Mendal W. Johnson (1928–1976)

A nauseating masterpiece on the level of The Girl Next Door. Rich in setting and period detail - this novel glows with the warmth of summer in the 70s - and psychological depth. A horrific event is examined from every possible angle, in slow motion. Long out of print, this book is being done a phenomenal service by Valancourt/Paperbacks from Hell, with a perfectly executed reissue including an introduction from paperback horror champion Grady Hendrix. This is a must purchase for some readers, and deserves the resurgence it will hopefully receive. But know going in that it’s grotesque nature isn’t for everybody.… (mehr)

Let's Go Play at the Adams av Mendal W. Johnson handlar om en barnvakt som vaknar upp fastbunden. Det som enbart började som en oskyldig lek tar dock snabbt en mörk vändning när hon inser att de barn som bundit fast henne inte tänker låta henne gå ännu.
Intressant bok med starka känslor av oundviklig tragedi och hopplöshet. Är med i bokserien "Paperbacks from hell" som även får introduktion av Grady Hendrix som är välstuderad inom ämnet.
Boken utforskar teman av ondska, makt och ställer ett antal moraliska frågor. Skulle i förstahand inte rekommendera boken då den dels är ganska brutal (inte grafisk) men även ganska frustrerande till och från att läsa.… (mehr)

I read this book last year (2020) and a year later am still haunted by it. I've never had a book do that before. Some compare this book to Girl Next Door though that book was written over a decade later. I do think that this book might have been inspiration for King's Children of the Corn short story published only a few years after this book. This story LGPatA might have been inspired by the Sylvia Likens true crime case. I think this story was more likely inspired by Lord of the Flies.

I've analyzed, and reanalyzed this story over and over again. There is lots of psychology going on and some politics as well. Briefly I think political symbolism is that adults are like the ruling class. Kids are the working class. And the 20 y.o. babysitter is in the smallest class, the intellectual class. The kids resent being ruled by the adults, but the intellectual people are a wild card not fitting in with either. I will stop with that here as I'm not trained in political science. But my point is that I think LGPatA mirrors some aspects of politics.

I see this book as more than just a typical horror story such as Dracula. I think LGPatA is a cautionary tale more like Frankenstein. Yes, there is horror in this book, but a message too. These kids, through a childish prank, create a problem. The problem worsens as time goes on. And like problems do, it reaches a tipping point. This happens halfway through the book. The solution is unclear. The problem cannot simply be reversed. There is a crisis quickly approaching. A drastic solution seems the only one which might work. The message is about how easy it is for people (kids and adults too) to convince themselves that an ends justifies a means no matter how horrific. And the means has to be horrific for the solution to work. I'm going to leave it that abstracted. I could go on with my analysis of each character, but wont.

But this is why I say this book is more than just a horror story. It's a warning what people might do when in a dilemma. And that is to take the easy, most controllable, way out. We adults do this frequently and kids watch us doing it. The kids in this story actually mimicked adults rather closely. That, to me, is what made this story so horrible and disturbing. Because the kids ARE doing what adults do. I have pages of analysis but will stop here. I do recommend the book, but be warned what you are getting into. I have given this book a rating of 4/5 numerous places.… (mehr)