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The Cottage. A Novel of Terror
STICKER RESIDUE & SMALL BLACKOUT AT TOP OF FRONT COVER. SOME SCUFFING CHAFING & EDGE WEAR ON COVERS & SPINE. TWO BLACKOUTS ON FIRST PAGE. AGE RELATED TANNING INSIDE COVERS AND ON PAGES. MUSTY ODOR.
Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 19, 2022
I disliked this book, but the book itself is blameless. It does well what it set out to do: (1) a portrait of a lonely, well-off widow is created, her life shrinking after her husband's death and her children's moves into creating their own lives; (2) an appalling grift is detailed, engineered by a very handsome and very short teacher who moves into a cottage on the widow's property. Bad enough, but even worse, her new tenant isn't just a grifter who tapes their lovemaking in order to blackmail her, he's also a schizophrenic sadist who wants, above all, power over women.
Gretchen Travis is an excellent writer. Outside of the vindictive young man's psychosis, nothing is made melodramatic. The widow, her children, her friends, others in her orbit - all are persuasively characterized, made alive. Especially the widow - by the end of the book, I knew not only who she was, but what she'd do in most situations. How the story unfolds, how the cottage is remade, how the love affair turns into a nightmare, her outlook on life, her financial situation and her attempts to find money for her blackmailer and to make him see reason, her emotional highs and all of the many lows... everything is excruciatingly realistic. Emphasis: excruciating. This was a grueling read. Such a short book but I took many long pauses when reading it because I. just. didn't. enjoy. the. experience.
Even the semi-satisfying ending managed to drain the enjoyment out of a situation that could have been pure satisfaction. To be fair, I suppose it is petty of me to want orgasmic schadenfreude instead of minor-note nihilism.
Gretchen Travis is an excellent writer. Outside of the vindictive young man's psychosis, nothing is made melodramatic. The widow, her children, her friends, others in her orbit - all are persuasively characterized, made alive. Especially the widow - by the end of the book, I knew not only who she was, but what she'd do in most situations. How the story unfolds, how the cottage is remade, how the love affair turns into a nightmare, her outlook on life, her financial situation and her attempts to find money for her blackmailer and to make him see reason, her emotional highs and all of the many lows... everything is excruciatingly realistic. Emphasis: excruciating. This was a grueling read. Such a short book but I took many long pauses when reading it because I. just. didn't. enjoy. the. experience.
Even the semi-satisfying ending managed to drain the enjoyment out of a situation that could have been pure satisfaction. To be fair, I suppose it is petty of me to want orgasmic schadenfreude instead of minor-note nihilism.
September 1, 2010
A 46 year old widow rents her guest house and falls in love with a young teacher - but does he have a dark secret?
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews