Witty and Sarcastic Bookclub
Written on Aug 18, 2018
It begins with a door in a dusky corner of a basement in a rambling Victorian house in northern New Hampshire. A door that someone has sealed it shut with thirty-nine enormous carriage bolts.
The home's new owners are Chip and Emily Linton and their twin daughters. Chip was an an airline pilot until he was forced to crash land on a remote lake the jet he was flying after double engine failure. Thirty-nine people aboard Flight 1611 died that day - a coincidence not lost on Chip when he discovers the number of bolts in that basement door . . .
Meanwhile, his wife is increasingly troubled about the women in this sparsely populated village, self-proclaimed 'herbalists'. Why do they seem excessively interested in her young daughters. Emily is terrified, too, that her husband's grip on sanity seems to have become increasingly tenuous, in the wake of the devastating plane accident.
- ISBN10 0307394999
- ISBN13 9780307394996
- Publish Date 4 October 2011 (first published 1 January 2011)
- Publish Status Remaindered
- Out of Print 5 February 2015
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Crown Publishing Group (NY)
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 378
- Language English
Reviews
ibeforem
Written on May 2, 2012
What follows is a record of Chip’s unraveling, hastened by an unfortunate move to a small New Hampshire town where his house isn’t the only thing that may be haunted. Being familiar with what small town New England feels like, Bohjalian has once again brought that experience to life. When your neighbors number few, is it possible for them to be just a little too friendly?
For me, the most interesting thing about this book is the way it was written. Bohjalian uses the second person point of view, where the narrator is referred to as “you”, when he writes from Chip’s point of view. It’s a very rarely used point of view, mostly because it’s so difficult to use well, and I was skeptical at first. Through a brief twitter exchange with the author (@ChrisBohjalian), he revealed that it hoped it would convey immediacy and disorientation, and I think he was extremely successful. You are drawn straight into Chip’s head, and even when you know that the things he sees and thinks are not possible, even crazy, you believe them as much as he does.
This ended up being my favorite Chris Bohjalian novel in years, and I’ve read almost all of them! Don’t go into it thinking you know how it will all turn out – you couldn’t be more wrong.
kimbacaffeinate
Written on Oct 30, 2011
The story revolves around the Linton’s. Chip Linton is suffering from PTSD, after a plane he was piloting crashes in a lake and thirty-nine passages die. In an effort to help her husband and children cope, Emily Lipton moves her family to an old Victorian home in Bethel, New Hampshire. She hopes that by moving away from the notoriety surrounding them it will give Chip the peace he needs and the twins a chance for some normalcy.
The family moves in and Chip becomes obsessed with a sealed door in the basement. The door is sealed shut with thirty-nine carriage bolts. Thirty-nine passengers died on his airplane. He and his daughter begin having nightmares. He starts seeing and having conversations with dead passengers. Meanwhile something strange is going on in this small town. The neighbors are stepping up to help the Lipton’s adjust by befriending them, feeding them, and offering advice but their interest in the Lipton’s twin girls is making Emily a little leery.
The POV is told in second and third person and it’s brilliantly done. You get a real sense of Chip’s struggle with his psychosis as it’s delivered in second person. The way in which Bohjalian spoon feeds you this tale just adds to the suspense. He weaves a tale that is creepy, horrifying, and yet eerily plausible. The town, it’s secrets, Chip’s demons all spring to life and will have you turning on the lights...All of the lights.
I did not become particularly attached to any of the characters in Night Strangers, which whether intentional or not was spectacular on Bohjalian’s part. Instead I became attached to the tale, the details, and the suspense. I wanted to unlock the secrets and uncover the truth.
I highly recommend The Night Strangers to anyone who loves a suspenseful psychological thriller. Fans of King and Koontz will be well satisfied with this story. I am adding Bohjalian to my list of must read authors.
You can see more of my reviews @ http://kimbathecaffeinatedbookreviewer.blogspot.com/