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Neighbor George
Summer, 1979: A lonely young woman housesitting for her aunt and uncle in an isolated bohemian enclave finds troubling reminders of a past family tragedy surfacing in odd and unsettling ways.
When a mysterious man moves in next door, Dovey hopes for a romance like the ones in the novels she secretly devours. But a dark truth hidden since childhood erupts shockingly in a violent otherworldly intrusion, catapulting her into a desperate struggle for her life and sanity.
Set in a haunted northern California landscape populated by poets, New Agers, stoners, and burnouts, Neighbor George is a deeply atmospheric story of psychological horror enacted in the liminal space where the natural collides with the supernatural.
When a mysterious man moves in next door, Dovey hopes for a romance like the ones in the novels she secretly devours. But a dark truth hidden since childhood erupts shockingly in a violent otherworldly intrusion, catapulting her into a desperate struggle for her life and sanity.
Set in a haunted northern California landscape populated by poets, New Agers, stoners, and burnouts, Neighbor George is a deeply atmospheric story of psychological horror enacted in the liminal space where the natural collides with the supernatural.
312 pages, Paperback
First published November 16, 2021
4 people are currently reading
193 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
November 9, 2021
In Neighbor George, Victoria Nelson has created a wondrous story that is not only gripping in its persistent sense of eerie menace—horror seemingly always only a blink away—but wickedly funny. This is tale filled with acute observations not only of a particular time and place but of the literary world in general; of women butting up against entitled, arrogant men; of deep psychological trauma and the path to healing. Neighbor George is a sheer joy to read with its elegant prose, wit and deep insight into what it means to be a human trying to keep the demons at bay.
May 11, 2022
I loved this. Funny, smart, upsetting, claustrophobic, occasionally frightening. Tonally, it reminded me of Shirley Barrett’s excellent The Bus on Thursday, but this is a far less cynical book and one that works hard to earn its resolution. I don’t know why no one seems to have found it, but I hope more people do.
March 23, 2023
4.5/5
this book was an absolutely wild ride and i was not expecting to like it as much as i did! it started out feeling like just a goofy coming of age novel, but ended up being a fantastical exploration of trauma and self worth. it starts slow, building with a few little oddities here and there, until things go full supernatural with no explanation. which i loved! i felt like explaining what was going on would have ruined the stark strangeness. plus, the confusion and need to plunge into self discovery to figure out what's going on really fits the story and the experience of the main character, dovey.
this book was an absolutely wild ride and i was not expecting to like it as much as i did! it started out feeling like just a goofy coming of age novel, but ended up being a fantastical exploration of trauma and self worth. it starts slow, building with a few little oddities here and there, until things go full supernatural with no explanation. which i loved! i felt like explaining what was going on would have ruined the stark strangeness. plus, the confusion and need to plunge into self discovery to figure out what's going on really fits the story and the experience of the main character, dovey.
August 2, 2024
I love reading a book and instantly feeling something is off—or maybe even wrong, but you don't know what yet. The way this book reads is like a Yorgos Lanthamos script—very uncanny, unsettling, and keeps you hooked. One of the reasons this is not a 5-star from me is because there are times when there is dead air in the plot, and it drags, or nothing happens. Other than that, it does a really good job of keeping you guessing and asking questions. Don't trust your neighbor George.
October 19, 2022
Such a well done work. This is the sort of book that I'll need to read again, to try and understand things I missed. There are things going on under the surface that I don't quite grasp, but knowing that these things are there is sort of enough.
March 30, 2024
Giving this one a high score not just because of my own personal enjoyment, but because 1.) I already know so many people I'm going to recommend this book to, and 2.) because, damn, this book deserves a lot of credit for being ahead of its time.
Finally released in 2021, it was written in the '90s and had trouble getting published. This is unfortunate, but it makes sense why publishers would now be warmer to the story now. While it is still very unique in its earnest depictions of supernaturalism, it absolutely makes sense in the wake of certain genre trends in the 2000s and 2010s. Think the prestige, metaphorical horror of A24 movies and the works of authors who blend contemporary styles with gothic literature and disreputable female protagonists—your Cassandra Khaws, Melissa Broders, Ottessa Moshfeghs, Carmen Maria Machados, etc., etc. (Btw, if nobody's dubbed this genre "gothchick lit" yet, I'm claiming credit for that one).
Anyway.
Story-wise, Neighbor George is about Dovey, a young woman living at her aunt and uncle's in a Bohemian enclave of California in the late '70s. Great start, right? Looking for a summer love and repressing issues from her past, Dovey meets her charismatic new neighbor, and where it goes from there is delicious spoiler territory. But like all good books, Neighbor George is about much more than the plot. It's a satire of an era, of a region, of phony, male pretension; it's about family trauma, repression, the vulnerability of desire and intimacy, and so much more. I mean, if you want a great reflection of how dating is like summoning a demon, look no further. That being said, it never gets bogged down in the heaviness of its themes. It reads light and breezy and has a sense of humor that doesn't clash with the rougher edges of the story.
4.5
(P.S. Natalia, you're one of the people to whom I'm directly recommending this too, 1.) because you'll love it generally, but 2.) because the bird motifs go crazy, oh my God).
Finally released in 2021, it was written in the '90s and had trouble getting published. This is unfortunate, but it makes sense why publishers would now be warmer to the story now. While it is still very unique in its earnest depictions of supernaturalism, it absolutely makes sense in the wake of certain genre trends in the 2000s and 2010s. Think the prestige, metaphorical horror of A24 movies and the works of authors who blend contemporary styles with gothic literature and disreputable female protagonists—your Cassandra Khaws, Melissa Broders, Ottessa Moshfeghs, Carmen Maria Machados, etc., etc. (Btw, if nobody's dubbed this genre "gothchick lit" yet, I'm claiming credit for that one).
Anyway.
Story-wise, Neighbor George is about Dovey, a young woman living at her aunt and uncle's in a Bohemian enclave of California in the late '70s. Great start, right? Looking for a summer love and repressing issues from her past, Dovey meets her charismatic new neighbor, and where it goes from there is delicious spoiler territory. But like all good books, Neighbor George is about much more than the plot. It's a satire of an era, of a region, of phony, male pretension; it's about family trauma, repression, the vulnerability of desire and intimacy, and so much more. I mean, if you want a great reflection of how dating is like summoning a demon, look no further. That being said, it never gets bogged down in the heaviness of its themes. It reads light and breezy and has a sense of humor that doesn't clash with the rougher edges of the story.
4.5
(P.S. Natalia, you're one of the people to whom I'm directly recommending this too, 1.) because you'll love it generally, but 2.) because the bird motifs go crazy, oh my God).
September 28, 2024
This book has multiple levels that will engage both plot lovers and world builders. It’s an easy read that hides deeper layers of meaning for the initiated. I brought Neighbor George for a beach vacation and completed in record time, compared to my usual pace.
Very fun and engaging book that deals with the nature of trauma and its transformations into inner and outer demons. A young woman learning to be her true Jungian Self as she battles invited entities that held enable her own self delusions.
A very thoughtful book on trauma, spiritual, and self growth. Integrating one’s own inner demons into a more complete version of yourself.
Ms Nelson does a great job of building a world of meaning. Her understanding of symbolism, psychology, and the supernatural create a beautiful and thoughtful work of Art. Weird fiction lovers will be right at home here.
I’m looking forward to reading her nonfiction work, “A Secret Life of Puppets”. I know her theories surrounding disenchantment will bring another level to “Neighbor George”.
Very fun and engaging book that deals with the nature of trauma and its transformations into inner and outer demons. A young woman learning to be her true Jungian Self as she battles invited entities that held enable her own self delusions.
A very thoughtful book on trauma, spiritual, and self growth. Integrating one’s own inner demons into a more complete version of yourself.
Ms Nelson does a great job of building a world of meaning. Her understanding of symbolism, psychology, and the supernatural create a beautiful and thoughtful work of Art. Weird fiction lovers will be right at home here.
I’m looking forward to reading her nonfiction work, “A Secret Life of Puppets”. I know her theories surrounding disenchantment will bring another level to “Neighbor George”.
March 27, 2025
“Watching him walk easily out to the fire truck, I indulged in a brief fantasy: being this fellow's happy wife for I didn't doubt, looking at him, that she was happy, having him come home every evening to me and our kids, feeding him, sleeping with him at night.
What in the world would that be like? A very different fate lay in store for me, it seemed. But long before this summer, before any of this mess had begun, I had sensed that ordinary life was closed to me, barred totally with no appeal. But why? What was the invisible barrier? Was it because, as I often told myself, some parts of me were too grown up, others not grown up enough - forty years old in my head, twenty years old in my body, and forever nine years old in my heart? It was like seeing the world crystal clear through a glass window but never being able to reach out and touch any of the beautiful things on the other side.
And when I finally did reach out, what was the
first thing my nervous, eager fingers found?
George.”
What in the world would that be like? A very different fate lay in store for me, it seemed. But long before this summer, before any of this mess had begun, I had sensed that ordinary life was closed to me, barred totally with no appeal. But why? What was the invisible barrier? Was it because, as I often told myself, some parts of me were too grown up, others not grown up enough - forty years old in my head, twenty years old in my body, and forever nine years old in my heart? It was like seeing the world crystal clear through a glass window but never being able to reach out and touch any of the beautiful things on the other side.
And when I finally did reach out, what was the
first thing my nervous, eager fingers found?
George.”
April 4, 2023
Though I'm not sure how much I "got" it, this read really easily and pleasantly. 1970s California is always a good setting.
Read
February 25, 2025Absolutely loved this scary, funny California horror story. The writing’s superb, and Nelson captures Northern California culture perfectly. George is a seriously creepy invention.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews