I'm reading through three lists of best horror with two
friends (DeAnna
Knippling and M.B. Partlow), posting reviews as we go. (For more
information, including a list of the books, see this post.)
This week, I'm reviewing The Ignored, by Bentley Little.
This one gave me a lot of mixed feelings.
I found the idea intriguing, but at times it dragged and
felt like the main character was whining endlessly about his own insecurities.
And I felt the premise pushed the boundaries too much for me to get behind. Yet
I found myself returning to the story each day and having trouble putting the
book down, because I wanted to see where Little took it.
The Ignored is about a Bob Jones, a regular schmo. Overlooked by those around us, the only attention he gets is from a boss that seems to have it out for him. He never gets a word in edgewise. No one at work invites him out or talks to him. His job is dull and takes no skill.
His doubts about himself at work extend to his home life, and he starts questioning his significant other's interest in him. Ultimately, he falls in with a crowd of his fellow Ignored, leading to terrorism in an attempt to become visible to society.
Oddly, this story brought to mind the book American Psycho,
but combined with Office Space. Instead of discussing the numbness of society
and its reliance on consumerism, it addressed feeling lost in life and trying
to stand out, plus the generic middle of the road variety of consumerism, where
what's readily available is what is pleasing or at least neutral to the average
person. Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) disappears behind his grandstanding
and brand knowledge (and everyone else's dire self-involvement), despite his
violent and narcissistic tendencies, whereas Bob Jones just disappears, because
he's every-man. He's nothing. He's forgettable. Given, it turns out there are
other reasons for how average Bob Jones is and why he's Ignored, but in general
he's representing the average guy, lost in a dead end job, invisible to his
peers.
I was unprepared for the fantastical elements that came into play later in this book, so they threw me. Don't let the premise fool you--there is violence and there are weird things that happen. So, while it may sound fairly mundane, it isn't.
The book makes an impact for sure. I imagine I'll keep
waffling on how I feel about it for a long time to come. There's no doubt it's skillfully written, though.
My top ten remains the same.
My Top Ten:
1. The Handmaid's Tale (Margaret Atwood)
2. The Girl Next Door (Jack Ketchum)
3. The Bottoms (Joe R. Lansdale)
4. Coraline (Neil Gaiman)
5. The Bridge (John Skipp and Craig Spector)
6. A Choir of Ill Children (Tom Piccirilli)
7. Needful Things (Stephen King)
8. 1Q84 (Haruki Murakami)
9. Those Who Hunt the Night (Barbara Hambly)
10. Rebecca (Daphne DuMaurier)
Have you ever read The Ignored? How about other works by Bentley Little? Do you ever feel ignored/invisible? Are any of these links of interest? Anything to share?
May you find your Muse.
