Psycho: A Novel - by Robert Bloch
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I love this tale. I know it seems ignorant to say that I didn't even know this was a novel until it was proposed for my Readings in the Genre (RIG) course in Horror (Psychos) at Seton Hill, but it's true. Apparently, 0 out of every 10 people I tried to discuss this book with (in my every day life, not with Seton Hill students or other writers) didn't know Psycho was a novel before it was a movie. Go figure. It seems a book still manages to reach the heights of anonymity even after a film is made based on its genius.
Despite that realization, I was extremely glad to have read the novel and to understand its origins. Robert Bloch wrote this tale beautifully, and I wish I'd read the story way before I ever saw the Hitchcock version. Novels tend to hold deep meanings within the pages that never quite translate to film, and so I always prefer to read the novel before seeing the movie. In this instance, it couldn't be helped.
I found Psycho suspenseful even though I'd seen the old flick. The easy language of the read was what captivated me most. There wasn't deep introspective language, or words I needed to look up. The pages held within them a simplicity woven with shadows and intrigue. It's something a reader doesn't get much these days. There are too many inexperienced writers who try to write beyond every day vocabulary, and who make their story more complex than it needs to be. What I most enjoyed about this tale were the simple motivations of the characters, the plain language in which the story was written and the scary backdrop woven into it which allowed me to obtain the experience of being at the hotel and "living" the nightmare.
One of my favorite lines once Mary gets to the hotel:
“Sorry,” he said. “I was just tucking Mother in for the night. Sometimes she’s apt to be a bit difficult.”
~Bloch, Robert (1959) Psycho
Norman is physically different in this novel, compared to the movie. Anthony Perkins was thin and lanky in Hitchcock's version, while the Norman in the story was round. Fat.
Still, the pictures in my mind were similar to the film. I found it interesting that for the most part, as I read, I saw the story in black and white. Perhaps it was the setting combined with the influence of the movie...but Robert Block's tale was thoroughly engaging and I loved each scene as it processed through my brain.
Drawbacks in the prose were those issues in writing that most of us are "dinged" for by editors and mentors. There are tons of repetitive words, lots of passive tense and even a "grimace" (I noted this just for my mentor Timons Esaias). As a modern writer and student of popular fiction, it's hard not to notice these things now, particularly when you are slashed and hacked with red ink or track changes in Word telling you that you MUST NOT do this...!
In order to cope, I admit I did edit the electronic version of the text with highlights and comments, but I also have to confess I enjoyed the novel immensely. Robert Bloch managed to show me that even though Norman Bates was certifiably crazy, everyone is a little crazy every now and then. And we never know what might throw us off the pier into the deep end of the swamp.
Comforting.
~Q
Despite that realization, I was extremely glad to have read the novel and to understand its origins. Robert Bloch wrote this tale beautifully, and I wish I'd read the story way before I ever saw the Hitchcock version. Novels tend to hold deep meanings within the pages that never quite translate to film, and so I always prefer to read the novel before seeing the movie. In this instance, it couldn't be helped.
I found Psycho suspenseful even though I'd seen the old flick. The easy language of the read was what captivated me most. There wasn't deep introspective language, or words I needed to look up. The pages held within them a simplicity woven with shadows and intrigue. It's something a reader doesn't get much these days. There are too many inexperienced writers who try to write beyond every day vocabulary, and who make their story more complex than it needs to be. What I most enjoyed about this tale were the simple motivations of the characters, the plain language in which the story was written and the scary backdrop woven into it which allowed me to obtain the experience of being at the hotel and "living" the nightmare.
One of my favorite lines once Mary gets to the hotel:
“Sorry,” he said. “I was just tucking Mother in for the night. Sometimes she’s apt to be a bit difficult.”
~Bloch, Robert (1959) Psycho
Norman is physically different in this novel, compared to the movie. Anthony Perkins was thin and lanky in Hitchcock's version, while the Norman in the story was round. Fat.
Still, the pictures in my mind were similar to the film. I found it interesting that for the most part, as I read, I saw the story in black and white. Perhaps it was the setting combined with the influence of the movie...but Robert Block's tale was thoroughly engaging and I loved each scene as it processed through my brain.
Drawbacks in the prose were those issues in writing that most of us are "dinged" for by editors and mentors. There are tons of repetitive words, lots of passive tense and even a "grimace" (I noted this just for my mentor Timons Esaias). As a modern writer and student of popular fiction, it's hard not to notice these things now, particularly when you are slashed and hacked with red ink or track changes in Word telling you that you MUST NOT do this...!
In order to cope, I admit I did edit the electronic version of the text with highlights and comments, but I also have to confess I enjoyed the novel immensely. Robert Bloch managed to show me that even though Norman Bates was certifiably crazy, everyone is a little crazy every now and then. And we never know what might throw us off the pier into the deep end of the swamp.
Comforting.
~Q
