The Unloved, John Saul, 1988
My favorite quote: “He pitched forward, his vision going black as he died. The last thing he saw was the scarlet gash of Marguerite’s mouth, twisted into a vicious parody of a victorious smile.”
Notable characters: The Devereaux family, Kevin and Anne, and their children Jeff and Julie; Helena, Kevin’s rude-ass dying mother; Marguerite, Kevin’s weird-ass creepy sister
Most memorable scene: When Jenny sees old Aunt Marguerite dancing in the ballroom. Her strange limping waltz is really effective in creeping the reader out. And by “the reader,” I mean me. It creeped me out. There, I said it
Greatest strengths: The horror. And by that, I don’t necessarily mean blood and gore. I mean that it’s seriously scary
Standout achievements: The Unloved has the sole distinction of being the only book that actually made me jump. There’s a line at the end of chapter 20 that says, “… a bolt of lightning flared in the sky outside and a sharp clap of thunder shook the house.” I read this book on a stormy night and right as I read those words, real lightning flashed followed by a big crash of real thunder. It scared me so bad tears were running down my leg
Fun Facts: I know it’s morbid but I was laughing out loud when the little kid corpses were being dragged up the stairs for a dead-kid tea party. I’m calling this a ‘fun’ fact because when I met John Saul many years later, he said he thought that part was hilarious, too, and was cracking up while he wrote it. And that’s when I knew this man was my kinda guy
Other media: N/A
What it taught me: That sometimes, there are no heroes … and that’s okay
How it inspired me: John Saul’s work has influenced me in a million ways, but his ability to foreshadow without weakening the storyline tops the list. Foreshadowing is a tricky thing, but when it’s done well — as it is here — it adds an exciting sheen to even the weariest plotline
Additional thoughts: After giving it a lot of thought (and I actually do give a lot of thought to such things) I’ve decided that this is probably my all-time favorite John Saul novel. Probably. I might feel differently later
Haunt me: alistaircross.com
Alistair Cross 