The House Next Door

There was a time when I was a voracious reader, never without a book and carving out times during each day to bury my head in the printed word. In recent years, I’ve found my reading to be confined to just before bed, reading about fifty pages before lights out. So I was delighted when I got so caught up in Anne River Siddons’s The House Next Door that I consumed the over three-hundred page book in just about two days. I’ve read many of Siddons’s books and, to varying degrees, loved them all. She writes with such elegance. Her word pictures are absolutely stunning. Two examples: “our tires whispered in the snake tracks left by other cars” and “the ice-sheathed trees…like great crystal hands fingering the sky.” Wow! Just beautiful. And with those lovely descriptions comes a writer who truly understands her characters, most of which are upper-middle class Southerners who have lunch at the club, run the Junior League, have cabin retreats on off-shore islands. So this novel, The House Next Door, was totally unexpected. Still clinging to her carefully honed character studies and the goings-on among the semi-wealthy, the author has produced a Southern gothic novel. No, the book isn’t teeming with hags scaring children, creaking floorboards, moss hanging from trees. But it is a gothic novel, no less. The premise is that the new house built next door to the protagonists, Colquitt and Walter (I marvel at Siddons character names, for authors so rarely name a female character a name usually reserved for a surname,) somehow has an influence over those who live there. Three families inhabit the house, and three families come to some sort of tragedy. The beauty of Siddons’s creation is that we, the readers, are left to decide if the tragedies are the result of the fact the inhabitants were severely flawed individuals to begin with and that Colquitt and Walter are reading too much into it all, or if there really is an evil lurking in the house next door. I leave you to decide, for this novel is a great read!

This was a good creepy story about a house designed by an architect that was befriended by the neighbors who live in the surrounding homes. At first, they were not happy about the house being built on a quiet, empty lot that everyone rather enjoyed. But, once they saw the beauty of the house designs, and then the ultimate beautiful house, they changed their minds and embraced the change. The characters are pretty interesting and the flow of this book has a nice pace, it doesn't rush you and it builds tension nicely. Honestly the main character got on my nerves just a tad..but I suspect she was supposed too, as we are all human and occasionally get on each others nerves. I almost want to read the book again though, it feels like I either missed something or most likely, the author just left out details that were vital to understanding the ending. All of the sudden I was at the end of the book with more questions than answers! I wasn't thrilled with the way the book ended, I felt like I was left hanging, with questions the author just failed to answer. But, it is a great read and I'd recommend it anyway. It's well written and has a unique approach to horror, I really enjoyed that aspect of this book and feel others who are big readers like me, would as well.

A classic horror story from the late 70's, lauded by Stephen King, I knew I'd have to get around to it sooner or later. Written by an author new to me, and her only horror tale, according to a bit of Google research, this book was well done. Not scary in the traditional sense, and very much of its time, the story unfolded slowly and with a deliberate pace. There were patches in the book of genuine dread, when the main character had to enter the eponymous house alone, where you legitimately wondered what or if anything would happen to her. I really enjoyed the overall story. She nailed the overall narrative, with interesting, if dated, characters. I'd have loved to see what else she could do. Shame she never did. Highly recommended.

Imposible dejar de leer, llegué a este libro desde Danse Macabre de Stephen King, y no me ha decepcionado. Una idea muy original y muy b bien ejecutada.

I had heard about this book for years without being able to get my hands on a copy, and boy was it worth the wait. The book is also in great condition and was delivered very quickly- I can’t recommend this enough. Wonderful read!!!

War zwar ein Geschenk, aber war sehr zufrieden mit der Bestellung, Lieferung und Qualität vom Band.

**mild spoilers** In honour of Ms. Siddons' passing in 2019, I took The House Next Door off the "to be read" list. It did not disappoint. Siddons is a good writer, particularly in the passages between the big plot points. Well-paced and well-written, The House Next Door effortlessly jumps genres. It's not quite a horror novel, although it's got horrific and Gothic elements. If the tone were different, it might almost be a comedy of manners, since most of what happens is boundaries of grace and decorum are crossed. Siddons mercilessly skewers the characters, too. Colquitt is an exasperating Southern lady, and for most of the novel, she is the voice of sanity...until the ending "twist," when you start to question if she was the crazy one all along. A worthy and entertaining way to pass a few hours of reading time

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