This ghost story was a classic when it was first released, and its reputation has only grown over the years. Now it has been republished in hardcover, with a suite of handsome full-color, full-page photographs by J.K. Potter, who has given us these haunting compositions that perfectly complement the understated beauty of Peter Straub's prose. Elegantly typeset and handsomely bound, this new edition is limited to three hundred copies, each one signed by Peter Straub, Thomas Tessier, and J.K. Potter. The book also features a lengthy interview with Straub and a bonus short story.
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Review
"ELECTRIFYING."
--STEPHEN KING
"COMPULSIVE READING . . . MARVELOUS ATMOSPHERE, SUSPENSE, AND A TRULY GRAND GUIGNOL ENDING."
--DOROTHY EDEN
Author of Sleep in the Woods
"STRAUB IS TERRIFYINGLY ACCOMPLISHED IN THE ART OF HORROR."
--Entertainment Weekly
"A FINE STORYTELLER."
--The Washington Post --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
--STEPHEN KING
"COMPULSIVE READING . . . MARVELOUS ATMOSPHERE, SUSPENSE, AND A TRULY GRAND GUIGNOL ENDING."
--DOROTHY EDEN
Author of Sleep in the Woods
"STRAUB IS TERRIFYINGLY ACCOMPLISHED IN THE ART OF HORROR."
--Entertainment Weekly
"A FINE STORYTELLER."
--The Washington Post --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
From the Back Cover
"ELECTRIFYING."
--STEPHEN KING
"COMPULSIVE READING . . . MARVELOUS ATMOSPHERE, SUSPENSE, AND A TRULY GRAND GUIGNOL ENDING."
--DOROTHY EDEN
Author of Sleep in the Woods
"STRAUB IS TERRIFYINGLY ACCOMPLISHED IN THE ART OF HORROR."
--Entertainment Weekly
"A FINE STORYTELLER."
--The Washington Post
--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
--STEPHEN KING
"COMPULSIVE READING . . . MARVELOUS ATMOSPHERE, SUSPENSE, AND A TRULY GRAND GUIGNOL ENDING."
--DOROTHY EDEN
Author of Sleep in the Woods
"STRAUB IS TERRIFYINGLY ACCOMPLISHED IN THE ART OF HORROR."
--Entertainment Weekly
"A FINE STORYTELLER."
--The Washington Post
--This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Michael Butts
TOP 1000 REVIEWER
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Miles Teagarden, the narrator and focal character, in Straub's early "If You Could See Me Now" is one mixed up guy. At times, you have to wonder if he's got all his cookies; but in some ways, that's what makes this book an eerie, if not classic, thriller. Straub is a wonderful writer, and even though at times, he gets too wordy, he sets a very suspenseful mood, and keeps an impending sense of doom permeating the novel.
When Miles returns to the scene of a horrifying "accident" after twenty years, we wonder when and if his beloved Allison will keep the vow she made those many years ago. If you've read a lot of this type of book, you pretty much know what the big revelation will be halfway through the book. Once you find that out, the story loses a little of its punch and the rest of the time, Miles is involved in finding out whodunit, although it's pretty obvious who did! At any rate, the novel moves along rather nicely, but the ending seems somewhat rushed, and the murderer's identity is something that is obscure and not fully fleshed out. Overall, though, if you are a Straub fan, this book fits nicely in your library, although "Ghost Story" and "Floating Dragon" are his best works.
RECOMMENDED.
When Miles returns to the scene of a horrifying "accident" after twenty years, we wonder when and if his beloved Allison will keep the vow she made those many years ago. If you've read a lot of this type of book, you pretty much know what the big revelation will be halfway through the book. Once you find that out, the story loses a little of its punch and the rest of the time, Miles is involved in finding out whodunit, although it's pretty obvious who did! At any rate, the novel moves along rather nicely, but the ending seems somewhat rushed, and the murderer's identity is something that is obscure and not fully fleshed out. Overall, though, if you are a Straub fan, this book fits nicely in your library, although "Ghost Story" and "Floating Dragon" are his best works.
RECOMMENDED.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Darren Jacks
Format:Mass Market Paperback
This is a great story that Straub tells very well and in a rare book, does not "over-write" or become overly wordy, the only fault I can find with Straub's writing.
Straub is a master craftsman and a very good storyteller, but like I said his books sometimes get "wordy". However, here he has not encountered that and writes a great "short novel" about going home and dredging up the past.
This is an easy read and flows smoothly, however Miles is just clueless. He gets in all types of trouble and seems to have no common sense at all. He is not one of Straub's more memorable characters.
Still, two thumbs way way up!!!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Bruce Rux
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Thirteen year old Miles Teagarden and his one year older racy cousin, Alison Greening, went skinny-dipping in the quarry in Arden, Wisconsin, and made a pact to reunite twenty years in the future. Only Miles left the quarry alive. He doesn't remember what happened, but Alison drowned and everyone blamed him for it - though, hypocritical prudes that the townsfolk were, they felt the girl had it coming.
Now, twenty years later, Miles has returned to honor the pact. With his return comes a shocking wave of serial murders and abductions - all of young girls of Alison's age and appearance. Suspicion falls upon him, and Miles has a knack for making it all worse. He's ruffling a lot of feathers, figuring out what really happened to Alison all those years ago. And before long, he's got much bigger worries than being the prime suspect in the most horrific crimes Arden has ever seen - because it seems someone is trying to kill him...
This is a flawed novel, but it's a great flawed novel. Written between his debut book, Julia, and his most popular work, Ghost Story, Straub's If You Could See Me Now is a bridge between his supernatural horror fiction and his later Blue Rose murder mystery trilogy. The suspense in this book is superior, never letting up and continually adding new surprises in plot development.
The book is thematically rich, and could easily become the subject of any number of contemporary literature research papers. It is mostly a murder mystery, and a well-written one at that. The supernatural element in the story is ill-explained and seems somewhat inconsistent, yet it works. Alison's motivations are not understandable, though in large part Straub seems to have intended her character to be enigmatic - her name, and her method of manifestation, suggest a change in her akin to becoming some sort of perverse nature elemental.
If you like suspense - supernatural, or more mundane crime melodrama - this is the book for you.
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4.2 out of 5 stars
Most recent customer reviews
1.0 out of 5 stars
Thanks a lot, jerk !
I'd like to thank the reader from Los Angeles who completely spoiled this book for me and anyone else who hasn't read it. Read more
Published on Dec 29 2001 by "laurah2477"
4.0 out of 5 stars
Eerie....
Having been an avid Stephen King fan since I was 13, I thought I should try reading Straub. I was very pleased that I did. From the first page, I was hooked. Read more
Published on Sep 29 2001 by Jennifer
1.0 out of 5 stars
I don't agree with the other reviewers
I was not convinced. Having tried Mr. X (it had such a "must have" look about it) and found it seriously wanting, again the main character is not persuasive enough. Read more
Published on Aug 1 2001 by Mrs. Roni Hermony
4.0 out of 5 stars
GREAT ATMOSPHERE
The best thing about "If You Could See Me Now" is the eerie, dream-like atmosphere that Straub builds from the very beginning. Read more
Published on April 10 2001 by Jonathan May
3.0 out of 5 stars
Ghoulish & Ambient But Unsatisfying On The Whole
In order to get some R&R and finish his thesis onD.H. Lawrence, Miles Teagarden, an English professor from New York,goes back to the tiny town in rural Wisconsin where he spent... Read more
Published on Dec 12 2000 by Jaguar Mephistopheles
4.0 out of 5 stars
it's like a trip around the world, in your very own home
This Peter Staub is probably one of the most wonderful, chilling, scary, and thoughtful books you will ever read. Read more
Published on July 25 2000 by rojo
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