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

A great read, very psychologically disturbing...

I actually read this after Stephen King spoke so highly of it in an article. I can see why he did. Part Exorcist, part Amityville Horror, and part something altogether its own. A very unique take on the old "girl possessed by demon" story with several twists and surprises that will leave you with QUITE a few questions. The narrator does a fine job as well.

Page turner

This was a great "camp fire" horror story. It was well written and kept my attention throughout, although I feel that it fell a bit flat in the end. My only complaint with the performance would be with the voice of the "blogger". It was extremely annoying, "strike that", it was like nails on a chalk board. I found myself fast forwarding through the story when the "blogger" was narrating, "for realsies".

Decent Story with a bad reader

I enjoyed the story and that back and forth from telling a story to modern day. The female voices in this story were read well and enjoyable. The male voices however were terrible. The voice of the father made me cringe each time he spoke. It had a severely negative impact on my ability to enjoy the story. There were a good number of critical male characters in this book and the narration of those needed to be done by someone else.

Story is worth effort of listening to narrator

Great story! Ending was a shock. Narrator definitely should NOT try so hard with the male voices. It came across as forced, unbelievable & was difficult to listen to.

So good!

Excellent performance. Very scary. I’m going to be listening to a lot more by Paul Tremblay!

Superb

Surprising in its twists and turns. This story is superbly ambiguous, leaving the reader and listener on footing that feels deceptively safe ... until the earth disappears underneath, leaving you wondering if the ground was ever beneath your feet to begin with.

IMO, this book will be a classic. (NO spoilers)

There's so much good I can say about this story. I just finished it & can't quit thinking about it, I know it's one I'll read again (something I rarely do).
It leaves much up to the reader's interpretation & theories which is somewhat frustrating but, at the same time, brilliant. Plus, I thought the narration was really good.
This is one of those reads that will stay with you long after you put it down.
The only problem now is trying to find my next book to follow this one, that's the worst/best thing about finishing any great book.
Obviously, I highly recommend A Head Full of Ghosts. If you're still on the fence, allow me to nudge you over it.
Add this to your library right now!

Amazing, heartbreaking horror.

Great book. If it sounds too familiar in terms of plot, well, just read it. It's a brilliant, fresh take on the possession subgenre.

Joy Osmanski gives a great read - just wish she didn't try to make her voice so deep with male characters. It's pretty comical, but didn't ruin my experience. Other than that, she's terrific. The book is mainly driven by female leads, and Joy understands the nuances and emotions of these characters well.

Eerie and disturbing

Well written book offering its share of creepy chills, it won't make you jump in surprise but it will certainly keep you thinking long after the book is over!
My only complaint with the 'performance' is that the narrator really can't offer a good male voice (mainly for the father) and definitely not multiple different ones when more male characters enter the story late in the book, whereas she is very good at giving life to the female characters.

Impressive and Heart Breaking

Thrilling and breathtaking from beginning to end. There was not a single thing I didn't like about this book and I plan to suggest it to my book club next round!