Come Closer
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Book Overview
Demonic possession or psychic break? One of Esquire's Top 50 horror novels of all time delves deep into the terrifying consequences of losing control. "A perfect horror novel."--Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World
A recurrent, unidentifiable noise in her apartment. A memo to her boss that's replaced by obscene insults. Amanda--a successful architect in a happy marriage--finds her life going off kilter by degrees. She starts smoking again, and one night for no reason, without even the knowledge that she's doing it, she burns her husband with a cigarette. At night she dreams of a beautiful woman with pointed teeth on the shore of a blood-red sea. The new voice in Amanda's head, the one that tells her to steal things and talk to strange men in bars, is strange and frightening, and Amanda struggles to wrest back control of her life. A book on demon possession suggests that the figure on the shore could be the demon Naamah, known to scholars of the Kabbalah as the second wife of Adam, who stole into his dreams and tricked him into fathering her child. Whatever the case, as the violence of her erratic behavior increases, Amanda knows that she must act to put her life right, or see it destroyed. This new edition of the cult classic features a brand new post-script by the author and an "Are You Possessed?" questionnaire.
A recurrent, unidentifiable noise in her apartment. A memo to her boss that's replaced by obscene insults. Amanda--a successful architect in a happy marriage--finds her life going off kilter by degrees. She starts smoking again, and one night for no reason, without even the knowledge that she's doing it, she burns her husband with a cigarette. At night she dreams of a beautiful woman with pointed teeth on the shore of a blood-red sea. The new voice in Amanda's head, the one that tells her to steal things and talk to strange men in bars, is strange and frightening, and Amanda struggles to wrest back control of her life. A book on demon possession suggests that the figure on the shore could be the demon Naamah, known to scholars of the Kabbalah as the second wife of Adam, who stole into his dreams and tricked him into fathering her child. Whatever the case, as the violence of her erratic behavior increases, Amanda knows that she must act to put her life right, or see it destroyed. This new edition of the cult classic features a brand new post-script by the author and an "Are You Possessed?" questionnaire.
Format:Paperback
Language:English
ISBN:1641295244
ISBN13:9781641295246
Release Date:September 2023
Publisher:Hell's Hundred
Length:168 Pages
Weight:0.37 lbs.
Dimensions:0.5" x 5.4" x 8.1"
Customer Reviews
9 ratings
Good but it’s full potential wasn’t reached
Published by Wren , 1 year ago
So the book really is good and a very interesting plot line that is well played out. Despite it being written in first person so there’s no overuse of I phrases and the reading flows well. That said, there’s so much more that could have been done if the author had lengthened the book so while good a lot of scenes feel rushed through. What should be a slow descent into madness seems to happen very quickly even if the narrator doesn’t seem to think so.
Yes yes yes
Published by Freemango , 3 years ago
This book made me feel all sorts of feelings
Truly a scary read on multiple levels. 10/10
I was still thinking about it days after I finished 💀
Published by Shantelle C. , 4 years ago
I read this in one night, and I'll be looking into her other books. It's scary because it doesn't go the way you think it should, and it's good because... It doesn't go the way you think it should. I'll definitely recommend it!
My all time favorite horror fiction.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 6 years ago
This is ALWAYS the book I recommend to someone who wants a good scary story. This isn't scary because of gore, torture or sadistic violence. No, this author doesn't rely on the gross to scare us. She scares us with "what if...." What if our imaginary childhood friend came back to see us now that we're adults. What if that imaginary friend wasn't who we thought. What if what people think of as madness is something else. What if it happened to you? Come Closer my favorite horror fiction (sorry Stephen King, but Come Closer has put you in #2). You'll appreciate that this is a quick read because you won't want to put it down.
... I Want To See Your True Face
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
A true horror story that doesn't pull punches. It's not about guts and gore, more about the slow loss of control. Buy it so I don't have to buy it for you.
I read it in one sitting
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
I couldn't put this book down. It's an easy read, but also completely absorbing. It's very, very creepy as you watch what happens to Amanda. Think back....did you have an imaginary friend as a child? Was that dream I had last night "just" a dream or something more? What is that tapping I hear? Chills!
The demon within
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
An aura of menace gathers around narrator Amanda as strange mood swings and irritating tapping-thumping noises in the walls begin to disrupt her happily married life. Small things gather momentum. She begins fighting with her husband, resumes smoking, goes out drinking after work. The imaginary playmate from her childhood returns. It's quite some time before she realizes the seductive, insistent third voice inside her head (after the initial voice of temptation, and after the sober rejoinder of the voice of reason and resistance) isn`t her own. Or is it? Gran's ("Saturn's Return to New York") short novel is a fairly straightforward tale of demonic possession, made chillingly delicious by the spare, unadorned voice, quick pace, and subtleties of psychological desire. Amanda's fate is not inevitable; there are ways to counter the demon, but does she have the faith required, or the strength of mind? Does she perhaps prefer to give in? Thoughtful as well as scary, Gran's tale evokes the lonely fears of adulthood.
Truely scary
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 20 years ago
I thought this was an awesome book. I too wish, that there were more good reads like this one.
Creepy and wonderful
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 21 years ago
After reading Sara Gran's excellent "Saturn's Return to New York" I couldn't wait to read her latest, "Come Closer." I expected to love it, and I was not disappointed. Her spare style sets the perfect tone for this grown-up ghost story of a modern woman who just might be possessed. The story was absorbing, gripping -- and creepy: although I read it enthusiastically, this was definitely a book I had to put away after dark. Wonderful!
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