Vous voulez voir cette page en français ? Cliquez ici.

Get it for less! Order it used
Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
 
Psycho
  
Search inside another edition of this book

Psycho (Hardcover)

by Robert Bloch (Author) "NORMAN BATES heard the noise and a shock went through him ..." (more)
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)

Currently unavailable.
We don't know when or if this item will be back in stock.


Product Details
Inside This Book (Learn More)
Browse and search another edition of this book.
First Sentence
NORMAN BATES heard the noise and a shock went through him. Read the first page
Explore More
Concordance
Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover
Search inside this book:

Tag this product

 (What's this?)
Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.
Your tags: Add your first tag
 
See most popular tags
 

Customer Reviews

40 Reviews
5 star:
 (23)
4 star:
 (10)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (4)
1 star:    (0)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.3 out of 5 stars (40 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most helpful customer reviews

 
4.0 out of 5 stars Bates is open for buissness, May 26 2004
By Vagabond77 (Tennessee, USA) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Psycho (Mass Market Paperback)
This was an interesting piece of late 50s pulp fiction that is not bad, and ordinarily would not have been really remarkable, except it was the basis for one of the greatest horror movies of all time. I know what you are thinking; but this is Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho"! Well, no it isn't. It is Robert Bloch's novel. The plot is the same as the movie; Marian Crane steals money from her boss, and runs away to be with her boyfriend. She ends up in a small rundown motel run by shy but odd Norman Bates (who is described as fat with glasses here). Well, the rest is history. The book is a little different in the level of violence that was in the book that was missing in the movie, and I thought that was pretty cool. The problem is that almost everyone in the world has seen the movie, so the end is kind of ruined. But it dose offer a little more insight into Norman; he likes books on voodo and hypnotism, as well as adult magazeens. He is a lot less sympathetic here than he was in the movie, but that is ok. It is a fast read, and it offers a little more insight into the movie.
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
3.0 out of 5 stars a curious piece of 1950s pulp fiction.., Oct 4 2003
By lazza (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) - See all my reviews
Ce commentaire est de: Psycho (Mass Market Paperback)
'Psycho' by Robert Bloch would most certainly be long forgotten and probably out of print if it weren't for its brilliant film adaptation. Actually it is one of those unusual cases where the film is actually better than the book; the film's screenwriter (Joseph Stephano) did a great job. So what does the book offer?

While all the major elements found in the film 'Psycho' are also in Robert Bloch's original novel I found the book to be relatively poorly written. Great premise with a not-so-good execution. For much better psychological/criminal character studies I recommend 'The Killer Inside Me' by Jim Thompson, or one of the many early works of Patricia Highsmith. Robert Bloch simply doesn't have the same literary strength, and the characterizations are fairly thin.

However it is very interesting to note key differences between the film and the book, and so I believe fans of Hitchcock's film will enjoy reading Robert Bloch's novel. At least it's a short read, the perfect sort of book to carry on business trip.

Bottom line: the book that spawned Norman Bates. Somewhat disappointing but most will find some reading enjoyment from it.

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
4.0 out of 5 stars Good read !, Jul 14 2003
By Jean-Marc M Salama (Melbourne, Victoria Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Ce commentaire est de: Psycho (Paperback)
I bought this book to see how close the film was to the original story. In fact it was a very faithful interpretation, so there was absolutely no surprises.
One plus. The author is better able to get us into Norman (or is it Norma ?) Bate's mind than Hitchcock could do in the film. Otherwise it's a great story (derived from a real news event). It's too bad I already knew the end. Good read, though...
Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 		 Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Awsome book!!!!
This is a really cool book about a crazy gut who thinks he is his dead mother some times. It's a cool book. Shower seanne is awsome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Published on April 30 2004 by Lauren B. Floss

2.0 out of 5 stars Third Rate Pulp Trash
My recently-purchased copy of Robert Bloch's PSYCHO features a cover photograph of Janet Leigh screaming and a quote from film director Alfred Hitchcock: "PSYCHO all came... Lisez davantage
Published on Jul 4 2003 by Gary F. Taylor

3.0 out of 5 stars overrated
it is certainly not my fault this is considered a classic. horror. thriller. not great, but good, either way. simple plot. superficial descriptions. Lisez davantage
Published on April 8 2003 by jan erik storebø

3.0 out of 5 stars Average rating, but it's still good.
I've always wanted to read this book ever since I saw Hitchcock's famous thriller movie that created the slasher film genre (true fact!). Lisez davantage
Published on Nov 5 2002 by DJ Heinlein

2.0 out of 5 stars I saw the movie first read the book second
Like my title says and I thought the movie was better,mostly because I expected what Norman Bates looked like on screen and in the book,he's totally different. Lisez davantage
Published on Sep 22 2002 by S. Schofield

4.0 out of 5 stars Just another opinion
Some people say the movie was better, some people say the book was better. I'd say in terms of quality, they're about equal. Lisez davantage
Published on Sep 2 2002 by Sara Howard

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent.... even compared to the classic movie!!!!!!
Many critics say it can't live up to the movie, but isn't it obvious that without this book the movie wouldn't even exist? Lisez davantage
Published on Jul 18 2002 by jbhapgood2

5.0 out of 5 stars nice bit of pulp history
No movie could ever be accurate to the original story, because movies are a visual medium and can never fully get inside a character's head the way books can. Lisez davantage
Published on Jan 31 2002 by JR

5.0 out of 5 stars put yourself in the time frame
After reading everyone else's reviews and seeing what mostly everyone else had to say, I want to agree that the film is better than the novel. But, I still loved the novel. Lisez davantage
Published on Nov 17 2001 by timrhps

5.0 out of 5 stars Probably more like 4 and 1/2
Yes we all know that the book is not the same as the movie, yes Alfred Hitchcock was a wonderful and masterful director, and no the book isn't better then the movie. Lisez davantage
Published on Nov 7 2001 by Barry J. Daulton

Only search this product's reviews


Look for similar items by category

Look for similar items by subject





i.e., each book must be in subject 1 AND subject 2 AND ...

Feedback

Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?

Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.