A Head Full of Ghosts

De: Paul Tremblay

Narrado por: Joy Osmanski

A chilling thriller that brilliantly blends domestic drama, psychological suspense, and a touch of modern horror, reminiscent of Mark Z. Danielewski's House of Leaves, John Ajvide Lindqvist's Let the Right One In, and Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House.

The lives of the Barretts, a normal suburban New England family, are torn apart when 14-year-old Marjorie begins to display signs of acute schizophrenia.

To her parents' despair, the doctors are unable to stop Marjorie's descent into madness. As their stable home devolves into a house of horrors, they reluctantly turn to a local Catholic priest for help. Father Wanderly suggests an exorcism; he believes the vulnerable teenager is the victim of demonic possession. He also contacts a production company that is eager to document the Barretts' plight. With John, Marjorie's father, out of work for more than a year and the medical bills looming, the family agrees to be filmed and soon find themselves the unwitting stars of The Possession, a hit reality television show. When events in the Barrett household explode in tragedy, the show and the shocking incidents it captures become the stuff of urban legend.

Fifteen years later a best-selling writer interviews Marjorie's younger sister, Merry. As she recalls those long-ago events that took place when she was just eight years old, long-buried secrets and painful memories that clash with what was broadcast on television begin to surface - and a mind-bending tale of psychological horror is unleashed, raising vexing questions about memory and reality, science and religion, and the very nature of evil.

©2015 Paul Tremblay (P)2015 HarperCollins Publishers

like a punch in the gut

great look at the horrors of religious zealotry, reality TV, the toll of mental illness, and male anxiety of the fall of patriarchal society. Both beautiful and gut-wrenchting, just as good horror should be.

captivating.

This is a really good story, not at all what I was expecting. If you can listen on Audible do it...the narrator was excellent.

Just okay. Sorry.

Would you try another book from Paul Tremblay and/or Joy Osmanski?

No, I think I got a sufficient indication of his writing. Depending on the book I may try the narrator again, just not in this genre.

Would you recommend A Head Full of Ghosts to your friends? Why or why not?

Probably not. It really didn't provide any real enjoyment for me.

Who would you have cast as narrator instead of Joy Osmanski?

I think the narrator did an okay job at the young protagonist. However, she was limited past that. She has a very young, sometimes immature voice. She would probably do a good job narrating a YA book or romance novel. As it was her attempts at masculine voices were just bad. Maybe the book needed more than one narrator.

Do you think A Head Full of Ghosts needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

No.

Less than satisfying

Paul Tremblay has a way with words and descriptions. He's never dull. I've liked other books by him and plan on reading others by him. But I found this story to be an uninspired mash-up of The Exorcist and We Have Always Lived in the Castle. It was never frightening or tense. And never boring, at least. Just...okay.

Possessed? Mentally ill? Evil? You Decide!

We read this for book club and we could never agree on the "diagnosis" but we all agreed it was a crazy fun book to read. The writer certainly knows how to tell a story that keeps you riveted and leaves you with lots to discuss afterward.

Old possession in new costume?

Any additional comments?

A Head Full of Ghosts was nominated in the horror genre for Goodread's Choice Awards 2015. That was a list of nominees I decided to read through. Tremblay's book was one of the better entries, but not my favorite.

The book is extremely "meta". It focuses on the possible possession of teenager Marjorie and her family's decision to let itself be on a tv reality show about their experience. So the possession is being filmed and commented upon - and then we also follow the cynical blog posts of a horror fan remembering the show fifteen years on, as well as interviews with Marjorie's little sister at that same later date.

Commentaries within commentaries, like a postmodern Russian doll. In short, the book takes a common trope, the possession, and presents it in a new way.

Yes, I did get a bit tired of all the literary spiel. But some of it has a purpose. It is a bit uncertain whether the author wants you to be scared of the few seemingly unfiltered, haunting facts that drop through the commentaries sometimes, or to be unsettled by the unreliability of the narrators. Both perhaps? In a sense both also work up to a point, but then are offset by the novel's chatter.

Is this a good book? A scary book? - It has a few good scares. Some of them rely vaguely on the meta-character of the narrative. However, I am not sure that they made all of it necessary. It is a good attempt to make something new of an old concept - but then I am not sure that it adds much.

That said, the book reads well and is easily consumed. An average but readable little adventure into the possibly demonic. Very good narration by Joy Osmanski.

Really Great Horror Thriller!

Loved this book. Great story about a troubled family and the reality TV culture that gripped our society. This is combined with a shocking and uncertain ending that sinks its claws into your psyche and makes for a masterful horror story!

Very good thriller

Would you consider the audio edition of A Head Full of Ghosts to be better than the print version?

Only listened to the book.

What other book might you compare A Head Full of Ghosts to and why?

Similar to Fox series The Exorcist.

Which scene was your favorite?

The exorcism.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes.

Any additional comments?

A really good listen.

Great story, bad performance, weak ending

The story drew me in almost immediately and it’s pacing and structure are both refreshing and engaging. The performance is hampered by the voices the narrator uses for most of the characters, they sound less like actual people and more like a voices you would use to parody someone. It becomes extremely difficult to take the father seriously by the middle of the story. Also no spoilers but the ending is terrible, like so many horror stories before it “A Head Full of Ghosts” collapses during its reveal. I was really disappointed by the abrupt and nonsensical twist ending.

So who's the crazy one?

This is one heck of a good story. Of course it leads you to where you least expect. Don't start it until you have the time to listen straight through because you won't want to put it down.