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81st out of 474 books
—
574 voters
Julia
by
Peter Straub (Goodreads Author)
In a house in London a woman starts a new life, trying to put tragedy behind her. Then a pretty blonde child runs into view, bringing with her an inexplicable suggestion of evil.
Once Julia Lofting had a husband and a daughter. But everything has changed since she bolted from her marriage, in flight from the unbearable truth of her daughter's death. For Julia, there is no e...more
Once Julia Lofting had a husband and a daughter. But everything has changed since she bolted from her marriage, in flight from the unbearable truth of her daughter's death. For Julia, there is no e...more
Paperback, 304 pages
Published
July 5th 2000
by Ballantine Books
(first published 1975)
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"Julia" is an incredibly well-done modern Gothic in the same vein as Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw" or Shirley Jackson's "The Haunting of Hill House," though not quite so masterful. We see through they eyes of a main character, the fragile Julia Lofting, who at best is an unreliable narrator, and at worst an outright madwoman. Straub crafts an eerie novel about madness, death and the notion of true evil. If you like this kind of story, it's a definite must-read, but good luck finding a cop...more
2 likes
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like
· see review
Jan 25, 2011
Cecilia Solis-sublette
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
horror-supernatural
So no one's written a review of this 1970s novel, yet, huh? Well, let's see. The writer is good in keeping you guessing, through the end, as to whether this woman is crazy, whether her husband and brother-in-law are driving her crazy, or whether she is really being targeted by a supernatural force. The fact that her sister-in-law dabbles in the spirit world helps as does the fact that she is a grieving mother living in the house of another past-grieving mother. The elements are all there for a g...more
"Evil isn't like ordinary people. It can't be got rid of. It gets revenge. Revenge is what it wants, and it gets it."
"There was no safety, only its illusion."
INTENSE - the most terrifying book I've read in a long time. Peter Straub is a master at psychological horror, at getting under your skin and making you believe, even if just for a few moments, that you are the character being watched, stalked, threatened. Staying up late to read this the other night, the only one awake in the house, I hear...more
"There was no safety, only its illusion."
INTENSE - the most terrifying book I've read in a long time. Peter Straub is a master at psychological horror, at getting under your skin and making you believe, even if just for a few moments, that you are the character being watched, stalked, threatened. Staying up late to read this the other night, the only one awake in the house, I hear...more
Moué... bonne lecture de plage si on veut être sarcastique, Julia est un roman digne de la collection Harlequin du fait du QI émotionnel de l'héroïne et qui filerait les miquettes à une gamine de 9 ans, ah ben tiens comme le fantôme du livre ! heureusement les relations tordues de la famille Lofting nous sort de cette torpeur sirupeuse... à prendre au troisième degré : c'est à dire sous l'aspect psychopathologique et pas fantastique, ça devient plus intéressant.
Jan 20, 2012
Mary
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
Anyone who likes horror
Recommended to Mary by:
Library Book Sale
When Julia Lufting loses her child horribly, she moves to a new house to deal with her grief. What she finds is that her house is haunted by a little girl who died mysteriously. Now she must deal with her own grief and discover how the child from her house died. I sort of enjoyed this book and give it a B+!
Хареса ми историята за смъртта на злокобното дете. На моменти си беше страшно за мен като читател, не си представям ако бях на мястото на Джулия...
One of those rare cases where the book isn't quite as good as the movie. Still worth reading, but if you like the story definitely check the movie out. It's called The Haunting of Julia and it stars a wan-looking Mia Farrow... very creepy. Lovely music too.
Creepy at first. Lots of great psychological stuff mixed with evil ghost child. Some romance that fits, actually. But story drags on and on. Decent ending.
The movie 'Full Circle' starring Mia Farrow is pretty good.
The movie 'Full Circle' starring Mia Farrow is pretty good.
This one confounded me. It didn't have a single story element that would normally scare me, but ir utterly messed with my head and had me checking in the closet and under the bed for boogeymen. How does he do that!?
Freaky thats just one word to describe it. Another word may be boring. I was expecting more but for it being so old it was good. Now adays however you want to be so scared that you have to have the light on to go to sleep.
A wonderful creepy and perverted tale that was the basis for the movie, The Haunting of Julia. It doesn't bust out till around page 200, so stick with it.
2 likes
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Picked this up at Goodwill today. Put it with the other Straub books I have, I swear I will read him one day!
bit of a lost classic this one straub is worth a read but his earlier stuff is the best
Read it a long time ago but I liked it
Quite a good ghost story.
Well, it certainly was no "Ghost Story", that's for sure.
I didn't like this one nearly so well as Straub's other novels. The beginning was promising, and the tension builds nicely through the first 3/4 of the book, but the ending seemed really abrupt and overly vague to me. I kept reading because I thought there was going to be a pay-off, and I was going to find out something really creepy and interesting, but instead things just stayed obscure and I was left confused by the ending.
1 like
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like
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This story leaves the reader with a lot of questions. I tend to believe that Julia, a haunted woman, was fated to become the victim of the haunted house.
The scene where Julia meets Heather Rudge was quite chilling. Two women, both with sanity issues, both of whom have a daughter in the grave, both women have lived in that house on Holland Park. The deeper connection that they both share is really the clincher.
The scene where Julia meets Heather Rudge was quite chilling. Two women, both with sanity issues, both of whom have a daughter in the grave, both women have lived in that house on Holland Park. The deeper connection that they both share is really the clincher.
Peter Straub's breakout book that launched him in the ranks of premier horror writers such as Stephen King and Clive Barker.
It established him as the master of the modern day ghost story and all his books have a running theme of past mistakes catching up with you in really bad ways.
It's very gothic, a damsel in distress, a haunted house and a very evil ghostly presence, but updated to our times.
It established him as the master of the modern day ghost story and all his books have a running theme of past mistakes catching up with you in really bad ways.
It's very gothic, a damsel in distress, a haunted house and a very evil ghostly presence, but updated to our times.
Ho fatto fatica a finire questo libro. Julia ha una buona trama e dei buoni personaggi ma non ce l'ho fatta ad entrare e questa volta i "fantasmi del libro " mi hanno respinto. Non è un libro scritto male solo che in maniera molto soprannaturale non mi ha fatto entrare. Non ero nel mood. Pazienza Peter, sarà per la prossima volta.
I found this book quite unsettling at many points. The question of if Julia is truly mad or not is on that resounds far after the time you put the book down. It was cooly chilling, and often made me feel like I had a cold chill down my back. I'm quite glad I heard about this book and read it.
Stephen King recommended author and book.
Book noted as "important to the genre we have been discussing" from Danse Macabre, published in 1981. Author discussed in chapter 9.
Book noted as "important to the genre we have been discussing" from Danse Macabre, published in 1981. Author discussed in chapter 9.
Mar 20, 2008
My Inner Shelf
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
polar-thriller
Liquidé en 3 jours !!
troublant, presque frustrant si on veut un dénouement clair et rationnel, car là, c’est au choix, on interprète la fin (voire toute l’histoire) comme on veut !
J’ai adoré !
à la manière du génial Tour d’écrou d’Henry James…
troublant, presque frustrant si on veut un dénouement clair et rationnel, car là, c’est au choix, on interprète la fin (voire toute l’histoire) comme on veut !
J’ai adoré !
à la manière du génial Tour d’écrou d’Henry James…
An interesting gothic thriller , Julia manages to create an interesting mystery, while not jerking the reader around. I did find the ending to be a bit of a let down though.
I enjoyed this haunted house/ghost story/evil child story very much. Some creepy bits, really a 3.5 star read
May 20, 2013
Hannah
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
bethany
marked it as to-read
May 19, 2013
Pawduas Pride
marked it as owned
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Peter Straub was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on 2 March, 1943, the first of three sons of a salesman and a nurse. The salesman wanted him to become an athlete, the nurse thought he would do well as either a doctor or a Lutheran minister, but all he wanted to do was to learn to read.
When kindergarten turned out to be a stupefyingly banal disappointment devoted to cutting animal shapes out of heavy...more
More about Peter Straub...
When kindergarten turned out to be a stupefyingly banal disappointment devoted to cutting animal shapes out of heavy...more
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“She thought, instead, with longing of more books—of buying books—of slipping into a narrative of other people’s lives. That was release.”
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Mar 16, 2013 04:29pm