Laird Koenig (1927–2023)

I read this decades ago and loved it. All these years later it still holds a special place among books I’ve read. Having lost or donated the hardback over the years, I was astonished to discover this out of print book available on Kindle, albeit far too pricey. Reading this again after so much time has passed I find it just as mesmerizing as I did when younger. While the protagonist is a 13 year old girl of striking intelligence, this is definitely not a book for younger children. In essence, it is about the restrictions of society, the absurdity of conformity, and paints with sympathy a young English girl named Rynn who lives in a rural area with her father, a poet. Or does she?

That question is at the heart of this fabulous tale of isolation, and refusal to let others tell us how to live our lives. Laird Koenig brilliantly puts us in Rynn’s corner from the outset, as the first two “adults” we encounter are hideous human beings. One is the shrew-like owner of the cottage in the woods Rynn’s father has leased, the other her grown son, who very much likes little girls. As Rynn thwarts their intrusions, we too begin to suspect that something odd is behind the poet’s absence. Once we discover what it is, because Rynn must take drastic action in order to protect her secret and live a life of her own choosing, we find ourselves rooting for her. To reveal much more than that is to ruin this wonderful reading experience.

The introduction of Mario, the young boy whose magic tricks come in handy, adds just the right touch, because it further softens the readers’ view of Rynn, showing her to be as vulnerable as all of us, reminding us that she is indeed a 13 year old girl. This is a unique, wonderful book that time hasn’t diminished. The film, starring a 13 year old Jodie Foster, and Martin Sheen, is a minor cult classic, and the book is beloved by nearly everyone who’s ever read it. Five stars aren’t enough for a read this wonderful. The only thing that could make this book better is if Koenig had written a smile by Rynn into the final scene.

However, while the book itself is a minor masterpiece, the Kindle version I purchased is a train wreck. Not because of a few typos, which creep into all books, mainstream and independent, but the sloppiest proofing job I have ever encountered. Periods suddenly appear in the middle of sentences, quotation marks are missing at the beginning of dialog, yet appear occasionally within narrative with no dialog, and when italics are used to emphasize a word, no space occurs between the new italicized word and the previous word. Oddly, and fortunately, because these aren’t jarring, and the story is so involving, you just keep reading. It isn’t on rare occasion, however, it’s constant throughout the entire text of the book, as if someone hastily threw this together without bothering to do any proofing at all. For a novel as engrossing as this, of which a film has been made, it is almost mind-boggling that no more care was given to the Kindle version than this.

A wonderful story, a five star read decades ago, a five star read in 2016, when I posted this review. Picking up a used copy of the actual book, however, is definitely preferable to the Kindle version, which should definitely be a last resort.… (mais)

Buenas amigos!. En esta ocasión traigo la reseña de una obra de 1973 del autor Laird Koenig, fallecido hace un mes a fecha de este post. Tiene adaptación al cine en 1976. Novela que siendo catalogada como terror no tiene ni una pizca de él.

Historia que nos conduce por una trama intrigante y misteriosa pero simple, forzada e inverosímil. Línea que se desarrolla al rededor de Rynn, una joven que aparentemente vive con su padre en una casa aislada a las afueras de un pequeño pueblo. A medida que las páginas van pasando la historia aumenta en misterio y los secretos que rodean a Rynn se van resolviendo. Lo mejor de la novela es la calidad en la narración y su ambientación inquietante, llena de descubrimientos, que nos aclara el pasado.

Referente a los personajes, se me han quedado cortos. Por un lado está Rynn, la protagonista, que es enigmática, inteligente y demasiado madura en algunas situaciones. Esta intenta mantener aislamiento con el resto del pueblo por todos los medios. Y por otro lado tenemos a los personajes secundarios que van interactuando con Rynn. Si bien, todos ellos desarrollan su cometido, son poco creíbles y demasiados forzados, al igual que la interacción de Rynn con los adultos. Muy bonito es su relación con Mario. Con él si tiene un comportamiento más acorde a su edad.

Un final que se me quedo cortísimo y dejándome una gran duda. ¿Fue lo suficientemente inteligente? ¡Yo creo que no!. El que lo ha leído sabrá responderme.

En conclusión, "La chica que vive al final del camino" es una novela entretenida y bien escrita, con buena ambientación. Una novela que posee muchos peros.., personajes y situaciones demasiado inverosímiles.

Os leo en comentarios!!… (mais)