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Customer Reviews

10 Reviews

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Average Customer Review

4.0 out of 5 stars (10 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A very solid work by a very solid author!!, Jul 22 2002

By	J. Resnick (San Francisco, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Grotesque (Paperback)

I've now read Asylum, Spider, Dr. Haggards Disease and The Grotesque and I would definitely put this one in at #3, behind Asylum and Spider.
This story got me thinking about how awful life would be if you were a vegetable and noone knew you were able to understand everything around you. McGrath's narrators are always "one sandwich short of a pincic" and you have to think about what's really happening/happened vs. what the narrator said happened. I enjoyed the story quite a bit, and still have many unanswered questions!

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4.0 out of 5 stars The Butler Did It---Or Did He?, May 5 2001

By	Ms. Nancy F. Jones (Milwaukee, WI USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Grotesque (Paperback)

This is McGrath's first book, and it's a good one. A goof on the familiar Gothic novel, it tells the story of the hostile take-over of a creepy old estate by the owner's butler. However, since the narrator is in a state of complete paralysis, and quite possibly insane, his story is suspect. Is the butler really doing the nasty with Sir Hugo's wife? Who murdered the insipid fiance of Sir Hugo's daughter and fed him to the estate's pigs? What REALLY happened in Sir Hugo's barn workshop the day he became paralyzed?

A black comedy of murder and manners, THE GROTESQUE provides us with the requsite gloomy mansion, a dismal swamp, a suspicious servant, bad plumbing, and a possible inspiration for Thomas Harris's HANNIBAL. I recommend it.

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4.0 out of 5 stars A dark, laugh-out-loud, horror novel, Feb 19 2001

By	Rob Damm (Brick, NJ USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Grotesque (Paperback)

I was pretty impressed with this book, as it is from early on in the writer's career. McGrath has gone on to become probably the greatest gothicist of his generation (admittedly, a title which is *not* oft contested), but, in my opinion, there are wickedly funny elements in this book that I find lacking in his later, "greater" works. I was surprised that such a diabolical sense of humor lurked within the author of utterly disturbing books such as "Spider" and "Asylum". The cataleptic narrator's (Sir Hugo) observation are always at least worthy of a smirk, sometimes a snort, often an out-loud laugh. Like all of McGrath's works, it will occupy your mind long after you've finished it... trying to fingure out exactly what's going on. I suppose it is not as expertly crafted as his later books, but it is certainly a good start to a stellar career. Also, a good intro to McGrath, as it's not quite as harrowing as his later work.

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Most recent customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars an early McGrath work lacking intensity
McGrath's popular works (Spider, Asylum, Dr. Haggard's Disease) are known for being compact, psychological dramas with a paranormal twist. Read more

Published on May 15 2000 by lazza

4.0 out of 5 stars Bodies in the swamp,creepy Butlers,and bad plumbing.
This is a prime example of an Author having fun. McGrath has taken every Gothic cliche and turned them upside down. Read more

Published on Mar 22 2000 by rodney23

5.0 out of 5 stars Did the butler really do it?
Having picked up this book rather randomly, I was pleasantly surprised to find a well written modern gothic tale. Read more

Published on Dec 22 1999

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Great One from McGrath
I LOVED this book. McGrath is the modern master of neo-gothic stories. It's all here: the spooky old house, the bad weather, the seriously disturbed people. Read more

Published on April 1 1999