It’s been a while since I read something by Sarrantonio, and I thought this title would be suitable for this week.
The first few chapters of this book were a little off putting. They’re about 4 different people who seemingly have no relationship to each other. A famous actor has run away from Hollywood and is hitchhiking across America. A troubled teenager is in trouble with the police. A local professor’s teaching position is at risk, and an old woman is sitting around having a think. To make things more confusing, she has Alzheimer’s and her narrative jumps back and forth. This element reminded me of reading Faulkner back in college. Things take a while to get going, but everything does manage to come together in the end.
It was Sarrantonio’s short stories that made me realize how much he was influenced by Ray Bradbury, and the Bradbury influence is strong here. I also read a review of this book that points out the clear influence of Stephen King’s It, itself a homage to Bradbury. By the end I could definitely see the similarity.
In truth though, this book wasn’t great. My favourite Sarrantonio stuff is his short stories and shorter novels. October wasn’t terrible, but I think it tried a little too hard to be literary and fell a bit short on the thrills. It wasn’t awful or anything, just nothing special. This is the second of Sarrantonio’s October/Halloween books I have read. Maybe next year, I’ll do his Orangefield series.
