The Girl Next Door (Ezzy's Book Read Reviews)

ezzy (77)in #steemit • 2 years ago

Based on a chilling true story, The Girl Next Door tells the harrowing story of a family’s descent into madness leading to an innocent victim caught up in a deadly game of systematic despair and torture. Released in 1989, author John Ketchum set the world of fictional writing alight with this disturbing masterpiece. Though it must be said that the book is heavily influenced by a real world case involving a very similar premise that shocked the world. Making this tale all the more macabre and heart-wrenching. If you can make it through to the very last page, it’s a piece of literature you’ll find yourself reflecting upon for days to come.

The Synopsis:

Meg and her younger sister Susan are made untimely orphans due to both their parents being killed in a tragic car accident. This subsequently results in her being taken under the wing of her alcoholic aunt, Ruth. She in turn has three boys of her own named Willie, Donny and Ralph. At first, things seem normal enough until the stresses of caring for two additional children as well as a spiralling drink problem bring forth a simmering dark insanity within Ruth.

Little by little, with each passing day, she berates and insults Meg and Susan. Her boys follow the examples shown from her mother and turn on Meg too. Then the fateful day arrives when verbal abuses becomes physical. An altercation of a mild sexual nature between Meg and Ralph causes her to strike him in anger. Ruth discovers this shortly afterwards which is when the real nightmare begins.

Without giving away too much, what ensues is a fast-paced descent into horrifying madness. Meg is subject to a frightful ordeal of epic proportions and is pushed to the very limits of the human spirit. The family of Ruth and her three sons degrade, humiliate and torture Meg to unspeakable levels. She is taken into the basement of their house, which is where most of the terror occurs and where she is kept prisoner for most of the duration of the story from there on.

The Review:

One character I purposefully left out for this part was David, the next door neighbour. The entire narrative is an account from his own personal recollection, as he was friends with the three boys and bore witness to many of the atrocities conducted against Meg. However, being too young, naive and fearful of the tyrannical and demented aunt Ruth, he let the abuse continue without any intervention. The remorse and sorrow felt throughout his retelling is made abundantly clear from the start and therefore very easy for us to empathize with his pain.

This was by far the most difficult read I’ve ever had. My emotions were left in tatters by the time I had reached it’s impactful conclusion and unless you have a heart made of stone, I’m sure you’d agree with me. Comparable real world cases involving innocent people who just happened to be in the “wrong” place at the “wrong” time are documented chilling realities and. Keeping that in mind adds a sense of stark realism that something like this could happen to any one of us.

I found the book to be just as much a psychological character study as an out-and-out shockfest. Ruth’s issues with drink paired up with having a seeming hatred for men seeing as her husband left years ago, makes her just as much a victim as anyone else in the book. Although any feeling of compassion for her are quickly quashed due to her inhumane actions perpetrated against poor Meg.

The pack-like mentality of the crazed family coupled with the absolute inescapable situation Meg is put in, are perfectly realised by Ketchum’s literary talents. It’s a relentless tour-de-force that leaves it’s audience with little room to breathe as the viciousness and ferocity of the relentless attacks escalate in magnitude before our very eyes. Ketchum is also not one to pull any punches with his explicitly descriptive style. He places you, as the reader, directly in the firing line of the message he is trying to hit home. And the results will leave you reeling from exhaustion. I previously didn’t think a simple book could ever make me feel this way but the power contained within his writing abilities resonates with a vengeance.

If I had to add any sort of criticism, it would have to be the ending. Though I can understand what he was attempting to do to some degree. The reader is offered up some redemption by him inserting a particular “convenient setup” into the narrative for one of the abusers right at the end. In a word, I feel this was put in just to satisfy “us”, but felt a little out of place with the otherwise ultra-realistic tone of the rest of the book. But that’s just a minor gripe.

The Wrap:

To sum up, this is a fantastic read (if you have a strong stomach for this type of thing) and one I’d highly recommend to get stuck into. There is a roller-coaster ride housed within the pages of this book that will conjure up intense feelings and keep you on the edge of your seat. Such books capable of wielding that kind of power can only come to fruition from the cream-of-the-crop. And John Ketchum is no exception. Strap yourself in for a journey you will never forget and be prepared for the excellent “The Girl Next Door.”