Whether you have seen the film or not, everyone knows the secrets of Psycho thanks to Alfred Hitchcock, so I can reveal them here. This novel was written in 1959 by Robert Bloch, who had little to do with the film, yet it made him world famous author. I wanted to see how it differed and if it held up as a novel on its own. I wasn't let down - it's remarkable that he packs so much tension and story into just 134 pages.
Mary Crane is an unhappy secretary, practically an old maid at 29. While she worked and nursed her ill mother, her sister got to go to school - Mary's only holiday was a cruise where she met Sam Loomis, a small town hardware store owner. One day on the spur of the moment, she takes a cash deposit of $40,000 from work and leaves town in Sam's direction. In the dark rainy night, she takes a wrong turn and ends up at the Bates Motel. Norman Bates is a short, plump, balding man with glasses who is nervous around people. He lives with his domineering mother who belittles him, knowing he has nowhere else to go. Mary has changed her mind and decides to return the money tomorrow, but first has a shower - where Mother kills her in three succinct sentences. Shortly, Sam is contacted by Mary's sister Lila and they search together to find out what happened to missing Mary.
*Spoiler* Please don't read on if you don't know the story - I am going to reveal some twists.
Some changes from the film are that Mary is a brunette who love has passed by, rather than blonde Janet Leigh (named Marion) with her handsome lover. The money is never counted or shown, just hidden in the car which goes down in a swamp. Norman is often referred to as 'the fat man', physically different to Anthony Perkins - but the anger and resentment are the same, as Norman argues constantly with Mother while still taking care of her. When he was young and troubled she took care of him, and they only have each other now. Knowing that Norman is psychotic and the mother is a mummified corpse kept in her old bedroom of the house didn't alter the read, though. I was looking closely at the construction of the novel, and just what is revealed. There are times when Norman's assertion that Mother is actually still alive and hiding in the house were pretty plausible - even when Mother commits murder, the actions of Norman are quite separate, and he alone is left to clean up her mess. It's not until just 30 pages before the end the Sheriff states the mother died years before, but even after that, Norman has an alternate story that is pretty convincing. When sister Lila explores the basement at the finale, I was covering my intense feeling of the creeps with nervous laughter - and I already knew what was going to happen! It's rare to find a really scary book, and Bloch kept the tension tight, revealing all in a burst of a few paragraphs.
Exceptional writing by Bloch created characters and a strange scenario that is still fascinating today. It holds its own next to classics like The Tell-Tale Heart, and is certainly as good as the film which is considered unforgettable. There can hardly be many people the world over who don't know the story of Psycho, mainly from the film, but it all began with the imagination and talent of Robert Bloch.
Really enjoyable.
My other review for Robert Bloch:
1959 / Paperback / 134 pages
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