Psycho: A Novel

5 of 5 StarsWhy did is take me nearly 57 years to get around to reading Robert Bloch's Psycho? Maybe it was because I was a mere seven years old when it was first published and I was still reading such classics as Fun With Dick and Jane and it would be a number of years before I learned of the fun to be had with a good horror book and by then it just became lost in the all the new material released in the intervening years.So what made me decide to read this essential work now? Well, this Monday will see the release of Robert Bloch's Psycho: Sanitarium, a new novel written by Chet Williamson. Set in the years Norman Bates would spend in a mental institution following the events in Bloch's original Psycho. Thus, now seemed like an excellent time to catch up.By now, everyone knows the story, even if they've never read the book or seen Alfred Hitchcock's film adaptation. So it's really not necessary to provide much of a synopsis here. Let's just say Psycho was pretty perverse for it's day and writer, Robert Bloch did a wonderful job in expressing the relationship between Norman and his mother Norma which lead to his being the person he is in the book.Reading Psycho has even given me a new appreciation for the A&E series Bates Motel which I've enjoyed for four seasons now. While not exactly a retelling of the book or the movie, it certainly captures the underlying themes of the author's original story, particularly the way the Bates family put the "fun" in dysfunctional. Norman Bates is a wonderfully complex, broken man, and is one of my favorite flawed literary characters of all time.As a result of reading Psycho I'm looking forward, more than ever, to Chet Williamson's new work of which Publisher's Weekly says, “Horror author Chet Williamson ably succeeds in the tough task of creating a sequel to Robert Bloch’s masterpiece, Psycho; a prequel to the less effective Psycho II; and a solid story in its own right…The novel shines. Whenever Norman gets the spotlight, the novel feels like a lost Bloch work.”The original Psycho is available through The Overlook Press in every format imaginable.Recommended.Robert Bloch was an American fiction writer, primarily of crime, horror, fantasy and science fiction, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Best known as the author of Psycho. Bloch wrote hundreds of short stories and over 30 novels. He was one of the youngest members of the Lovecraft Circle. H. P. Lovecraft was Bloch's mentor and one of the first to seriously encourage his talent.

I've watched the movie (the original mind you not that remake nonsense). I've watched the sequels. I've even watched the show. And I enjoyed them all. However, I did not realize that the book was available (at all much less on Kindle) until recently, and when I did, I knew I had to have it.And honestly? Even knowing what was going to happen, I still found myself glued to the pages. The Norman you see in the book is SO different from the one portrayed in the movie. For example, book Norman is not only overweight, but also drinks (notably while on the job). He definitely doesn't come across as the shy, but helpful young man from the movie. To be honest, I wouldn't have trusted book Norman at all if I were Mary. I would have maybe stopped long enough to stretch my legs and find directions to the nearest town.I also found it interesting that on some level Norman IS self-aware. He knows that he has something wrong with him (and even tries at times to give it a name). Heck even the part of him that is "mother" alludes that she is "living" inside of him when he tells her she would be locked up from her crimes and she says that she wouldn't be alone if she were.Is this book "tame" compared to things written nowadays? Yes. So I feel as though people who aren't big horror fans will enjoy this (yes people die, but for me at least, it's not written in the gruesome detail that I have seen other books employ).I am also urging anyone who reads this novel NOW (meaning 2024 or above) to please remember that this book was written in 1959, so there will be words and phrases used that you may be "offended" by, but these were actually the words and phrases used back then.All in all, I'm glad to have read it. And I see exactly why Hitchcock thought it would make for an intriguing movie. Now if they could just release the rest of the series on kindle so I could read that as well, I would appreciate it.

First off Alfred Hitchcock did an amazing job doing the novel justice there is slight changes which I won’t spoil just read it the cool thing is though you get a little bit more of a backstory on Norman on how he came to be

The movie of course was awesome. So I've always wanted to read the book all the way through. You really got to know the characters in the backstory and all the inner workings so much better.

This is the first time I read this book. It’s pretty true to the old 1959 movie except for a few descriptions that I won’t mention and spoil for readers.

Good. Alfred Hitchcock’s psycho really followed the book.

“We're all not quite as sane as we pretend to be.”I am a great fan of Alfred Hitchcock and his films, but this is the only film that I haven't watched more than once. Sure, that includes a string of other Oscar winners like Shawshank Redemption and Forest Gump; I'm just a weirdo. Psycho really scared me when I was young, though. There was no way to explain how the silhouette of mother's chair rocked on its own while Norman was at the hotel. I don't like unexplainable things.The novel was actually really good! It was very psychological and Bloch gave the reader a copilot seat into Norman's mind. It's not until the very end of the novel that we finally learn everything there is to know about Norman, his complex relationship with his deceased mother, and his questionable choice of reading material.For a novel written in 1959, this must have been pretty out there, but it was based on murderer Ed Gein, who was arrested in 1957. He had murdered two woman and apparently exhumed grave sites regularly to showcase body parts. He was even in the process of creating a woman's skin suit to resemble his mother so that he could literally "crawl into her skin." That is some pretty twisted stuff. It makes this book and any other Gein inspired characters appear mild (nod to Buffalo Bill). And now for a break in reading material. Phew!

i really enjoyed this book! felt it was the perfect length for a timeless horror story! this story simply doesn’t age!

This book pulls you in from page one, I mean I never watched the film through but the book is a lot more compelling. The characters are top notch and the story is a definite page turner.

Absolutely amazing! Finished the book within a few hours of receiving it. I couldn’t look away for a second and before I knew it, the book was over. Although the movie does change things, the boom has a very cinematic feel to it. It moves along like a well-paced film, with hardly a moment’s rest from the action until the very end. Highly recommend.

Libro che veramente aiuta il lettore,in ogni contesto.Consigliatissimo per l'utente delle letture medio.

Alfred Hitchcock is one of my favourite directors. Of all the things he introduced to the art of filmmaking, the introduction of Slasher Horror genre would be the most prominent (In my opinion). He introduced this genre in the movie Psycho which was based on Robert Bloch novel of the same name. I never thought any story could top the Psycho movie but then I read the novel.The Plot: Norman Bates runs Bates Motel with her controlling mother who forbids him to have any life of his own. Mary Crane arrives at the motel after stealing $40000 from her employer. While conversing with Norman she realises that his mother is mentally challenged and advises him to put her in an institution. The same night she is murdered by the Mother and now her boyfriend Sam and sister Lila have to find out behind the disappearance of Mary.The novel is one of the greatest suspense thrillers I've read. It is also better than most of the horror novels out there. I see why Hitchcock chose this book and my only regret is that I watched the movie first, so all the twists were expected. The character of mother and Norman are more fleshed out than in the movie but still the movie did what it could without giving away spoilers. It is the only movie which is the most faithful adaptation of its source material.

Un gran libro, no tiene ningun desperdicio, para aquellos que sean fanáticos del suspenso ¡no se lo pueden perder! Atrapante de principio a fin.