Heart-Shaped Box

Title: Heart-Shaped Box

Author: Joe Hill aka Joseph Hillstrom King

Publisher: William Morrow

ISBN: 9780061147937

Length: 374 pages

Obtained: Library copy

Why this book?:

I found out Daniel Radcliffe was acting in a new horror movie called Horns.  Then I found out that Horns is based on a novel of the same title by Joe Hill, son of Stephen King.  I had heard co-workers mentioning Joe Hill and his parentage along with words like "good" and "award-winning" back when NOS4A2 came out.  I read something that said something along the lines of Joe Hill's novel Heart-Shaped Box was better than Horns (and they like Horns).  So I decided to try both.  In order.  And before the movie.

Comments:

I can't help approach horror with some trepidation.  The few horror books I've read have been good.  And most of the limited horror movies I've seen have been decent.  But still.

Jude starts off being portrayed in such a way as to make me not like him so much.  But then he grew on me.  Well before the end I was rooting for him.  Same thing with his girlfriend Georgia/Marybeth, though the change was not quite so dramatic.  And the bad guy was sick and twisted and ugh.  Which is good, I guess. Right?  So those are the primary characters.  But wait! I forgot one.  Because though she's dead, Jude's ex-girlfriend Florida/Anna also plays a primary role.  And I could appreciate her, but in a more distant way.

Anyway, for the story itself.  It was creepy.  It had twisted mind games, which I strongly dislike (you're so out-of-control when someone else is playing with your head).  And an evil that you need to escape even while feeling trapped.  And some warped background exposed as you go along.  And overall?  I enjoyed it.  But I mostly read it during the day.

Oh!  And when I started it (in the car on the way to the zoo), I was listening to Hugh Laurie's Didn't it Rain.  And that bluesy feel really worked for the book, despite the fact that Jude was apparently more of a metal musician (as I kept reminding myself).

So I should be reading Horns soon.  And if that goes well, maybe I'll even try NOS4A2.

Trailers (only slight variations between the two):