Customer Reviews

Harvest Home

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

...at least I think it's overlooked. This is a book from the 70's I have read many times. There was a miniseries made from it starring Bette Davis in her later years, playing a New England "wise woman". It's about a family moving from the big city to a quaint old-fashioned New England village. Hilarity does not ensue. A growing sense of horror and suspense does. How many times have we read that story, huh? Well, this one is different in that it is so well written and the end is so shocking. All of Tom Tryon's books are wonderful, and I know this one is also out of print, sadly enough. Come on, you people know you've seen it at garage sales, at used book stores, on the table at the library's annual book sale. Should you ever come across "Harvest Home", pick it up. This story will stay with you, you'll think about it years later and re-read it - as did I.

When I picked up Harvest Home in a second-hand bookshop I had pretty low expectations - I'd read other works by the same author and been decidedly underwhelmed. Once I'd read it I decided that perhaps all writers have one really good book in them - they just need to find the right subject matter. The fact that I guessed the dark secret of Harvest Home by about the middle of the book did nothing to spoil my enjoyment - and I have to say that the ending of the book is amazing - dark but amazing ... Sadly this book now seems to be out of print - but my advice would be if you see a second hand copy for sale snap it up! My guess is that it's a book most people will hang on to because they want to read it again and again.

My verdict: One of my all time favourites - not great literature just a really entertaining read

I read this book in 1976. It was given to me by a friend. It only took me a few hours as I could not put it down. After completing the book I was in total shock and threw it across the room hitting the wall and breaking the spine. The entire book fell apart. I've been looking for another copy for my daughter who is 17 years old. Can't find one anywhere. I hear of many strange events happening in small towns, but this took the cake! I really enjoyed it and need another copy soon.

I bought a book by Thomas Tryon called "The Other Harvest Home." He is the author of both titles so you would assume that it was a compilation that contained both titles. It is actually a copy of "Harvest Home" by the author of "The Other."

There were cheaper versions of just "Harvest Home." The title of the book was VERY misleading. I would not order from this seller again without verifying what he/she is selling.

I have read this book twice in the past several years. It is one of those books from the 70s that my parents had as a harcover, and it just stayed with me, after I took it to college and beyond. One of the key reasons this book is interesting is that it evokes an ominous sense throughout the story. Many of the details border on supernatural, yet the horror is firmly rooted in a small bucolic town's obsolete traditions involving human sacrifice and a female hegemony. If you can find it, read it. It's a fun, summer read.

Harvest home was made into a classic mini-series called The Dark Secret of Harvest Home, starring Betty Davis & a very young Rosanna Arquette. It's a great story.

The best I can relate to you is what was said about the book in a television ad for it. An actor walked out, said, "When I finished Tom Tryon's "Harvest Home", I turned on all the lights and called my mother." Then he walked offstage.

Slow going at the beginning, this book picks up speed about 2/3 of the way through. Newcomers to a agriculturally based New England town discover some bizarre traditions and rituals honoring the harvest. Sexual situations and violence.

I see quite a few glowing reveiws posted here for "Harvest Home", and I would love to add one...but I can't. It's been about 3 days since I finished reading Tryon's novel and I am still not sure if I liked it or would recommend it. It took me a couple days and about 100 pages to really get into the story, Tryon's writing style is very descriptive, almost too flowery at times. The story does not grab you by throat, (sorry if you are looking for details look at other reviews, I hate reviews filled with spoilers) you are eased into the world Tryon created. The suspense builds slowly, I mean very slowly. And the payoff is okay, but not the "Repeat to Yourself It's Only a Book" kind of payoff the cover promised. The characters of the Widow and Ned were done well, but the rest of the characters were just so much background noise. On the flip side, the story did pique my curiosity, and I did keep coming back to see how everything would come out. I see plenty of reviews here that say you can see the ending coming from a mile away....I didn't. I thought the novel was pretty inventive at times, and it kept me guessing throughout. So while I am not sure I would recommend this novel, if you happen to stumble across it, you could do a lot worse than losing a few days reading it.