The Store Prologue through Chapter 6

[Debra]

Put your comments regarding the Prologue and Chapters 1-6 here.

[Linda]

This is for The Store, right???

[Debra]

Yep!

[Debra]

In the Prologue, Nancy asks Paul to get her some Yoo-hoo. I used to love that stuff. Guess you can still get it. I might go buy some to see if is as good as I remember.

Do you think we'll see Nancy and Paul later in the book? Strange array of items Paul brought out from The Store!

[Debra]

Creepy stuff with all the dead animals starting with the dead deer, all appearing to have died of natural causes. It's as if wandering into the property of The Store they poisoned by the negative vibes and just up and died! I always feel bad about dying animals and destroyed ecosystems, so I sympathize with Bill being so upset about the destruction and death.

[Debra]

I think Little did a good job of introducing us to characters and setting up the plot in these chapters. Definitely feeling like a page-turner to me.

[Ava Catherine]

The Prologue certainly did an excellent job of introducing us to the original Store in Texas and giving us a negative feeling about The Store.
I think it was significant that Paul went into The Store to buy soft drinks but came out without drinks but with light bulbs, masking tape, whisk brooms, etc. Paul was afraid when he came out of The Store, and Nancy saw someone scary standing in the doorway. The isolation of The Store is important, too. The Prologue sets up a feeling of menace and evil surrounding The Store. The reader is asking himself how could a store be successful out in the middle of nowhere, and why did Paul have this kind of reaction? What did Nancy see?

I think Paul or Nancy will reappear in the book. At least I hope so.

[Debra]

Hey Connie! Thanks for joining in on the discussion. I've been waiting for someone to catch up to. I agree that the prologue really gave us a creepy start to the story and left us with lots of questions.

[Almeta, co-moderator]

I too think that the Prologue is important. I may not have closely aligned myself with Bill's feelings so quickly had Paul and Nancy not set me up for apprehensive thoughts.

I'm just at chapter five and already angry with the bureaucracy and at the feeling of being powerless.

I am annoyed too at Ginny's lack of support and the daughters' embarrasment of their father. I can just imagine how this is going to play out in the future when things get tougher.

[Debra]

Hey Almeta:

Thanks for joining in. Sounds like we are all in line in our thinking, especially about the prologue and it's foreshadowing of future events.

[Ava Catherine]

Almeta, you are going to love this one! Hang on to your hat!!!

[Almeta, co-moderator]

Did you notice that when the family went to the mall, Bill bought a suspense novel written by Phillip Emmons?

Bentley Little's pseudonym.☺

[Debra]

Oh reallllyyyy? I didn't know that! Good catch!

[Janice]

I started reading the iBook sample of The Store last night, and have since purchased the rest of the book. It took me to page 55, which is mid chapter 3, so I have a little reading to get to the end of chapter 6.

Because of the prologue, I was thinking of The Store as being an oddity of a store, stuck out in the middle of nowhere. But it is actually a large chain like Walmart.

At first, I thought that the town that Bill resides in was the same setting as the one in the prologue. But I'm not certain about that now.

Reading on....

[Almeta, co-moderator]

Strange how everyone that comes in close proximity to The Store has an aversion to it, but still can’t resist its appeal. They have each kept their repugnant experience a secret. The sense of foreboding of the construction workers, the inexplicable deaths, the convoy of black trucks in the dead of night; all add to the tension. Yet we still have to go into The Store.

[Almeta, co-moderator]

Janice wrote: "Because of the prologue, I was thinking of The Store as being an oddity of a store, stuck out in the middle of nowhere. But it is actually a large chain like Walmart...."

Funny that you use *Walmart as a comparison. We seem to take their presence for granted. I remember years ago, while visiting relatives in Missouri, I was taken to the exciting new store in town, the likes of which no one had ever seen. They behaved as if I was being taken to Disneyland! It was a Walmart. Recently, here in one of our Michigan communities protests were vehemently launched at the proposal of constructing another one.

*(aka Walmex, Asda, Seiyu, and Best Price)

[Debra]

Yeah, Walmart doesn't have the best reputation; political and social leanings that many object to (I think). Pretty weird how we take all this big super-stores for granted now! Bad for the small businesses, that's for sure. Makes me want to frequent the small businesses like local butchers. There's a small shoe store I like, but they are so expensive. I give them some of my money, but then look up the brands on eBay and such and buy more cheaper. My bad!

Nice to have you join us, Janice!

[Janice]

Thanks, Debra. I need to read a good horror book. I'm in withdrawals.

[Tom]

Almeta wrote: "Strange how everyone that comes in close proximity to The Store has an aversion to it, but still can’t resist its appeal...."

In our real life version of "The Store", I see this very thing happening quite often. My bro-in-law in particular goes on and on about how much he dislikes 'the Store', only shops there when he 'has to' . . . yet stops there Very regularly - for nearly every purchase - from an oil change to clothing and groceries. "The Store's" pull for him is so strong, he'll go out of his way to shop there. Why indeed? Something in the canned air?
I have a very strong aversion to the Store that overrides the temptation to shop there. A step beyond actually; I'm not even tempted to visit 'the Store' for a blue million reasons that I'd be happy to discuss with anyone interested.
Like so many others, Citrus County, FL is going broke, based on hourly reductions to County services, wage freezes, and new hire freezes. Proposed elimination of transportation impact fees would save the "Store", the biggest and richest retailers in the world over Four MILLION. This is being done in the name of Boosting our economy. The increased sales tax revenues and jobs created will not come close to off setting the freebie the "Store" is getting.
ok, rant off, Peace.

[Debra]

Tom:

I totally hear you. I hate those moments I give in a go to "The Store." But, for some reason we have a store credit card, and it comes in handy in emergencies. But ONLY in emergencies when our cash flow is low and it's not quite pay day, yet.

The lines are horrendous, too. My hubby (who does most the shopping) hates going there due to that, too.

Sorry to hear about Citrus County. That just sux!

[Tom]

Thanks Debra.

[Ann]

sliding in late - just downloading the epub from the library now... that's some prologue!

[Debra]

Hey Ann:

Good to see you join us. Can't wait to read your comments.

[Brad]

I'm reading this now. I'll be commenting in the later chapters.

[Debra]

Cool, Brad. Look forward to your comments!