The Night Country : A Novel

O'Nan is well known for his disturbing novels that manage to hook the reader and tighten his emotions to the breaking point. The Night Country manages to do this in "real time", the bulk of the story taking place on Halloween one year after a tragic car wreck that left a group of friends decimated. Three have died and are ghosts haunting the town, while a fourth is brain-damaged, and a traumatized fifth suffers suvivor's guilt. Told from the perspective of one of the ghosts, who can get "into the heads" of all other characters, we learn the details of the crash and the fears, sorrows, and heartaches of the townsfolk. Disturbing, complex, and very human, this book will touch you to your core.

There exist many different kinds of horror. On one side, you have the more visceral and violent kind. On the other, you have the more quiet and emotional one. The Night Country, an amazingly affective novel, falls into this second category. Written with much soul and emotion, it's a nearly poetic treatise about the sadness of death and the sadness of life.The story takes place a year after a horrible car crash that left four teenagers dead, one badly injured and one unharmed. Now, a year later, the ghosts of the departed ones look at the world and the people who used to matter in their lives. It is now the eve of Halloween, the day when, one year ago, the accident happened. We follow these characters for twenty-four hours, until the very tragic end of the story. The story follows many different subplots that all merge into one. You have Brookes, the cop who was the first to arrive at the scene of the accident and who has been badly scarred by it ever since. You have Tim, the only one who survived unharmed and who hasn't been able to deal with the event. And you have Kyle, who survived the crash but who was left damaged in more ways than one, and his parents.As our narrator, the late Marco, tells us what happens to these characters, the other ghosts often argue with him or come in to tell us their brief version of things. O'Nan weaves his narrative in such a way that you never quite know where the book is taking you. Well, you know where it is trying to go although you wish it will never get there.The Night Country is a book that is all about death. There is very little joy to be found in this story. Instead, what you find is sadness. These characters are too badly scarred to ever be able to mend their lives back into what they used to be. Powerful, touching and incredibly affective, The Night Country is that rare horror novels that achieves greatness on many levels. You will not soon forget these characters, nore will you forget this powerful tale of mourning without hope. O'Nan has just found himself a new fan. I can't wait to read his other books!

Stewart O'Nan's THE NIGHT COUNTRY is a mesmerizing, provocative, and ultimately tragic little book. Despite its length, it packs a tremendous amount of characterization and emotional wallop than many books twice its length.Halloween has never seemed more frightening and spooky than as conveyed in this brilliant story of the tragic deaths of three young people and the scars left on the two survivors: Tim, whose scars are deeply psychological and Kyle, whose brain damage is heartbreaking. As is Kyle's mother, Nancy, who tries so hard to recover from the devastating loss of what was once her son, and the spiraling downfall of her marriage to a man who can't share the grief.The setting is ominous yet beautiful; even though we can tell fairly soon where this book is going, you are still entranced with it. Equally pitiable is Officer Brooks, whose involvement in the accident, haunts him as well.A stunning novel, not a true horror book, but a ghost story with passion, sensability and humanity.HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

At midnight on Halloween in New England, five teens are killed in a car wreck. A year later the three who died come back, summoned by memories of their friends, on a last mission. This multi-faceted ghost story is satisfyingly spooky and has a haunting plot fueled by powerful characterization. Highly recommended.

The best horror novel of 2003. Yes, it's bleak, but it's about the death of three teenagers in a car crash. I can't believe people would give this thing a bad review because it's depressing. The author should be praised for doing his job. If you want crap like Dean Koontz, then by all means, pick up your books at Wal-Mart and read crap. If a book is too much for you, then stay away from it. Idiots. What's really amazing is the amount of laughs O'nan squeezes out of us, and this while submerged in his dark universe (a place called "real life"--mighta heard of it; innocent kids die there). The dead teens seem to be the only ones having a good time, and their diolgoue isn't the stilted crap that most writers give us when taking on the "cool" persona of a teenager. Anyone who has ever lived in a small town will relate to The Car Accident. Every town has one, and it's the same fear that slasher movies drive on. All those kids killed by Jason or Freddy or Madman Marz (an A-plus to everyone who gets that last reference) are standing in for thos empty seats in third-hour algebra and the missing faces at graduation. Same with the talk of murdered teens in the opening scene of "Jeepers Creepers." But O'nan doesn't soften the blow with distance. There's no monster in a hockey mask standing in for a tragic accident. He gives us the real thing, and tells us that ghosts are of our own devising. And deep down, it's something we've known all along. O'Nan's love of the genre also comes through, with references ranging from Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol to "Return of the Living Dead." Refreshing to read, because too many "serious" horror novels are written by posers who wouldn't know William Castle from Paul Naschy. We've got the Neo-Gothic, the Southern Gothic, and what O'nan gives us, what I would call the Suburban Gothic--the place of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and "Ginger Snaps," of pumpkins on porches and kids dressed like skeletons. What Bradbury would call Halloween Country, and O'nan knows as Night Country. It's just usually not this real.