July 2013 Group Read: A Stir of Echoes

[Jason]

We've been losing some great writers of horror literature to the grim reaper lately. I think that this is the third month in a row where we have honored one of the fallen.

This month it is Richard Matheson, and we will be reading his classic, A Stir of Echoes, in his honor.

So, let's discuss!

[Addy]

The movie has been one of my favorites for a long time now though I've never read the book. May have to now:)

[[deleted user]]

I had no idea it was a book. Great movie. I'll be reading.

[George]

I will also have to pick up the book. I loved the movie.

[Jason]

I loved the movie, too. Looking forward to this.

[11811 (Eleven)]

Thanks for the quick thread, Jason. With Horror legends dropping like flies I'm anxious to honor them all, whether I'm a fan or not of the individual author, I appreciate all of their contributions to the genre.

Roughly half-way, this is perhaps the only work of Matheson that I enjoyed as much in writing as I did in the film. I hope for more HA members to join this thread and honor this legend.

He Is Legend.

[Brett]

I am ashamed to admit that I did not know this was a book...

[Nathaniel]

Oh, hell yes. I've been meaning to revisit this book for a long time. Matheson has always been one of my favorites.

[Shaun]

I picked up Hell House to read (As I ashamedly admit to not having read it before.) and I'm breezing through it. Stir of Echoes will be up next so I can take part in the discussion here as soon as I'm done though.

[Mike]

Just loaded it onto my Kindle :).

[Kasia]

I all ready have a few things juggling but I might put one away and pick up Stir, everyone loves it, so excited!!

[Cathie]

I read this last year but for some reason only thought it okay. I must be missing something...maybe because I saw the movie (with Kevin Bacon) and I liked the movie.

[Mike]

On Chapter 2 (6%). Tom is a bit of an asshat.

[Tressa]

I think I have this at home. Looking forward to it. I've only seen the movie and that was a looong time ago.

[Mike]

34%. It's a lot slower than I thought it would be (previously read Hell House). I'm not too sure how I feel about it so far.

[Kasia]

Starting Chapter 6 now.

Matheson is amazing with dialogue, very realistic.

[RB]

I actually just received this in the mail two days ago. I'm affraid I won't have time to read long this time.
Enjoy the reading guys!

[Ctgt]

Just finished today and I really enjoyed it. I like the interaction between Tom and Anne as they deal with the change.

I see what you're saying Mike, there's some suspense but it's not edge of your seat. It did seem pretty methodical in it's pacing but it was so short I never really found that to be an issue.

[Kasia]

I'm really enjoying it and it's so well crafted, a real treat.

[Andy]

Ooh, just noticed this. Great choice. Definitely one of my favorites.

[Duane]

I'm working my way through the Matheson catalogue and I finished A Stir of Echoes a week ago before seeing this thread. Nice timing. I enjoyed it and thought it was a well-written, ghost-story/mystery with a nice twist ending. It definitely deserves higher stature in the pantheon of classic horror fiction. I think it gets overlooked when compared to Matheson's other work.

[Kasia]

Finished Stir last night, about to watch the movie :)

[Daniel]

First post on Goodreads!

Seeing this thread, I immediately ordered A Stir of Echoes off Amazon. It should come in in 7 days or so, plenty of time to finish it before the month's out.

I also picked up I am Legend the other day (among a few others recommended: Midnight Mass, The Watchers (Dean Koontz, and Legion). Looking forward to reading them all.

[[deleted user]]

Read the first chapter. It starts with a big pet peeve of mine. I like books to introduce me slowly to its characters. Too many and I have a hard time keeping them straight. And this one starts with a party. :(

[11811 (Eleven)]

Traci L. wrote: "Read the first chapter. It starts with a big pet peeve of mine. I like books to introduce me slowly to its characters. Too many and I have a hard time keeping them straight. And this one starts wit..."

You were able to appreciate Everville without your brain exploding so this one should be a piece of cake. :)

[[deleted user]]

I love A Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) too. It's not how many characters. But how quickly I'm introduced to them.

[[deleted user]]

Chapter 10 - I'm a little confused... (view spoiler)[ was the sitter trying to kidnap the baby or not? I thought the ghost must have done something personally. If I was babysitting and I saw or heard something scary I would grab the baby too. And if I even thought I might have a ghost I wouldn't leave my child alone with a stranger... (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Finished. I haven't seen the movie in awhile but this was quite different, wasn't it? Sometimes I really do wonder why studios buy the rights to a book only to change it to something the author probably wouldn't have recognized anyway.
Oh well. I liked this one better than the only other novel I've read of Matherson's. I love his short work but Hell House I didn't like at all.

[Kasia]

Traci L. wrote: "Read the first chapter. It starts with a big pet peeve of mine. I like books to introduce me slowly to its characters. Too many and I have a hard time keeping them straight. And this one starts wit..."

I had the same issues, had to re-read page 1 twice and I kept muttering to myself "what the hell is this?" but it improved very quickly, really enjoyed it.

[Kasia]

Traci L. wrote: "Finished. I haven't seen the movie in awhile but this was quite different, wasn't it? Sometimes I really do wonder why studios buy the rights to a book only to change it to something the author pro..."

It sure was, I watched the movie yesterday morning and towards the ending I realized that I've seen it all ready but about 10 years ago.. didnt realize when I was reading the book that I have all ready watched since they change pretty much every single name other than Tom's and so many other things lol..

[Mike]

Finished it this afternoon. I went for 3/5 stars, but if it was possible I would have gone for 3.5. A bumpy ending and a rushed climax let me down, but I felt the characterization was very good and the middle section was a strange delight.

[Missy]

This is nothing like the movie it seems that names and locations have been changed as well as the description of the ghost. It's still a good read. Matheson is one of my favorite authors.

[[deleted user]]

I don't remember where the movie took place. But I had fun with the locals in the book. Its not quite my neighborhood but close. And I have been to the cities mentioned.

[Walter]

I thought it was good. Not what I'd consider a page turner, but there were some nice elements to the story. I believe this may have been my first Richard Matheson (I have I Am Legend, picked it up recently, but haven't read it yet.).

I did find myself wondering why the main character and his wife were as close as they were to their neighbors, all things considered. Some added dimension to the less pleasant ones might have made that part more believable.

Wasn't expecting it to end the way it did, but that shows good storytelling skills. Speaking only for myself, no, it's not always just about the journey; if the ending doesn't live up to the beginning and middle, I will be disappointed. A great beginning and middle will ameliorate that somewhat, but still . . .

[Daniel]

I just finished.

He's really brilliant at capturing the mental changes in the main character. Certain phrases, such as "a weedlike mass of cruel hunger," were wonderful. In some ways, I was underwhelmed by the ending and yet, in others, it was sort of perfect. Simple, short, sweet, like the rest of the book.

I can't wait to finish "I am Legend," which definitely feels more ambitious so far.

[Teri]

Saw this movie years ago and read the book last summer. Great selection!

[Latasha]

I just happened to find a copy at our somewhat local used book store so yay! i'll get to participate in this months read!

[Latasha]

Daniel wrote: "I just finished.

He's really brilliant at capturing the mental changes in the main character. Certain phrases, such as "a weedlike mass of cruel hunger," were wonderful. In some ways, I was und..."

I really enjoyed that story. the copy I have also contains some short stories in it. I've liked all the ones I've read so far.

[Latasha]

i'm 95 pages in so far and the movie is very close from what I can remember! so far, so good :)

Later:
this one didn't impress me as much as I am Legend. this may be because I watched the movie way before I read the book and had a general idea of what was going on (or going to happen). I like the book & movie version both. it's a very quick read(tool me 2 days to read it). I probably won't revisit it but i'm glad I read it.

[Christine]

I enjoyed it. I can see why he and Stephen King were friends. Very similar and straight forward methods of story telling. You feel like someone is orally telling you a story. I found it to be a fast read, two days. Usually that's a good sign that I'm into it. Like Daniel said, I like his turn of the phrase. Two in particular that stood out for me were " the drifting knots of conversation that take place at any get-together" and " we edged to the door in whispers of movement".

[Christine]

Wow, good point Traci. I accepted (view spoiler)[ that the babysitter was kidnapping the child at face value, but it would totally make sense that she had seen the ghost and was protecting the boy. However with all the other info we were given about her and the odd feelings he was getting from her, I'd bet she was kidnapping him. I was let down that we didn't hear more of her connection to Elsie. That seemed odd to me that Elsie would recommend someone that seemed so strange. (hide spoiler)]

[Shaun]

Finished it last night. It was ok. I didn't struggle to finish it like I did withThe Wildman, but I felt kind of disappointed overall. It seemed like just a murder-mystery with a supernatural twist and a few side-plots to fill in space. I will admit though, the killer was not at all who I thought it was be.

(view spoiler)[I also have to admit when it came to the babysitter, I wasn't sure what was going on. When he first described her physically, particularly being heavier in the chest than he felt she should have been, that kidnapping made sense like she had lost a baby of her own. But then when he described finding her curled up in the corner of the yard with the baby, it seemed more like she was drugged out and didn't fit so much with the idea that she was trying to kidnap the infant. (hide spoiler)]

[Latasha]

Shaun wrote: "Finished it last night. It was ok. I didn't struggle to finish it like I did withThe Wildman, but I felt kind of disappointed overall. It seemed like just a murder-mystery with a supernatural twist..."

I agree, I didn't think that person was the killer either.

[11811 (Eleven)]

I liked it but the ending was too abrupt. This is one of those rare cases where I might have to give the nod to the movie. I've been a big fan of of it since its theatrical release. That said, I still enjoyed the novel. The movie just seemed more polished to me.

[Shaun]

Well, the movies always have to chop stuff out to get the important points of the story across in the time allotted. I feel like there was just a lot of stuff in the book which could have been left out without having any impact on the story at all. Yes, it was important to understand Tom's fears and feelings as things happened, but we didn't need more than one iteration of Elsie's carnal lustings to understand the kind of person she was.

[Greg]

Man sorry I missed this one busy busy and played a lot of video games this month. I've been working on The Ocean at the End of the Lane all month and there's no reason that one should have taken me more than a couple days. Have to try and step up my game. I also still need to finish NOS4A2 I'm like 200 pages into that lol.

[Anton]

Delayed response here - I'm about 80% through and struggling to finish.

I love "I am Legend" and "Hell House" and read them in the last three years, so am surprised how little I like this one. I find Anne and Tom annoying (I think someone called Tom an "asshat" earlier - that seems kinda accurate) and the prose clunky (too many lines along the lines of, "I am sad," he said sadly.").

I felt like the plot largely goes in circles ("I've had a vision again." "Oh, Tom, I just can't take it." "I'm sorry." "I had a vision again." "Oh, Tom, I'm so mad at you." "I'm sorry." ad inifintum). One concentrated example of this occurs in the opening chapters when Tom disrupts the hypnotism session over and over and over and over and over and over and over again - I almost threw my kindle out the window.

"I am Legend" and "Hell House" are much better paced, better written, more richly conceptualized, and, most important, a helluva lot scarier.

(All that said, I still have 20% to go and haven't lost hope for a mayhem -filled ending).

[[deleted user]]

It does seem to go nowhere slow, huh? Read it back in July but I do remember I hated the wife. Why must so many female characters in horror books be nags? I did like the ending. Though, it was nothing like the ending to I am Legend.

[Anton]

Wait, what just happened? That was the end? That's it? Or did my kindle copy leave out something? (view spoiler)[ They're just sitting there with Elizabeth gone crazy with a gun and that's it? I'm all for terse, inconclusive endings, but the rest of the book had not been in that vein at all. It feels like a cheap shot, though it has made me rethink the story and consider to what extent the reader was supposed to question the narrator (cuz it turns out he's the crappiest psychic ever).

Also, I was waiting the entire time for Elsie to be shown to be some sort of monstrous beast or sociopath, but apparently she was just horny - so what? What's wrong with that? According to Tom she was the anti-christ.

I was just reading through the previous posts - Traci, I was thinking the same about the babysitter - that she had seen the ghost and had tried to save the kid; I don't know why Matheson didn't make it more explicit. (hide spoiler)]

Still, a fun enough read.

[Walter]

Anton, here's what I think Matheson might have been going for: (view spoiler)[I think he was drawing a parallel between Elsie and the babysitter who was in the process of kidnapping Tom's child when she was caught, that they were similar types and that Elsie might someday commit an equivalent (or worse) crime. And that was what made her dangerous, she just appeared on the surface to be a promiscuous flirt, but deep inside was a potential psychopath capable of something people would speak of later with the preface, "She seemed like such a nice person". Which is what made her truly terrifying, there existed no outward clue of what she was potentially capable of, so there was little if any way of protecting yourself ahead of time from what she might do. (hide spoiler)]