Burnt Offerings (Valancourt 20th Century Classics)

A haunted house horror tale from the 70's now in kindle form. Marian, Ben and their son David respond to an ad to act as housesitters at the home of the Allardyces in upstate New York. What follows is a creepy tale as the house appears to be coming alive bit by bit and all through Marian. There is something very unsettling about this book....what is the true intention of the Allardyces letting this beautiful old house for the small sum of $900? who is the old lady who resides deep within the walls of the house and who must be regularly fed three times each day?...although she is never seen. What strange power has this house over Marian as she appears to sacrifice it over the lives of her husband Ben and son David. "It was alive, all around her it was alive, and how else had it come alive but through her? And wasn't that the uneasiness she was feeling - the growing awareness of her power in the house, the enormity of the mystery enveloping her life...."

I actually strongly disliked this book. Out started off strong enough,but then there was an obviousness about what was going to happen. I despised the central character, Marian, and thought she was completely and utterly selfish. I liked the husband, Ben and son David, though Ben wasn't strong enough and gave into Marian's spoilt whims. I really don't understand the fuss of the book and I wouldn't recommend it. It's not scary, it's highly depressing. It was lucky it got three stars,and that was only because of the prose and premise. I Highly disliked this book.

Okay, the characters - except for Aunt Elizabeth- maybe, are just unlikeable. Period. Marian is a house wife, that isn't exactly the independent woman type. She is basically a vapid stereotypical female that p**sy whips the husband to the point he can't make a decision and stick to it. She's cunning manipulative, extremely materialistic, self-involved, sits at home all day doing housework, and rules the roost. She decides it's that time of the year for a summer vacation, since Ben is a school teacher and has 3 months off. She looks in the magazine ads, finds this one in particular, talks to the owner and becomes hell-bent on renting the place. No matter what weak objections her husband may have, she wants that rental, by gawd. Even though she's not paying for the stupid place (that's right friends and neighbors, she's not even employed), she pouts, withholds sexual favors, does the cold shoulder routine, and distances herself from her weak willed husband, until finally she gets her way. This type of maneuver has been proven unsuccessful in 2016. Just ask Jada Pinkett if worked for the Oscars. Then we have Ben. yes.. him. Obviously, the poor guy will never be half the man his mother was. The weak-willed, classic passive-aggressive school teaching whipped husband who loves Marian soooooo much, that he is willing to give her his complete devotion - even though it's obvious that if his belly was on fire, and she had a glass of water - she'd drink it instead. "Sacrifice" and "honor" are not in her vocabulary. I truly wonder why he was even in the story. Oh yeah, Antagonist Protagonist, victim, etc. She finally gets her way - unlike Jada - and they go to the house and interview the couple and the handy man. From the interview with the "eccentric" brother and sister, to the very end of the book. There is basically no more reality. These are NEW YORKERS, people.. NEW YORKERS!! Anyone who's visited New York, Jersey or the Statue of Liberty, knows for a gold-plated fact that if a couple from NEW YORK came out and interviewed these two nut cases, they would have jumped back into the car faster than a horse could trot, pulled the fastest K-turn in the history of stunt driving, and drove NASCAR style out of that driveway without looking back. It's obvious that Stephen King used this book for his novel, The Shining. The only difference was the family was "snowed in" and couldn't get out of the Overlook hotel. He was a much more sagacious author, by having Wendy the anti-hero-wife, stop the insanity by calling out her husband on his deception, and trying to get her and her son out of that place and damn near murders Jack in the process. Not in this book. Most school teachers are SMART.. Nope.. not Ben from NEW YORK! Aunt Elizabeth dies in the house. That would have sent families hi...

The movie had a better ending. Both never stated what Mother's job was and why. I don't get it. Zowed