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Ray Bradbury’s ‘The Halloween Tree’: Life, Death, and Darkness

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We have talked a great deal about Ray Bradbury on this blog. We have discussed his stories, his style, and how the themes of his books have affected so many people. With that said, it can be hard to pinpoint the books we may deem as critical. I have my list. Yet, with such a wide catalogue, which books would you choose? Something Wicked this Way Comes for sure has staying power, as does Fahrenheit 451. Nevertheless, I may point to another book to put in the pantheon of the greats: The Halloween Tree. The novel is about a group of boys on Halloween night who venture through time and history. Joined by their guardian and guide, Mr. Moundshroud, they see many historical accounts of Samhain and early onset Halloween. In this post, we are going to look at the importance of Bradbury’s death-laden novel The Halloween Tree.

Summary

In the novel, a group of boys are taken on an adventure to save their sick friend. Throughout their adventure, they see different eras and civilizations. The purpose of this, according to their ghastly guide Mr. Moundshroud, is to show the boys the importance of Halloween. Of course, it is more than a holiday, they are told, and it is in fact a way of life. They go from the early days with Cro-Magnon men, to the Celtic rituals in the hills. They span it all across time. The story is dark and there are moments of sheer terror in cornfields and Notre Dame Cathedral. In the end, the boys learn about Halloween and must make a dark sacrifice to save their ailing friend.


The Importance of The Halloween Tree

Ray Bradbury’s The Halloween Tree is a nostalgic novel. Not that Bradbury wrote the novel in 1972, but that it also has the vibes of early-Midwest Halloweens. The town in the story is inviting, and the trees are changing into beautiful blooms of color. The boys trod on broken, uneven sidewalks from house to house in the cool autumn night. It is a wistful story.

Likewise, the novel pulls you right in to imagining your younger self dressed up on a cold Halloween night. Even though you did not travel through history, you learned a great deal about what Halloween meant on those evenings. The joy, the excitement, and the satisfaction of dressing up as something else. At my current age, Halloween is a sort of curiosity, like folklore, that lives in our very being. It is a haunted day, but it is not haunted by ghosts and goblins. Rather, it is haunted by historical context and meaning.

The Halloween Tree cements this idea in every way.

Consider this: in the story, the boys only begin to understand the full context of Halloween night as they explore experiential settings. The performative stunts of dressing in costume become clearer as almost every boy is given an explanation for their dress-up choice: mummies, ghosts, and even ape-men. Regardless, the history lesson is just the icing on the cake. As this is a fabulous book about friendship, adventure, and the fear of death hiding in nearby shadows.

Similarly, The Halloween Tree reminded me that dark stories can have educational qualities. Yet they can still give us insight into the story’s characters. While the history of death and Halloween in the novel is fitting, it is also important to the overall thrust of the story and its themes. These themes are anything from childhood memories to the power of the afterlife.

The novel is a formative text about growing up on the most precious night of the year for a child. It is a bildungsroman piece about realizing that we are all in this together. This is exemplified by the boys’ willingness to give up a year of their life to save their friend Pipkin. It also exemplifies the tradition of Halloween as a night of fun, adventure, and camaraderie.


Conclusion

I love The Halloween Tree very much. Though I also feel like I missed out on it when I was younger. I recall watching the movie in an upstairs bedroom where my brothers and I slept on a single queen-sized mattress on the floor. We had an ancient television and a VCR player that poorly played any film put into its maw. At the time, I didn’t care for the film adaptation of The Halloween Tree (1993). I thought it looked cheesy and poorly done. But, I hadn’t hit a point in my life where I could see a film for more than what appeared on the screen superficially.

Moreover, The Halloween Tree is most reminiscent of Bradbury’s Something Wicked this Way Comes (1962 ). That novel is a dark fantasy story about two friends who venture to an October carnival that is far more menacing and wicked than anything they could have possibly imagined. It is a dark and mysterious work that pushed me into writing fiction. It simply made all the right moves at exactly the right time in my life. The moodiness, the ugliness, and the beauty of growing older were all on the page, and I was very receptive to weird fiction and dark fantasy stories.

Yet, I still remember feeling a strange touch of evil about the The Halloween Tree as a movie. There was a certain darkness that enveloped each scene, and the character of Moundshroud unsettled me greatly. But, as I got older, I realized the book was far more adult in presentation, as it was trying to convey both historical context, and the theme of death even in its fantastical telling. Truly, The Halloween Tree is something only Ray Bradbury could conjure up in the world of his fantastical mind.

What do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments.

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Mark Twain’s ‘A Connecticut Yankee’: Parental Love

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As I had read Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, I couldn’t help but think of the many themes in the text. Twain manages to explore a variety of disparate ideas. These include science and technology in an age when superstitions reigned, and the violence of society throughout time. He also analyzes the permanence of history, and even parental sympathies and loved ones. In this post, I would like to examine just one of these themes: parental love.

Parental Love

Small Pox Episode

Throughout the book, our protagonist Hank Morgan finds himself in situations where individuals are either sick or dying at the hands of society. Nearby are their loved ones. For example, during a plague outbreak in the kingdom, King Arthur and Hank stumble upon a home afflicted with smallpox. A woman lies in bed, dying of sickness. King Arthur, meanwhile, retrieves her daughter from the eaves. He steps over the bodies of her other loved ones on the way out. He places the smallpox-afflicted child into the arms of her dying mother.

As Twain states: “She gave a sharp, quick glance at her eldest daughter, then cried out, ‘Oh, my darling!’ and feebly gathered the stiffening form to her sheltering arms. She had recognized the death rattle.” It is a poignant moment in a book otherwise rife in wackiness.

Later in the book, Hank expresses his own tenderness toward children. He states that childhood is marked by “mispronunciations” and “there’s no music that can touch it …” He also states that “one grieves when it wastes away and dissolves into correctness…” In other words, the loss of a child’s innocence is the real tragedy of life, and cherishing their naivety is the essence of loving parenthood.

Burned at the Stake and Accused of a Crime

Furthermore, a woman is burned at the stake while Hank and Arthur are held captive. The woman in question clings to her children before they are pulled from her and she is set ablaze. This horrifying scene illustrates the betrayal and heinous violence of the Middle Ages. In the scene, the woman is “fastened her to a post,” and “they brought wood and piled it about her.” Eventually, “they applied the torch while she shrieked and pleaded and strained her two young daughters to her breast; and our brute, with a heart solely for business, lashed us into position about the stake and warmed us into life” (Twain).

At one point, somebody accuses a woman of a crime for which she is guilty. However, the story reveals that she stole to afford food for herself and her child. In medieval Europe, “extenuating circumstances” did not exist, so the court’s have her hanged. Yet, before she is executed, she gives her child to a local cleric and thanks him for his generosity in protecting the child.

The scene plays out after “they put the noose around the young girl’s neck,” and then struggled to get the knot in the correct spot because “she was clutching the baby all the time, showering it with kisses, and holding it to her face and her breast, drenching it with tears, and half moaning.” Even the baby cannot understand what is happening, so it is “cooing, laughing, and kicking its feet with delight” (Twain).

Hank’s Paternal Love

Yet, as society changes around Hank, he himself experiences a personal transformation. Initially, he acts in a self-serving manner, leveraging his superior knowledge to gain power and influence. However, as he witnesses the consequences of his actions, Hank begins to question the ethics of his choices. Gradually, Hank begins to see the customs of the kingdom as something nuanced and stunted. This is in part due to the lack of innovation within society. This shift in mindset is a testament to the growth of his character. We see him wed to Sandy years after his initial adventures due to her love and adoration. Finally, Hank Morgan himself lies in bed, holding the narrator’s hand and deliriously calling out to his wife, Sandy, and his child, Hello Central.

Conclusion

Mark Twain’s A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court is replete with themes of parental love and sacrifice. Hank Morgan, as a character, undergoes a transformation throughout the story. At first, he is portrayed as someone who is completely dumbfounded by the foolishness of the medieval kingdom. He views the society around him, with its superstitions and antiquated customs, with a mixture of disgust and disdain. As we know now, he had a paradigm shift and saw the light of love for his family.

As it relates to Mark Twain, he lost three of his four children before his own death. These included Langdon Clemens (19 Months), Olivia Susan Clemens (24 years old), Jane Lampton Clemens (29 years old). This paternal instinct is apparent in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. Twain himself had already lost his son Langdon at this point in his life. In Twain’s writings, children were a poignant subject. Twain, too, had a deep care for his children and for the wonder that pervades them.

Twain stated in a letter to Dorothy Quick, daughter of Henry Stanhope Quick and a member of Twain’s Aquarium Club, on August 9, 1907: “I thought this was a home. It was a superstition. What is a home without a child?” Twain was referencing her absence, but in this we see Twain as having effecting for childhood youth as a sort of rejuvenate. His death is made all the more affecting as he held his only remaining daughter’s hand as he pressed on into twilight.

As it appeared in the San Diego Union-Tribune, and as stated on this blog, in his final moments, Twain held his loved one’s hand and uttered, “If we meet…” before falling asleep and dying. While we will never know what he wanted to say, the initial sentiment seems both loving and paternal.

Works Cited

Schmidt, Barbara. “Mark Twain’s Angel-Fish Roster and other young women of interest.” Twainquotes.com. Web. [Link to the source]

Project Gutenberg. (n.d.). A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court. The Project Gutenberg eBook of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, by Mark Twain. [Link to the source]

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Book List: World War Z by Max Brooks

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The zombie apocalypse is a pervasive element in our modern culture thanks to a few luminaries and extremely popular shows (both George A. Romero and The Walking Dead respectively). However, many interpretations of the zombie plague have come and gone, but some have stayed more relevant and engaging. In this post, we examine World War Z by Max Brooks and look at how the world changes through the zombie apocalypse.

Summary

World War Z is a horror novel written by Max Brooks. It tells the tale of an outbreak that spreads from China and goes worldwide into a full pandemic. The government fails to contain the virus. Thus, through various narratives, the reader learns how the zombie apocalypse started and ended. It also discussed what strategies were put into place to tackle the outbreak.

Zombies as Portrayed in the Movie Night of the Living Dead
Zombies as Portrayed in the Movie Night of the Living Dead
Book Blurb

From Amazon: The Zombie War came unthinkably close to eradicating humanity. Max Brooks, driven by the urgency of preserving the acid-etched first-hand experiences of the survivors from those apocalyptic years, traveled across the United States of America and throughout the world, from decimated cities that once teemed with upwards of 30 million souls, to the most remote and inhospitable areas of the planet.

He recorded the testimony of men, women, and sometimes children who came face-to-face with the living, or at least the undead, hell of that dreadful time. World War Z is the result. Never before have we had access to a document that so powerfully conveys the depth of fear and horror, and also the ineradicable spirit of resistance, that gripped human society through the plague years.

Reviews

On Goodreads, the novel has 529,542 ratings and 29,901 reviews. There are 204,516 five-star reviews and 11,827 one-star reviews.

Five-star reviews highlight the originality the novel brings to the table through its use of interviews and “quasi-historical” accounts. Moreover, the “quality” of the book was noted as was “the “amazing amount of detail.”

One-star reviews address the narrator as an “idiot journalist.” Additionally, reviewers highlight that the writing is just “ok” and that it lacks a “protagonist or a central story.”

Conclusion

Max Brooke’s World War Z is a fantastic novel that catalogues the days of zombie infancy until its full zenith. It is a harrowing story in modern times. It is also a reminder that pandemics and disease can get out of hand quickly and cause a great deal of damager. Tread lightly with this one, but expect a great story and horror-filled adventure.

Works Cited

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Stephen King’s ‘Fairy Tale’: Book Review and Bildungsroman

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Heavy spoilers for Stephen King’s Fairy Tale

It’s difficult growing up. It’s even more difficult when you have man-eating giants and skeletal wizards to contend with. In Stephen King’s Fairy Tale, a young boy named Charlie Reade ventures into a land of make-believe. There, he learns about loss and hardship, ultimately transforming from a young boy into a full-grown adult.

Previously, we discussed the concept of bildungsroman. This is a fancy way of saying “coming of age” when we are discussing a story. In this post, we will examine the conventions of a bildungsroman. Then, we will see how it compares to Stephen King’s novel about shoes on a line, reverse-aging dogs, and rather large crickets.

Plot Summary
Before the Fantasy

The novel begins with Charlie Reade reeling from the death of his mother and his father’s (George) fall into alcoholism. The first section of the novel establishes Charlie as a caring yet frustrated child. His father is absent from a crucial moment of trauma mending. Eventually, Charlie’s father gets the help he needs, and they move on with their lives successfully.

One day, Charlie meets old man Bowditch, who is a cantankerous misanthrope that lives by himself in his old house in town. After helping the man after a bad accident, Charlie tends to Bowditch’s dog, Radar. The dog is a large, albeit aging, German Shepherd. Charlie begins to love Radar and insists on caring for him, and he also discovers that Mr. Bowditch has access to a great deal of golden pellets, which have set the old, cranky man for life.

After Mr. Bowditch dies of a heart attack, it is revealed through a recording to Charlie that Mr. Bowditch has been able to go through a portal of sorts in his backyard. Here, he can voyage to another world called Empis—one of fantasy and horror.

During the Fantasy

Charlie, fearing for Radar’s age and health, decides to take the dog to this land for healing. Similarly, Bowditch was able to use a huge, magical sundial to reverse years of his own life (living until he was 120 years old). In this new land, Charlie saves Radar but is captured by an army of undead monsters, known as “night soldiers.” He is taken to Deep Maleen where he is subjected to torture. Afterward, he is forced to fight his fellow captives in gladiatorial combat. Charlie is able to escape during a pivotal tournament after discovering his lineage as one of the princes and heroes of Empis.

After reconvening, Charlie and his new group of friends venture back into the city to destroy a source of evil so powerful that it could consume all of Empis and possibly the real world.

The Conventions of Bildungsroman

A bildungsroman has a straightforward component: the story must feature a person who travels from inexperience to experience. As such, the main characters do not need to be a child, but that is often the easiest way to change from youth to adulthood. For example, think about King Arthur as a boy transformed into King Arthur the man.

As the School of Writing, Literature, and Film for Oregon State University writes, “While the Bildungsroman is also often labeled using slightly different terminology—like ‘the novel of education’ or the ‘coming-of-age novel,’ the essence of the Bildungsroman is the process of the main character forming his or her own self through whatever degree of freedom and individuality they can wrest from forces that are larger than them” (Schwartz).

What this means is that some learning has to happen in order for the protagonist to change into their older, wiser self.

“Fairy Tale” as bildungsroman

Keeping it simple, the story of Charlie Reade is one of growth and exploration… and exploration in a literal sense. In the beginning, Charlie is lost and confused, as his mother was tossed away by fate (having been hit by a truck while on a walk to get dinner for her family), and his father is a hopeless alcoholic. Here, Charlie is in his infantile state of seeing the world. He can’t comprehend his mother’s death, and he struggles with anger toward his father even though he loves him.

Strangely, the story works as a double-bildungsroman (if that’s a thing), as the narrative arc of Charlie grappling with his father’s alcoholism shows a great change between both of the characters; in fact, I almost thought it would make a fantastic book by itself if it was just this section of the novel up until the death of Mr. Bowditch.

Regardless, even as Charlie travels to this new world through a tunnel, the reader sees a change in the landscape—and Charlie’s perception of the world.

Excerpt

From the novel:

I reached the opening and saw the ceiling overhead was now earth, with fine tendrils of root dangling down. I ducked under some overhanging vines and stepped out onto a sloping hillside. The sky was gray, but the field was bright red. Poppies spread in a gorgeous blanket stretching left and right as far as I could see. A path led through the flowers toward a road. On the far side of the road more poppies ran maybe a mile to thick woods, making me think of the forests that had once grown in my suburban town. The path was faint, but the road wasn’t. It was dirt but wide, not a track but a thoroughfare. Where the path joined the road, there was a tidy little cottage with smoke rising from the stone chimney. There were clotheslines with things strung on them that weren’t clothes. I couldn’t make out what they were.

I looked to the far horizon and saw the skyline of a great city. Daylight reflected hazily from its highest towers, as if they were made of glass. Green glass. I had read “The Wizard of Oz” and seen the movie, and I knew an Emerald City when I saw one.

Charlie has already changed from a naive boy who couldn’t believe in fantasy and magic, and now a revelation has given him new insight into himself and the world around him. If it was possible to see the Emerald City, it was certainly possible to see other outlandish things in the land of Empis. That shows a change in character. Thus, when Charlie faces down an angry man-eating giant, we can believe his fear, and we can also believe his resolve.

Later in the novel, Charlie leads his friends to safety and back into the jaws of chaos with his newfound heroism and desire to fix a broken land that was once beautiful and serene.

Conclusion

The big takeaway here is that a bildungsroman causes change in a character. The character is typically youthful, though this can be contested, and they eventually grow into their mature self through trials and tribulations. Charlie starts as a child of 17 and eventually becomes a man and hero of a magical world. Stephen King’s Fairy Tale naturally fills the void of expectation between childhood and manhood. Bildungsroman fulfilled.

Works Cited

Collis, Clark. “Read an Exclusive Excerpt from Stephen King’s Forthcoming Novel Fairy Tale.” Entertainment. Jan. 24, 2022. Web.

King, S. (2022). Fairy Tale. Scribner.

Schwartz, Sam. “What is a Bildungsroman? | Definition and Examples.” Oregon State University. March 4, 2024. Web. https://liberalarts.oregonstate.edu/wlf/what-bildungsroman-definition-examples

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Stephen King’s ‘The Stand’: An Exploration of Cibola

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A violent plague crippling society has been a horrific premise in fiction for a long time. In reality, Bird flu, swine flu, Ebola, and Covid-19 were all very real disease-related issues that mirrored fictional illness. In Stephen King’s The Stand, there is a great deal of misery when his disastrous flu attacks society. However, in this post, we are going to set aside the plot-related elements of the novel(mostly), and instead focus on a subject that comes from one of the most interesting characters in the book—The Trashcan Man. As such, we are going to talk about Cibola, or the Seven Cities of Gold.

A Brief Synopsis of the Novel

The plague in Stephen King’s disaster-novel The Stand (1978) wreaks a great deal of havoc on society. When it’s all said and done, it reduces the population from 99% to merely 1% in only a month. The survivors, climbing their way out of the apocalypse, find themselves plagued by peaceful/horrid dreams. These dreams are of an old woman who calls herself Mother Abigail or the dreams feature the supernaturally evil Randall Flagg. Mother Abigail instructs them to venture to Hemingford Home, Nebraska, for a new start. But Flagg is everywhere and goes by many names—The Dark Man, The Midnight Rambler, Old Creeping Judas, or (my personal favorite): The Walking Dude. In other books, he is known as Walter Padick (his supposed birth name) and Walter O’Dim.

Randall Flagg and His Followers

Flagg is a nefarious villain, one of magic and foresight. He is capable of killing people with the snap of his fingers (or sending flying electric balls of light). And, he can travel vast distances in little time. He also has a great aptitude for choosing his followers, which may be a critical flaw. One such follower is Lloyd Henreid, a murderer and born tagalong. Flagg, The Walking Dude, releases Henreid shortly before he starves to death on a maximum security prison block. Of course, it wouldn’t be Stephen King if Henreid had not already turned (slightly) cannibal for survival.

But perhaps the most enigmatic character in the novel is that of The Trashcan Man. Donald Merwin Elbert. Trash, as he is known mostly throughout the book, is mentally disturbed. He lives to watch the world burn (literally). His youth was plagued by bullying and typical nastiness at his odd behavior. This behavior was ostensibly inherited through his father’s genes. His father, gunned down by the local Sheriff, shared his pained psychology. Trash would later spend time in Terre Haute, Indiana, where he received electroshock therapy.

After the plague, Trash is on a mission to find The Dark Man, who resides in Las Vegas. Flagg’s society has established itself there and the Trashcan Man travels to find him.

King writes of this journey:

“He came staggering and flapping up a long upgrade, the heat of the sun stewing his stomach and baking his brains. The interstate shimmered with reflected radiant heat. He had been Donald Merwin Elbert once; now he was Trashcan Man forever and ever, and he beheld the fabled City, Seven-in-One, Cibola.”

A paragraph later: “He stood, swaying in his rags, looking down at Cibola, the City that is Promised, the City of Dreams.”

What is Cibola?

Cibola, or the Seven Cities of Gold, was a 16th-century legend that hinted at the existence of literal lands of gold. Rumors of these cities existed. Some sources state that they were, “somewhere in the southwest of North America” and could be “comparable to the better-known mythical city of El Dorado” (Mark).

In The Stand, and in Trash’s brain, the city of Cibola—not many cities but just Seven-in-One—exists in the Mojave desert and would, of course, be the most sought-after place in the world, as not only was it a land of gold and promise, but the lair of his master, Flagg. My life for you!

Additionally, the sojourn to Hemingford Home, which would relocate to Boulder, Colorado, or even the voyage to Las Vegas, acts as a journey for the characters in the novel, much in the same way Spanish explorers ventured to find a land of gold to fund armies and warfare. In the novel, warfare and destruction of the same variety (total) would be inevitable. Trashcan Man’s sole purpose, as instructed by Flagg, was to find and retrieve the Old World weapons (guns, mines, and bombs). Then, he would bring them back to Vegas and they would use them against the Boulder Free Zone.

In reality, attempts to find the Cities of Gold were fruitless, as even in 1540, Antonio de Mendoza, the viceroy of Spain, sent Francisco Vazquez de Coronado “to search of the cities,” but he only found “Indian settlements—including the Zuni Pueblos” (Britannica).

Such is the way of legend, and even though Trash believes in his discovery in the novel, he has a momentary realization that can only be likened to the Spanish explorers of the 16th century: “What if Cibola had been a mirage?”

Conclusion

Whether you are critical of the end of Stephen King’s The Stand or not, it is a book of wonderful invention. It does so much legwork in the way of establishing the world. And, frankly, before the characters hit Hemingford Home, Nebraska, the book is startlingly horrifying and beautiful in the way one would expect and desire of post-apocalyptic fiction. With that in mind, the addition of elements like Cibola and the Trashcan Man himself creates a lived in world where such interesting machinations can fall in line easily. The fact that Cibola is layered in mythos and actually relates to the story’s theme of finding home in a chaotic world. Similarly, King has dabbled in many interesting themes over the years, but perhaps never one so fruitful with mythology.

Works Cited

Editors. “Seven Cities of Cibola.” Britannica.

King, Stephen. The Stand. Doubleday, 1978.

Mark, Joshua. “Cibola – The Seven Cities of Gold and Coronado.” World History Encyclopedia. May 11, 2021. Web. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1754/cibola—the-seven-cities-of-gold–coronado/

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Fighting the Power in ‘The Black Arrow’ by Robert Louis Stevenson

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When we stand against tyranny, we show our own values and courage. In fiction, this means that action is soon to follow. In this post, we are going to explore The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson.

Summary

The Black Arrow: A Tale of Two Roses is about Richard Shelton. During the Wars of the Roses, Shelton becomes embroiled in a conflict between his guardian and a renegade group The Black Arrows. The novel was first published as a serial in 1883 in a “periodical of boys’ adventure” and was later published as a book. The story goes into detail about Shelton’s “loyalties” between his family and The Black Arrows themselves. Other aspects of the novel feature “war, shipwreck, revenge, murder, and forbidden love…” (Elibron Classic).

Book Blurb

From Amazon: The Black Arrow tells the story of Richard (Dick) Shelton during the Wars of the Roses: how he becomes a knight, rescues his lady Joanna Sedley, and obtains justice for the murder of his father, Sir Harry Shelton. Outlaws in Tunstall Forest organized by Ellis Duckworth, whose weapon and calling card is a black arrow, cause Dick to suspect that his guardian Sir Daniel Brackley and his retainers are responsible for his father’s murder. Dick’s suspicions are enough to turn Sir Daniel against him, so he has no recourse but to escape from Sir Daniel and join the outlaws of the Black Arrow against him. This struggle sweeps him up into the greater conflict surrounding them all.

Reviews

On Goodreads, the novel has 18,608 ratings and 825 reviews. There are 4,823 five-star reviews and 303 one-star reviews.

Five-star reviews highlight the attention to more than just swashbuckling in the story. Likewise, they point out Stevenson’s approach to “morality and its inevitable complexity.” Additionally, reviewers call it a “classic” and a “swashbuckling romance.” The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson is certainly an action novel. Stevenson leans in that direction, as that is mostly his focus in other novels as well. These reviews highlight these aspects.

One-star reviews address the excessive “breathtaking” violence as there are “dozens of deaths by arrow and sword.” Moreover, reviewers critique the main characters lack of empathy. They also critique that the book has “careless killing, poorly written romance and poor ideals.” These things are probably true, though it stands to reason that Stevenson made a livelihood telling stories of violent action.

dick from The Black Arrow finding a grim sight
Dick, leaning on the tree trunks as he went, drew near to this grim object.
Illustration by H.M. Paget
Conclusion

Considering this, I think it’s fair to say that I enjoy the action genre quite a bit. Yet, there is something about the premise of this book that’s a little tricky. So, if you aren’t for intrigue and spending time parsing out alliances, it’s a good read. Another book, The Scarlett Pimpernel is similar in its density. However, the historical context of both novels help save both books from being too “careless.” However, Stevenson’s writing style and attention when writing action is some of the best in fiction even to this day.

Works Cited

Stevenson, Robert Louis. The Black Arrow. Penguin Classics, 2008.

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Survival in ‘A Long Walk to Water’ by Linda Sue Park

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Today we are delving into the 2010 novel A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park. This is an intriguing novel for its setting and depth of character, which is shown through little actions and exploits. While a slim novel, it packs a punch.

Summary

The novel “A Long Walk to Water” is a captivating story told from two distinct perspectives, offering a poignant portrayal of life in Sudan during civil war. Through the eyes of Nya, living in 2008, we witness the daily struggle for survival as she undertakes the arduous task of fetching water for her family, a journey that consumes as much as eight hours each trip. The relentless nature of this responsibility truly emphasizes the challenges faced in her daily life.

On the other hand, the story also delves into the experiences of Salva in 1985, who finds himself forcibly displaced from his village as a result of the ravages of war. The stark contrast between the two characters’ circumstances, separated by time and yet united by the harsh realities they endure, brings forth a powerful exploration of human resilience and the perseverance of the human spirit. As their stories unfold, the eventual convergence of their paths serves as a poignant reminder of the interconnectedness of human experiences, despite the temporal and spatial boundaries that may seek to separate them.

Book Blurb

From Amazon: “A Long Walk to Water begins as two stories, told in alternating sections, about two eleven-year-olds in Sudan, a girl in 2008 and a boy in 1985. The girl, Nya, is fetching water from a pond that is two hours’ walk from her home: she makes two trips to the pond every day. The boy, Salva, becomes one of the “lost boys” of Sudan, refugees who cover the African continent on foot as they search for their families and for a safe place to stay.

“Enduring every hardship from loneliness to attack by armed rebels to contact with killer lions and crocodiles, Salva is a survivor, and his story goes on to intersect with Nya’s in an astonishing and moving way. Includes an afterword by author Linda Sue Park and the real-life Salva Dut, on whom the novel is based, and who went on to found Water for South Sudan.”

Reviews

On Goodreads, A Long Walk to Water has 85,842 ratings and 10,884 reviews with an average star rating of 4.26.

Five-star reviews state that the story “seized” the reader’s heart, and the story allows the reader to “learn about the history of Sudan…” Additionally, other five-star reviews found it “inspirational” and “amazing.”

Meanwhile, three-star reviews pointed out the writing style was similar to a “children’s book,” but the story itself was “heart-wrenching.”

Finally, one-star reviews stated that the book was “boring” and “hard to follow.” Likewise, some reviews felt that it was “too long” in telling the stories, and that the subject material may be too dark for children.

Impressions

I read A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park with my students one year, and I’m delighted to report that they responded with enjoyment for the story. The narrative captured their interest, and once they grasped the intricacies of the two intertwined storylines, they engaged with the plot. Personally, I found the book to be a delightful read as well. The quality of the writing stood out to me, and the characters within the story displayed a remarkable depth and dynamism. If you haven’t read it yet, I would highly recommend it, because it leaves a lasting impression.

Works Cited

Park, Linda Sue. A Long Walk to Water. Clarion Books, 2010.

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Heroic Comebacks ‘Twenty Years After’ by Alexandre Dumas

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Last week, I reviewed Alexandre Dumas’s The Three Musketeers (1884). That story has much to do with many in its genre (Romance/Action), and showcases a plot of intrigue and danger. Considering we have been examining a variety of different books in a similar vein, the expansion into Dumas’s sequel with further expand our knowledge of the subject and the genre. In this post, I am going to review Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas (the second novel in the series), and we will see just what the musketeers have been up to for some time.

Outline

Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas is set against the backdrop of historical events, particularly the Fronde, a series of civil wars in 17th-century France. The novel unfolds two decades after the original story; it picks up with the once inseparable musketeers—d’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—having gone their separate ways. In the novel, historical figures and events come to life, such as Oliver Cromwell, King Louis, and Charles I. The novel also explores the romantic entanglements of the musketeers, intertwining their personal lives with the broader political landscape.

Book Blurb:

From the Wordsworth Classics: “In ‘Twenty Years After’ the much beloved D’Artaganan, Athos, Porthos and Aramis reunite to fight the forces of evil. In the original novel they defeated Milady, a formidable foe; now they need to face her vengeful son Mordaunt, as well as countering the machinations of the sinister Cardinal Mazarin. Their adventures also take them to England, where Cromwell is about to topple Charles I. Meanwhile, they must overcome the obstacles which the passing of time has placed between them. Rediscovering strength in unity, they fight for Queen and country. ‘The Musketeer’ novels were a huge success in Dumas’ own lifetime, and have lost none of their original appeal. Translated into many languages and adapted for cinema and television, they have helped to make Dumas arguably the most successful exporter of French culture to the wider world.”

Critical Reception

On Goodreads, Twenty Years After has 23,523 ratings and 786 reviews. Of the ratings, there were 8,806 five-star ratings, and 138 ratings.

Five-star reviewers stated that the book is a “‘getting the band back together'” story, with “friends in their forties and fifties, still vigorous in decline, constrained by the comforts and commitments of middle age,” which is an excellent descriptor. Additionally, reviewers stated that “It is a far more mature book than The There Musketeers and the character studies are absolutely stupendous.”

Moreover, one-star reviews stated that the characters don’t really seem like themselves in this book outside of their names. Likewise, one-star reviewers stated that the musketeers “spend the duration of this novel lamenting their lost youth and longing for a return to their old life…”

Impressions

Along with the first book, The Three Musketeers, I am always enraptured by these characters, and Twenty Years After by Alexandre Dumas does not disappoint. The Man in the Iron Mask (1998) film reminded me that these characters are engaging in not just in one scenario–but many. With that said, I believe that their characters and friendship must feel exciting as readers return to their continuing adventures, as I certainly was upon opening to the first page.

Works Cited

Dumas, Alexandre. Twenty Years After. Translated by William Robson, George Routledge and Sons, 1846.

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The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas: Action and Adventure

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If there is one thing that The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Orczy has for readers, it’s a good sense of adventure and intrigue. The characters are constantly assaulted by both spies and threats from other characters, including lies and violence. Other authors tackled these ideas as well. For example, The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. And, much like Orczy and The Scarlet Pimpernel, there were more than just one story involving these characters. As it turns out, mysterious plots and deceit extend beyond just one historical moment. In this post, I am reviewing The Three Musketeers, which is a book rife in swashbuckling adventure and daring.

Outline
action sequences from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
The Three Musketeers | Maurice Leloir

The story is set during the reign of both king Louis XIII and Louis XIV in the 17th and 18th centuries respectively. The story features four prominent characters (musketeers): D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis. In the novel, D’Artagnan and the Three Musketeers becomes fast friends after a fashion. They then battle against the evil cardinal Richelieu and Milady de Witner. The novel is renowned for its swashbuckling action, themes of friendship and loyalty, and the vivid portrayal of 17th-century France. Meanwhile, Dumas weaves a tale of honor, betrayal, and romance that is fitting for the genre. As such, this story has captivated readers for generations, making The Three Musketeers a timeless literary masterpiece.

Book Blurb:

“The novel recounts the adventures of an impecunious 18-year-old Gascon, d’Artagnan, who came to Paris to make a career in the Musketeers’ corps. He became friends with Athos, Porthos and Aramis, musketeers of King Louis XIII. These four men will oppose the Prime Minister, Cardinal Richelieu and his agents, including the Count of Rochefort and the beautiful and mysterious Milady de Winter, to save the honor of the Queen of France Anne of Austria. With its many battles and romantic twists, The Three Musketeers is the typical example of the swashbuckling novel and the success of the novel was such that Dumas adapted it himself for the stage, and took up the four heroes again in the rest of the trilogy.” — Translated

Critical Reception

On Goodreads, The Three Musketeers has 315,567 ratings and 9,075 reviews. Of the ratings, there were 122, 329 five-star ratings, and 3,224 ratings.

Five-star reviewers stated that the characters of the novel are captivating including “Milady de Winter” and the musketeers themselves. Additionally, reviewers stated that it was actually a good book. For example, one reader stated, “There’s even MORE pathos, chivalry, swordplay, hails of bullets, swooning maidens, and truly an evil Cardinal and a nasty Milady to butt heads against.”

Moreover, one-star reviews stated that the book was difficult to following, including both the “dialogue” and what action was transpiring in “the last third of the book.” Additionally, other one-star reviews stated that there really wasn’t much “swashbuckling adventure” as promised. And, reviewers touch on the their perception of the book as a bunch of “misadventures of a handful of low-lifes.”

Conclusion

I have seen many adaptations of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas in film. I am extremely familiar not with just the musketeers but also with the plot of this particular narrative. While it is a fantastic narrative, I do feel a drag sometimes when I read literature from the Romantic period. I think this is the case because there is often a lot of descriptions and not a lot happening. The subsequent Gothic period suffers from this as well. However, when used well, Gothic fiction slowly builds tension. Nevertheless, with most classic fiction, my motto is to just get in the spirit of the thing and read it with additional context and help from outside sources.

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‘Harvest Home’ Analysis: A Journey into Folk Horror

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What was here yesterday would be here tomorrow, and if it wasn’t it was no great matter. What mattered was the earth and what it could provide. — Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon

The horror that befalls us when we can’t make sense of the clues is always surprising and many times horrifying. Some books carry with it the weight of a season. Often times these books are the most popular when specific holidays are upon us: Halloween, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Easter, etc. Other books straddle the line between a season and a place. In this instance, Thomas Tryon‘s classic Harvest Home (1973) is an exemplary performance of autumn meets the folky, forgotten parts of America. In this post, we are going to examine this darkly-rich novel of uncovering a new town and new horrors.

Thomas Tryon Background

Tryon was an actor in American cinema (known as Tom Tryon). He appeared in films such as The Longest Day (1962), In Harm’s Way (1965), and Texas John Slaughter (1958-1961). Later, he ventured into writing, penning horror novels such as The Other (1971), The Night of the Moonbow, and In the Fire of Spring.

Summary of Harvest Home

Harvest home is about a husband, wife, and daughter–Ned and Beth, and Kate Constantine–who move from New York City to a small town in Connecticut. The town, Cornwall Coombe, is a strange place. It is reminiscent of all those horror-movie towns that have appeared in subsequent years (The Wicker Man, Midsommar, The Children of the Corn). The town believes in old traditions. They also stay as far from the modern amenities of civilization as they can to enjoy a sovereign and isolated life.

The family discovers a great deal about the town, such as their appreciation for ancient festivals and corn. One of which, Harvest Home, occurs only every seven years. These practice are eventually revealed to be Pagan in nature. A series of mystifying and horrifying events assail the new family. Likewise, a series of revelations shows just how dedicated the town of Cornwall Coombe is to their traditions.

Book Blurb

From the book: “It was almost as if time had not touched the village of Cornwall Coombe. The quiet, peaceful place was straight out of a bygone era, with well-cared-for Colonial houses, a white-steepled church fronting a broad Common. Ned and Beth Constantine chanced upon the hamlet and immediately fell in love with it. This was exactly the haven they dream of. Or so they thought.“

An Examination of the Folk Horror Elements

Folk Horror Defined

Thematically, because it’s folklore, Harvest Home by Thomas Tryon is a type of story that has always been with society. Perhaps more so in modern media, because it harkens back to a deep fear of the unknown. Paganism is evil according to our psyche because it is a misunderstood, maligned, and demonized product of propagandistic efforts to paint the other as a bad influence. That is to say, if it doesn’t look like what we know–if it is different–therefore it is evil. Harvest Home is a testament to our fears of this very idea and Thomas Tryon seems to execute the story with varying critical reception.

Folk horror lives within this realm because it captures the stories in our lives and spins them into their worst possible version. A haunted house story is one that involves death and murder. A story of small-town America is actually a story of tradition and sacrifice. Shirley Jackson’s “The Lottery” spells this doom in letters formed by stones, while her novel The Haunting of Hill House plays into the psychology of ghost stories. Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw mirrors this conception of ghosts as well.

Critical Reception

Kirkus Reviews stated that Harvest Home is rooted in the dark past of American history. It states: “Mr. Tryon’s story seems not only tethered to considerable earlier Americana but sometimes garroted by it–there’s too much corn to husk before the last loaded third of the book. But they say it’s been born with a caul–not only the success of the first but publisher enthusiasm now as well as selection by the Literary Guild” (Kirkus).

On Goodreads, Thomas Tryon’s Harvest Home has an overall rating of 3.83 with 9,442 ratings and 1,021 reviews. Currently, the book has 2,835 five-star reviews and 251 one-star reviews.

Five-star reviews state that Harvest Home is “an immersive experience above all things.” Additionally, reviewers stated that they “had so much fun reading it,” and that it is “an excellent, intricately woven tale.” Moreover, five-star reviewers stated that they will never “look at the corn the same way.”

Meanwhile, one-star reviews state that it has “page upon page of useless detail chronicling the passage of time.” Similarly, some reviewers “could not finish the book” due to its pacing. Similarly, one-star reviewers stated that all of the evidence of horror was right in front of the protagonist the whole time. Yet he couldn’t figure it out even though the facts are right in front of the reader.

Conclusion

Tryon’s book is a story I read when I was very young. I read it around the same time I read Edgar Allan Poe’s The Black Cat and Stephen King’s Suffer the Little Children. I was for sure unprepared for what was between the covers. Strangely enough, I also read some similar reviews in which a parent recommended this book to their kids. My experience was exactly the same, because my mother recommended it to me.

Like many one-star reviews, I did find the first part of the book a bit of a slog. However, it would be a while before I grew an appreciation for Gothic horror. When I did, I realized that Harvest Home, while a folkloric story of darkness, was more in line with Gothic tone and ambition (perhaps even Southern Gothic ambition). Sometimes, when a story creeps along, it can be that much better to savor.

As stated, there have been many incarnations of this story, perhaps inspired by parallel thinking. These include the feature film of the same year The Wicker Man (1973), and Midsommar (2019). They also include the short stories “The Children of the Corn” (1977) by Stephen King, and “The Lottery” (1948) by Shirley Jackson.

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The King in Yellow: Exploring Robert W. Chambers’ Masterpiece

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I discovered The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers (1895) as if I were a character in a H. P. Lovecraft story. Imagine that I had just heard about the Necronomicon and strolled into a library. There, on the front desk was The King in Yellow. A little peculiar? Yet, I wasn’t sure if it was a tongue-in-cheek nod to books of cosmic terror or not. Certainly, it felt as though this book was mentioned in passing in some biographies and snaps of author biographies. Still, I never seemed to be able to find a clear answer as to what this book was about….

Who was Robert W. Chambers?

Robert W. Chambers was an artist and short fiction writer largely known for The King in Yellow, which was published in 1895. While not always discussed, his fiction acts as a precursor to other weird fiction stories. While, and while he dabbled in the strange and exotic, he also focused his writings on historical fiction. In respect to this, he published the following books in the genre: The Red Republic, Lorraine, and Ashes of Empire. Chambers passed away on Dec. 16, 1933.

Writer Paul St John Mackintosh states in “The Secret Chambers of the Heart: Robert W. Chambers and ‘The King in Yellow’” that the small amount of published work from the writer lends itself to his stature as a literary hero.

“His Carcosa Mythos is now almost as popular as H. P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos, and references to the King in Yellow have become nearly as common as Cthulhu plushies,” he writes. “ … It is remarkable that Chambers’s work has earned this level of renown based only on the four stories and one poem cycle published in The King in Yellow (1895) which mention or allude to the eponymous supernatural monarch and his attendant mythos.”

But, as so often the case, a lack of material has garnered curiosity, attention, and ravenous followers.

Who, or What, is the King in Yellow?

The King in Yellow is a theatrical play in the aforementioned novel. If read by the characters, it will drive them to insanity. As stated in the text, Act I of the play is “ordinary” but reading Act II will drive any reader crazy with, apparently, horrific revelations.

An excerpt from the play appears at the beginning of the short story “The Mask”:

Camilla: You, sir, should unmask.
Stranger: Indeed?
Cassilda: Indeed it’s time. We all have laid aside disguise but you.
Stranger: I wear no mask.
Camilla: (Terrified, aside to Cassilda.) No mask? No mask!
The King in Yellow, Act I, Scene 2.

Meanwhile, the being itself, the King in Yellow, is a Gothic-horror entity that rivals the likes of Cthulhu in its mystery and foreboding. Characters fear the words of the book—even knowledge of the book—lest they be struck mad with its words. One of the characters who appears in the story “In the Court of the Dragon” reads from the play and finds himself prey to the story’s psychological unraveling.

“Death and the awful abode of lost souls, whither my weakness long ago had sent him, had changed him for every other eye but mine. And now I heard his voice, rising, swelling, thundering through the flaring light, and as I fell, the radiance increasing, increasing, poured over me in waves of flame. Then I sank into the depths, and I heard the King in Yellow whispering to my soul: ‘It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God!’”

After reading The King in Yellow, one gets a sense that Chambers has something strange and special encapsulated in the brief, yet oddly packed, book of short stories. It’s oddly packed because there are a lot of ideas in this book, and all of them are woven expertly throughout the pages. Truly, the concepts Chambers discusses and alludes to throughout (terror, love, doubt) are sometimes completely apparent. Other times, these same themes are buried like so many literary corpses.

Yet, madness laces each page like a sickness. For example: the end of the first short story ends in a frantic cry of the narrator:

“’Ah! I see it now!’ I shrieked. ‘You have seized the throne and the empire. Woe! Woe to you who are crowned with the crown of the King in Yellow!’”

The back of the 2014 Corundum Classics rerelease of the book adequately explains what I believe is a book that is plain difficult to explain sometimes:

“It is whispered that there is a play that leaves only insanity and sorrow in its wake. It tempts those who read it, bringing them upon them a vision of madness that should be left unseen. The stories herein traverse the elements of that play, and the words, themes and poetry, are permeated by the presence of The King in Yellow, weaving together to leave upon the reader the ruinous impression of the Yellow Sign.”

This is indeed a strange book. A strange, special book.

Truthfully, and as odd as it may seem, there is a sorrowful sort of love in these stories as well. And, the theme of the heart goes well with the stories in The King in Yellow. The poem “Prophet’s Paradise” demonstrates this through the use of a narrative verse that references previous and future themes of the book.

Each of the poem’s eight sections tells of odd love in some way. This goes from a narrator waiting on his love in the first section, to the outcry of love and pain from the third section. Here, the narrator describes that from a jar a woman “poured blood upon the flowers whose petals are whiter than snow and whose hearts are pure gold.” Sure, there is weird fiction here, but there is also hints from the romantic genre and from gothic horror itself.

Conclusion

Much of the The King in Yellow by Robert W Chambers follows in the vein of romantic writing in its sense of mystery, adventure, and spirit. As such, it’s a fantastic assortment of stories whose weaver, Chambers, is adroit in both manipulation and the macabre. I think the true terror of this collection is its believability. Chambers articulately describes environs, senses, and experiences with adroit clarity. Meanwhile, he hides portentous aspects of the story behind his back for the right moment. Then, when those moments come alive, they take the reader into places far off and unknown.

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Gulliver’s Travels: Adventuring in Satire and Society

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When can political satire be really engaging? Well, when it is put into a fantastically adept story! In Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, a young sailor named Gulliver goes on many adventures across the ocean. He visits a plethora of strange countries dominated by some silly societies. Along the way, he learns about certain ironies that mirror his own world. In this post, we are going to be looking at the four-part novel Gulliver’s Travels.

The Story Overview

The Lilliputians

Surgeon and sea captain Lemuel Gulliver survives a shipwreck and finds himself a captive of Lilliput, which has very small inhabitants that stand about about six inches in height. Gulliver learns all about their strange customs and the odd way they go about politics, including rope dancing and deciding one’s party affiliation based upon the type of shoes one wears. After defending the Lilliputions from an invading Blefuscu fleet, Gulliver turns down further military conquest. Oddly enough, Gulliver did not understand why they warred over how an egg should be cracked. So, Gulliver turns down the option to invade and enslave the Blefuscu nation. He flees from the Lilliputians and finds a human-sized boat that allows him to sail back to England.

The Brobdingnags

Venturing out once again as a ship’s surgeon, Gulliver finds himself in Brobdingnag, where there lives a race of giant people. After a giant discovers Gulliver, the massive people sell the young naive to the Queen of the Brobdingnags. Yet, he does well by impressing the court with his antics. However, after Gulliver describes his homeland, the king comes to the conclusion that England is a disgusting place to live filled with disgusting people. Moreover, the king of Brobdingnag becomes disturbed by Gulliver after he claims to be able to make cannons and gunpowder because it would enable unnecessary violence. Later, while Gulliver looks out over the sea from his portable room, an eagle picks him up. The bird drops him into the sea where a ship spots him and rescues him, thus ending his second voyage.

Laputa

While on route to Levant, Pirates attack Gulliver’s ship, and they leave him in a small boat to survive on his own. Here, set adrift, Gulliver discovers Laputa. Strange people dominate this country that is a flying island. They have one eye looking inwards and one eye looking upwards. While they are excellent at science and math, they become sidetracked. What they lack is practical application of these skills. The Laputans also have flappers that have to keep them focused on the present.

Gulliver then travels to Lagado, the capital city of Balnibarbri and finds the people living in ruin—the reason for this is because the most learned of them use science for the most inane practical application. He then travels to Glubbdubdrib, and learns the real history of the world from conjured historians of his own civilization and then he travels to Luggnagg where he meets the Struldbrugs, who are people who have attained immortality but are despondent because they age as mortals, which adds a certain amount of distress to their lives. He leaves for England the way of Japan to end his third journey.

Houyhnhnms

For Gullivers fourth and final voyage, he travels to Houyhnhnm after pirates and a mutinous crew strand him once again. There, Yahoos discover him, and they attack him. After he is saved by a horse creature, a Houyhnhnm, he realizes that they are indeed very kind. The Yahoos, Gulliver finds, stand in contrast, as they are wanton degenerates. The Houyhnhnms act as the masters of the Yahoos, who do their bidding as a horse would in Gulliver’s world (pulling carriages, etc.).

The Houyhnhnms eventually discover that Gulliver must be a Yahoo because of how disgusting humans are and their similarities to the Yahoos. Gulliver is sent away, venturing home in a canoe and is again discovered by another ship. Having experienced a great deal of revelations and upset throughout his journeys, Gulliver realizes that he can’t stand to be around the Yahoos anymore. Instead, he finds them disgusting and instead chooses to buy and care for some horses. His new life away from grossly immoral human creatures ends the book.

Conclusion

Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels helped kick off the novel craze during the Neoclassical Era. It’s also a heavy satire piece that mocks customs, laws, knowledge, opinions, and culture. Each travel deals with a different part of society, from the inane arguments of politicians, to the way we as humans view ourselves in the scope of intellectual thought. It can be a vicious, pessimistic look at humanity, but it’s also very imaginative. In this way, Gulliver’s Travels remains an endearing classic that was contemporary then and is contemporary now.

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Before the Movie: Why the Novel ‘Jaws’ Hits Differently

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The novel Jaws by Peter Benchley is a super interesting read. I remember getting a copy during the last few weeks of my senior year in high school from a library giveaway. It was an old copy and the library wanted nothing to do with it. I still own the book over a decade later. And, it’s kept together with a lot of care (and duct tape). Now, I had already seen the movie and was spending my summers dressing like Quint. As it turns out, I really enjoyed the book, too, because of the level of horror, adventure, and Benchley’s style in conveying those themes.

Background of the Novel

Peter Benchley spoke about the inception of the novel: “In 1964, I read a newspaper item about a fisherman who caught a 4,555 lb. Great White Shark not far offshore from Montauk, Long Island, and I wondered what would happen if such a huge shark were to appear in a seaside resort community. I did nothing with the idea then, but seven years later I began to weave it into the story that would become the novel Jaws.”

Other inspiration may have come from the 1916 Jersey Shore shark attacks that resulted in multiple dead swimmers.

At the time of Jaws‘ publication, Benchley was an accomplished writer but wasn’t making enough money to support his family even though he had been a junior speechwriter for Lyndon B. Johnson. He had also written as both a staff writer and freelancer for large publications. His last ditch effort involved getting together with a few publishers and pitching some ideas including a nonfiction book about pirates and one about a man-eating shark.

Writes Guardian writer Christopher Hawtree: “ In 1971, he (Benchley) was asked by Tom Congdon, an editor at the publishers Doubleday, if he had anything in mind for a book … he produced a hundred pages, and, with a $1,000 advance, he reworked it steadily, holing up to do so …”

Publishers released the book in 1974. Readers met it with delight, possibly because Benchley had “tapped into a widespread primeval fear of the deep.”

About the Book, ‘Jaws’

The novel Jaws is about Sheriff Martin Brody who oversees the small seaside town of Amity. Brody’s tenure as sheriff is a bloody one. This is due to a terrifyingly massive shark that has begun stalking and murdering the townsfolk of Amity. It is their money that keeps the little town alive during the winter months, so of course this creates more conflict.

A vile motive in the book features the mayor of Amity, Larry Vaughan, trying his best to keep the beaches open to maintain the economy of the town at the expense of lost lives. In the novel, he has some mob ties to push his character in that direction.

After becoming flummoxed as to how to defeat such a carnal, visceral machine, Brody and oceanographer Hooper take up with Quint, a shark hunter, and begin minor excursions and confrontations with the shark at sea. Together, they are able to defeat the seafaring monstrosity. However, Jaws kills Hooper and Quint in the process.

Differences Between Book and Film and Themes

The book differs greatly from the movie in its interpersonal matters. Hooper (Richard Dreyfus’s character in the movie) has an affair with Brody’s wife. The shark kills Hooper while he is trying to escape a shark cage. While the shark cage fits in the movie, his death in the cage is not.

Meanwhile, Quint (Robert Shaw in the film) is also less bloodthirsty for shark blood in book. However, he suffers a similar fate from the one in the film. The shark drags him into the depths like Captain Ahab from Moby Dick. Brody also doesn’t kill the shark with a pressurized canister. Instead, he watches from the sinking boat (The Orca) as the shark succumbs to its wounds. The million stab wounds that Quint inflicted upon it had fell the beast.

Conclusion

While there is a lot more backstory in the novel Jaws, from the mob to the affair, Jaws paints a great picture of a seaside summer town. It also sold over 20 million copies and spent 44 weeks on the New York Times Best Seller list. The novel also captures multiple interactions with the shark, and they are full of energy and suspense. Both the book and the film have some really great moments that are interesting and engaging, especially if the audience doesn’t mind a little shock and terror.