The Girl Next Door [Hardcover]

Product Details

• Hardcover: 391 pages
• Publisher: Overlook Connection Press; 1 edition
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0963339737
• ISBN-13: 978-0963339737
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (212 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,675,660 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jack Ketchum is the pseudonym for novelist Dallas Mayr. He was born in Livingston, New Jersey in 1946. A onetime actor, teacher, and lumber salesman, Ketchum credits his childhood love of Elvis Presley, dinosaurs, and horror for getting him through his formative years. As a teenager, was befriended by Robert Bloch, author of "Psycho" who became a mentor to him. He supported Ketchum's work just as his work was supported by his own mentor, H.P. Lovecraft. This relationship with Bloch lasted until his death in 1994.

A pivotal point in Jack Ketchum's career came while he was working for the Scott Meredith Literary Agency. He met Henry Miller and assisted him as his agent until shortly before his death in 1980. His extraordinary encounter with Miller at his home in Pacific Palisades is one of the subjects of his memoir in "Book of Souls".

In 1980, Jack Ketchum published his first novel "Off Season". Stephen King said in his acceptance speech at the 2003 National Book Awards that "Off Season set off a furor in my supposed field, that of horror, that was unequaled until the advent of Clive Barker. It is not too much to say that these two gentlemen remade the face of American popular fiction." Ketchum has received continued praise by King throughout their friendship. King has said he is "is on a par with Clive Barker (Hellraiser), James Ellroy (L.A. Confidential) and Thomas Harris (The Silence of The Lambs)," and that "the only novelist working today that is writing more important fiction is Cormack McCarthy (No Country for Old Men, The Road).

Ketchum's work is largely based upon true events. The Girl Next Door , for example, was inspired by the 1965 murder of the young Sylvia Likens. In the special edition of the novel, King, who volunteered to write the preface, wrote one of the longest introductions of his career. He later went on to say that the movie adaptation of the book was "the first authentically shocking American film I've seen since Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer over 20 years ago. If you are easily disturbed, you should not watch this movie. If, on the other hand, you are prepared for a long look into hell, suburban style, The Girl Next Door will not disappoint. This is the dark-side-of-the-moon version of Stand By Me."

Ketchum has received numerous Bram Stoker Awards for works such as "The Box", "Closing Time", and "Peaceable Kingdom". As his books gained in worldwide popularity, they also began to be adapted into feature films, the first of which was "Jack Ketchum's The Lost" which went on to be a cult success, followed by the highly controversial second film "The Girl Next Door". However, the main launch for Jack Ketchum into international commercial and critical success was the long-awaited release by Magnolia Pictures of the film Red, based on his novel, starring Brian Cox (The Bourne Supremacy) and Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan). After favorable reviews at The Sundance Film Festival, the movie made a critical showing in the United States and enjoyed relative success internationally with subsequent translations of the novel.

Jack Ketchum continues his rise with the present showing of "The Woman" at the Sundance Film Festival 2011 co-written by Ketchum with director Lucky McKee. The novel is to be released this year.

Kethcum lives in New York City where he continues to write, articles, reviews, short stories, novels and screenplays. For more information go to international website: www.thejackketchum.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

147 of 160 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Grinding Morality Play, February 1, 2003

By 

Jeffrey Leach (Omaha, NE USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Girl Next Door (Hardcover)

"The Girl Next Door" is probably Jack Ketchum's most sought after book. I scrambled to pick up a copy when it briefly appeared back in print because buying a used copy requires a second mortgage on the house, signing an agreement to turn over your first born son, and swearing to never resell your copy for less than Bolivia's gross national product. When I finally clutched a fresh new copy in my grimy hands, I was struck with a sudden shudder of fear: is this book worth all the heartache of acquiring a copy? Is it as gruesome as everyone says it is? No, the book is not worth shelling out an insane amount of money for a used copy, but it is an unsettling, gruesome, and soul shattering read.

Jack Ketchum has a tendency to fictionalize real life crime stories. He accomplished this in "Off Season," "Joyride," and here in "The Girl Next Door." In 1960's Indiana, Sylvia Likens and her little sister moved in with Gertrude Baniszewski while their parents went out of town. Baniszewski, her children, and several neighborhood children tortured and eventually murdered Likens over a period of months. At the trial, the children involved in the crime got off with an insignificant punishment, leading to outbursts of rage among the community and anyone with an ounce of moral fiber. In what must surely rank as one of our justice system's lowest moments, Gertrude herself was eventually released from prison, dying peacefully several years later somewhere in Iowa. This case serves as the loose outline for Ketchum's diabolical novel.

Set in the seemingly bucolic era of 1950's America, "The Girl Next Door" starts in the present day with our narrator, David, setting the stage for a flashback to that peaceful time in American history when Ike was in the White House, McCarthy chased Commies out of the State Department, and the biggest fear for most people was the realization that the USSR had the bomb. For David, there is a worse fear from that time, something buried deep in his heart and in his mind that needs telling before it drives him over the brink of sanity. David's childhood was marred by a horrific event, made even more horrific by the fact that he stood by and watched it happen without doing anything to stop the nightmare.

When David was a child, he lived next door to Ruth and her three sons. Everyone in the neighborhood loved to hang out at Ruth's house, even though the father of the children no longer lived there. Ruth allowed the boys who came over to drink some beer, watch TV, and generally goof off. Ruth treated the kids like adults, which impressed David to no end because his own parents do not get along whatsoever. Going to Ruth's is a great way to blow off some steam if you can put up with Ruth's occasional tirades about her worthless ex-husband.

This is Ketchum, so the story gradually moves into realms of unspeakable evil. The trouble starts when Meg Loughlin and her crippled sister Sarah move in with Ruth. Meg and Sarah's parents died in a car accident, and Ruth is the only family they have left. Life is fine at first, but David realizes gradually that Meg is having big problems with Ruth. Ruth gets nasty with Meg, meting out harsh punishments for innocuous behavior. Then Meg and Sarah begin to suffer verbal assaults from Ruth, often times in front of David and other boys in the neighborhood. Ruth's rants begin to take on an insanity and incoherency that frightens David. Ultimately, Meg ends up locked in a bomb shelter in the basement, where the real pain begins. All of the kids in the area participate in the torture and debasement of Meg, overseen by Ruth. The final indignity committed against Ruth is so horrible I refuse to refer to it here.

The violence in the book is horrible and stomach churning, but the cruelty takes a back seat to the moral lessons Ketchum is trying to convey. While reading this book, Hannah Arendt's phrase "the banality of evil" repeatedly came to mind. These people are not monsters springing out of closets or hostile aliens invading the earth. Ruth and the children involved are everyday people caught up in an unexplainable web of heartless and devastating malevolence. Even David is caught up in the unfolding events, although he does not take part in the actual deeds. It is safe to argue that David's role is worse than those who commit the crimes because he knows it is wrong and does nothing to stop them until it is too late. "The Girl Next Door" is not a horror novel per se; it is a morality play. Ketchum draws us into this warped world and forces us to condemn David while at the same time recognizing that we very well might do the same thing if it was us in his shoes.

You will not soon forget this grim and unsettling novel. Ketchum penetrates depths here that he rarely plumbs in his other books. It is a darn shame "The Girl Next Door" is not available in a mass-market paperback edition. Many people want to read it, and an introduction by none other than Stephen King lends a stamp of credibility to the book. Look around for a copy, but think long and hard before shelling out large amounts of dough.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Real-life horror, not for the faint-hearted., April 18, 2001

By 

Craig Larson (Maple Grove, MN USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Girl Next Door (Hardcover)

I'm not sure I can really add much to the other comments here, some of which are really quite eloquent in their discussions of the book. I bought the old paperback copy of the book, way back, a horrendous thing with a skeleton in a cheerleader's costume on the cover--the art had absolutely nothing to do with the story inside, as I was to discover. This was not the first Ketchum I'd read--that honor went to _Off Season_, which, if you've not read it yet, you owe it to yourself to find immediately. No, I came to _The Girl Next Door_ after I'd read a few more Ketchum titles, and I was still totally unprepared.

This is easily the most gripping, horrifying, impossible-to-stop-reading book I've ever had in my hands. At the end, I felt so dirty, so complicit in the experience of reading that I threw away the book. Now, that's not a comment on the book or the quality of Mr. Ketchum's writing. On second thought, maybe it is--I've never been in the hands of someone so brutally honest, so able to force me to endure such a horrifying experience as the story he chronicles. This is not a feel-good experience. This is not one of those books where good triumphs over evil. You should not read this book if you're looking for a reassuring, light, easy read.

But if you're ready to look into the dark heart of human evil, this may be the book for you. It is truly a great book--an excellent novel with memorable characters and spot-on writing. But the story is not one you'll shake off easily. It really is something akin to driving slowly by the scene of an accident--you want to see what happened, while at the same time, you dread seeing what happened. If you feel up to the experience, give this one a try.

29 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disturbing Tale of Torture and Madness, December 30, 2005

By 

Kelly Houser (United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Girl Next Door (Mass Market Paperback)

David is your average 12-year-old boy. He has friends in his neighborhood and is becoming interested in girls. When Meg and Susan Loughlin move in with the family of his best friend, David thinks he has an opportunity for a new friend, even if Meg, the sister he encounters first, is a girl and a little older than him. Meg and Susan's parents were killed in an accident, and David's neighbor Ruth and her sons are all the family the girls have to speak of.

It's not long before Ruth begins a descent into madness and begins abusing the girls. First come the beatings, then a campaign of torture that David and other neighborhood children witness and participate in. The cops had already been involved and hadn't listened to Meg's pleas. Her and Susan's only hope is David. Will he be able to save the sisters before it is too late?

This novel was very disturbing. It includes graphic depictions of torture, rape, and other violence. It is an interesting character study in how people in violent situations respond to that violence; whether they become the predator or the prey. "The Girl Next Door" was very hard to put down, but very hard to read, as well. This book is definitely not for the faint of heart.