and untaught writer. In this case, it became less frequent as the book went on, leading me to think it may instead have been a case of a competent enough writer leaving his writing too close to a deadline and failing to go back and fix his own simple mistakes. Frustrating, that--it is a quite decent book as it stands and I can't help but wonder how much better it could have been if he had turned in a third draft instead of the first.
Another irritant was the author's constant use of "instinctively" when he means "without clear reason or planning," an action based on unanalysed motives, sure, but NOT an actual instinct (of which humans have very few, mostly concerned with startle responses to loud noises or sudden drops, that sort of thing). It's a common error, sadly, but this author does it several times per chapter! Lazy and repetitive as well as incorrect. Quite grating.
The other irritants were smaller still, nearly humorous. While the novel managed not to read as dated in any of the ways I had expected (impressive considering it was written in 1972!) some details revealed that it was obviously written by a man in an era where they did none of the housework! Marian would NEVER blow soot off the windowsill; it would spread everywhere. Anyone who had been cleaning the same apartment for nine years would KNOW that and would use a damp rag instead. I also have doubts about two quarts of milk lasting a week for four people, but who knows? Maybe they aren't fond of dairy.
All that being said, everything else about the book was completely perfect. Utterly terrifying, only a touch predictable (likely because I read too much in this genre), and there were moments even so that managed to give me a case of the heebie jeebies. Definitely worth the Kindle price (eight bucks, I think?). Glad I gave it a chance!
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Steven Stacy
Very depressing,well written but predictable
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 20, 2020
Peter Costen
Interminably Repetitive
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 13, 2020
