"If you forget, I'll come after you. If you forget, God help you."
- Alison Greening
On July 21, 1955 in the town of Arden, 13-year-old Miles Teagarden makes a pact with his over-sexed and mysterious 14-year-old cousin, Alison Greening, that they will return in 20 years time and meet again. 20 years later, a grown up, troubled Miles returns to the town of Arden to keep his promise, never able to get Alison Greening off his mind, his life is in shambles. The only thing he has left is that promise, that hope that Alison will re-emerge. When tragic events begin befalling the small hamlet, not long after his return, Miles realizes, Alison will keep her promise, she will return, but it won't be the Alison Greening he remembers from his dreams, but from his darkest nightmare.
Not too long ago, I came upon Peter Straub's Ghost Story. I LOVED IT! Ever since I have been on the look out for more Straub novels. This, being my second Peter Straub experience, didn't disappoint. It's a chilling piece of work, shocked through with sexual tension, obsession and disturbing imagery. The story is very slow paced, if you're a fan of late 60's - late 70's horror, you'll fucking love this! The book actually reminds me of the David Lynch and Mark Frost TV series Twin Peaks, which has a similar plot about a the death of a teenage girl rocking a small town.
The whole story is pretty much about this guy letting something from his past completely destroy his life, in particular a woman from his past. As I said before, I've only read one other Straub novel, Ghost Story, which is about a group of men being haunted by a woman from their past. I love it when I can see running themes in author's works. I have several other Straub novels I can't wait to read! Shadowlands, KoKo and Julia are next on my list.
If you're looking for a book that will scare you, keep walking. This isn't a "sleep with the lights on" type of book. The horror is more subtle and surreal. Straub does a great job at building atmosphere, creating this small town in Wisconsin with a dark past and inhabitants who are all very unwelcoming to the main protagonist. It's a beautifully laid out ghost story with themes of longing, regret and lust. It's one of those novels that's just weird. It's a weird, weird piece of work that'll have you scratching your head sometimes.
My only gripe with this book, is that, save for one, all of the characters are deplorable human beings! The main character narrates the story, and he is completely unbalanced and utterly frustrating. I really want to reach into the pages of the book at times and slap some sense into him sometimes because he's actions are so... just dumb. You're not supposed to really make any sense out of his character though. He's a broken man who feels like his last shred of hope for happiness lies in a promise he made when he was a 13 year-old kid. His motivations are confusing at times, but I mean, obsessive people are confusing at times...so whatever. The people of Arden are also horrible. They're all self-righteous hypocrites who pass judgement on everyone and everything that moves.
The best character in the book is Alison Greening. Though she's technically only in it a brief few pages, her presence is constant throughout. She keeps you coming back, page after page, word after word. Just like Miles, you as the reader, find yourself obsessed with the enigma that is Alison Greening.
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