Number 17 - The Curse - CL (Charles) Grant

I've been reading Charles Grant since I was about 15 years old and found a copy of The Pet in my local library (or it may have been a second hand book shop) and, being the completist I am, have been collecting as many of his books as I possibly can ever since. 

In those 30 odd years that I've been reading him, I never even knew that this one existed - mainly because of that C.L. Grant on the cover which hid it from an Amazon search.

This was his first published novel.  The front cover promises us something as terrifying as the Exorcist and the Omen.  In his later books, I would agree that he could hit those heights.  But in his first published book, would that actually be possible?

According to his wife, a very talented writer herself - Kathy Ptacek, Charlie himself did not list this book as one of his favorites.

I have to say I agree with him.  This is not my favourite Grant novel either.  His talent is evident but the usual style of writing is conspicuous by it's absence.  I don't know if recent happenings are affecting my ability to concentrate, but I struggled with this one to be honest. It's certainly not a bad book but it certainly has its flaws. 

A young couple move into a new house out in the suburbs.  While they're viewing the house they witness a man deliberately run over a dog being walked by its owner in the street .  For some reason, they still buy the house. The Amerindian neighbours tell them about a massacre of several tribes that apparently once happened in the land where this estate was built.  Strange events start happening and there's a steady build of "is-she-mad-or-is-something-really-weird-really-happening" up until the OTT final chapters where her fears seem to be real after all.

I actually found Kathy Ptacek's novel about the Indian ritual at the heart of this novel to be a better take on  the particular subject matter.  I can't actually name the novel because - spoilers.

The names of the characters were distracting.  The couple are called Terry and Syd.  Syd is the husband and Terry is actually Theresa. I have never seen Syd with the Y refer to a man before.  I know this is a silly quibble to have with the book but it did bug me. 

Terry's sister Pegeen makes an appearance about a third of the way into the book.  Pegeen?  I have never encountered that name before ever. Meanwhile, the Amerindians all have totally normal US names, William and Denver and so on.

The book felt like an attempt to ape Shirley Jackson, with the way it followed only Terry's disintegrating mental state and never changed viewpoint at any time.  At this point in his career though, I'm not sure Charlie had the subtlety to pull it off. Her fear when her husband wasn't home yet in the middle of a horrendous storm felt very real. In other places, her level of terror because the phone was ringing for example, it didn't quite ring true. 

All this criticism aside, I did enjoy the book.  The finale, although it's OTT was probably the most effectively scary sequence in the book. I'm not entirely sure the explanations made all that much sense, but it was certainly the point in the book where a mood of dread suddenly appeared. 

I'd give it about a 6.5 out of 10.  Not the book to read if you want to introduce yourself to his work, but, if you're a completist like me, an important one to get under your belt. I will probably reread at some point when my mental state is not quite as distracted by current events as it is now.

And I do like that cover.