Customer Reviews

All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes by (Raven S)

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

 

 

Farris' book of voodoo sorcery is an intricately weaved work of plot and subplot. Ostensibly about the cursed lineage of the Bradwins, this book takes you from the plantations of Virginia to the countryside of England to the colonial age jungles of the heart of Africa (places Joe Conrad would not have even stepped foot in). This range of settings, times, and characters, apparently disconnected yet insidiously linked by dark, ancient forces, gives this book an almost Lovecraftian feeling. It is as if these forces can and are affecting each and every individual on this planet, yet we are naively and mercifully unaware of these unseen powers. That is, until those powers wish to make themselves known. This virtual omnipresence is illustrated in one scene where the character of Early Boy is talking to the self confessed voodoo priest. The old man tells Early Boy that voodoo is not primitive superstition or nonsensical sorcery but a sophisticated and very ancient religion predating and even the basis of modern religions. He says that Moses himself learned magic from powerful voodoo masters in the African jungles and therefore pretty much all of Christianity and Judaism is based on voodoo.
Instead of giving us a simple "voodoo men raise demons and other boogeymen with curses" type plot, which is straight out of a B movie, Farris structures the story so that it is believable, frightening, sophisticated, and chilling in its insinuations. Nor is this the type of story that has a predictable plot. You never guess the horror of the first few pages and you will never see the ending coming. Farris also never fails to give us great action throughout the story. A character jumping out of a window sending shards of glass flying is just the norm in this story. And they do get cut. "What do you think this is, a western?" as Early Boy says. Farris not only gives us a masterfully woven plot, he also delievers great action, and a pretty good scary story.

There are certain novels that are discovered early on by other novelists and talked about constantly. Some of the time, the public picks up on these and turns them, and their authors, into popular figures. Far more often, however, they are left in obscurity among the masses while achieving legendary status among the industry insiders. Anne Rivers Siddons' _The House Next Door_ is a prime example; Lee Smith's _Oral History_ is another. And there are many other examples, including this tome, which achieved something close to legendary status even before its publication-- and then disappeared, despite having the kudos of almost every major horror writer of the time thrown at it. Twenty-two years later, Farris is dimly remembered as having authored the novel that was the basis for the very bad movie _The Fury_ (1976) and nothing else. Which is something of a crime, because Farris was above average as far as seventies horror novelists went; of course, most of those have faded into (well-deserved) obscurity, as well, but a few live on. And Farris, while not on the same level as King and Koontz, is certainly no more than a shallow notch below either. And he was miles above, say, Frank de Felitta, whose every book went to #1 on the NYT chart and smashed publication records.

That being said, I've read a smattering of Farris over the years. His work is readable, if not compulsively so, and it goes quick-- if it weren't for the supernatural elements, I'd call Farris a writer of slick mysteries in the John D. MacDonald tradition. He has the same sense of pace and timing, and the same wry, understated sense of irony that, when it works, is as funny as anything ever penned by Douglas Adams. And this was right along the same lines. Not as much a travelogue-style book as many of his others-- this one is set, alternately, in the Blue Ridge Mountains (in a school obviously supposed to be VMI), in England, and on a plantation in the deep south known as Dasharoons. The action takes place in WW2, and ties together the plantation's owners, who seem to be cursed, and the son of a missionary doctor in the Congo.

Much of what happens here is, if not predictable, at least understandable to someone with an extra twenty-two years of scholarly research on various subjects under his belt. But this book came before a lot of that research, and so some of the details contained therein are astounding in their accuracy. (Farris stretches the truth now and again, but one wonders if that wasn't the going wisdom at the time on some things.) Of course, telling you what all this research went into would destroy most of the book's sense of disjunction; you kind of feel you have a sense of what's going on, but you're not really sure. (It's possible that those unfamiliar with these areas of research will be completely out of their depth.)

Because of the advances being made in anthropology and sociology, the book hasn't held up well on that level. But that's not the book's fault, and I tried to not penalize the book for what's gone on around it in the world since. Farris does a good job of capturing the deep south during WW2, everything has a rational explanations right up to the end, the characters are drawn well enough so that you start to worry about what happens to them (if not immersed, a la Walker). In general, a good, solid, easy read.

I read this book many years ago. After many years I searched for and found another copy of it. Now I lend it out to only my most trusted reading friends. I found this to be one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. The opening chapter - in the chapel - is so astounding, so riveting, that I was fairly gasping when the scene ended. This book takes the reader on a journey where s/he must suspend all the rules of reality. I loved it. I will read it again. I think John Farris is one of the BEST writers of this genre, along with Peter Straub and Stephen King!

Having never read anything by John Farris, I stumbled upon his 1977 novel "All Heads Turn When the Hunt Goes By" after seeing David J. Schow's very laudatory remarks concerning the book in Jones & Newman's overview volume "Horror: 100 Best Books" (1988). In his essay, Schow calls it a "unique horror novel; the strongest single work yet produced by the field's most powerful individual voice," as well as "the first modern sexual horror novel yet written." "All Heads Turn" was hardly an early work for Farris; indeed, he had seen a full 20 books published before this one, including his breakthrough novel, "The Fury" (his 19th), in 1976. (As of this date, by my count, the author has released 43 novels for his huge fan base.) "All Heads Turn" does turn out to be quite captivating, and while my enthusiasm for the book cannot match Schow's, I did quite enjoy it nevertheless.

The novel starts with a ghastly and memorable horror set piece indeed, as "Clipper" Bradwin, the youngest son of the Bradwin clan of Dasharoons estate, goes homicidally berserk on his own wedding day in 1942. Two years later, a mysterious English doctor, Jackson Holley, escorts Clipper's older and war-wounded brother back to Dasharoons, in southeast Arkansas, and becomes involved with the estate's mistress, Nhora Bradwin, who was widowed on the day of that earlier tragedy. But, as it turns out, the wedding-day catastrophe of 1942 is only the beginning of a string of awful happenings soon to be visited on the seemingly accursed family. Farris blends into his tale a remarkable amount of historic detail (the sense of time and place is extremely well brought off here, whether Farris read up on the area or got his details from growing up and going to school, in the 1940s and '50s, in Tennessee), cultural tidbits (anyone remember who Dorothy Dix was?) and voodoo lore. And the author is revealed here to be a really terrific writer, too, whether employing a first-person narrative in journal form, the omniscient and detail-obsessed observer, or a more impressionistic style. Farris sure does have a way with a tossed-off description, too, as when he writes that a character had "eyes the color of spit on a sidewalk." His book is filled with uniformly interesting and unusual characters, and is a true horror piece not just as regards subject matter, but because something horrible happens to virtually every character in it. The novel ultimately gives us just enough information to connect our own dots, but some readers, I have a feeling, may be left wanting more. Still, that withholding of full explication only enhances the sense of voodoo mystery pervading Farris' work. And that double whammy of an ending...talk about coming full circle!

"All Heads Turn," good as it is, is certainly not a perfect book. Farris' plot is way too dependent on coincidence--better make that double coincidence--to be fully satisfying, and the author is even guilty of an occasional glitch here and there. For example, Nhora says, after the May 1942 slayings, that a character named Early Boy had long been dogging her, and that she could never forget his smile; later on, she says that she had FIRST seen him in May '42. A lantern that is said to be "burned low and...flickered out" on the porch of Old Lamb is somehow alight and ready to be extinguished six pages later. But these are quibbles. As I mentioned, I truly did find Farris' novel to be engrossing, gripping and oftentimes horrifying. As for that unusual title, I really cannot explain it, unless it refers to an 11th century letter that one of the book's characters glances at, and which mentions "horrid centaurs, the wild men, the blaring huntsmen...." Just another mystery, I suppose, in a book filled with many. To sum up: As Schow so rightly tells us, this is far from a "'feel good' horror" novel, but those game for some truly shocking thrills may find it quite a ride.

I bought this book after seeing it listed on several "10 Best" lists. And the beginning certainly packs a punch. However, the excitement of the opening scenes is not sustained. The rest of the book drags. In addition, characters are introduced never to be heard or seen again, information is presented but nothing is ever done with it, you are never given anything more than a surface glance at these characters, and nothing is ever truly resolved.

Is the "big bad" of this novel worthy of our fear or our pity? And what about those that helped bring it about? The resolution shuffles to a finish, and is wrapped up in about 25 pages. The rest of the novel discusses plot points that either go nowhere or end up so lackluster that when you finally uncover the mystery it's more of an "oh" than a "oh wow!"

How exactly did the main family of this novel become what it is? There are hints on the book jacket that this family has a secret evil past, but it's never proven. Why exactly did this evil visit this family? It's explained in about two sentences. Those looking for a book with a big payoff should look elsewhere.

Horror: 100 Best Books led me to this novel. It is an interesting read but...long. Farris aspires to a literary/Southern Gothic writing style that can be confusing at times. The story is epic in scope - a supernatural thriller involving generations of a cursed family. It weaves the themes of voodoo and the lamia into a modern sexual thriller. Just be prepared to invest a lot of time into it.

I can't believe this book is out of print. And I can't believe it
hasn't been made into a movie. It's up there in the pantheon of the gods...Lovecraft, Blackwood. I believe I have glimpsed influences on Stephen King and Clive Barker...
esp. "It" and "Galilee."

It's a classic. A smart publisher will bring it back. The public deserves it. Great, great writing...poetry and magic and a riveting story with one of the greatest opening chapters in literature.

Before I even got this book, I had already read several of his novels and enjoyed each one immensely. However, I found this book difficult to read...There were not many places where I could stop and while reading I was wondering what the purpose was and my mind kept wandering..Finally, when I reached the end of the book I was disappointed that it ended that way. If this was the first novel I had read by John Farris, I might have shunned his other novels(glad I hadn't)I got rid of it after I finished reading it.

This here's perhaps one of the best horror novels I've ever read. Great characters and complex plot, from it's startling beginning to the satisfying climax, it's a page turner that could make a perfect HBO mini series. Included in the 100 Best Horror Novels by Stephen Jones. Highly Recommended.

I remember this book as a very good book. The story went back and forth from Africa to Europe to other countries. I remember the action going on while other looked on..."as the hunt went by." I read it when it first came out...years ago. Since I cannot find it on the internet, maybe I should try the author. I do have a habit of trying to forget very good books so that when I read it again, years later, I am surprised at some of the particulars. Sounds crazy? Yeah, nuts.