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Cargando... The Balloon Man (1968)por Charlotte Armstrong
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A woman attempts to flee her abusive husband in a thriller The New York Times Book Review calls "an unforgettable reading experience." Overworked cocktail waitress Sherry Reynard doesn't expect much anymore from her husband, Ward, whom she's supported for years. A struggling writer and sometimes-junkie coddled by his wealthy parents, Ward spends his days lost in a fog of self-pity and hallucinations. Then, one morning, he attacks his wife in a sudden, unprovoked, violent fit of rage. When he turns on their three-year-old son, Johnny, Sherry bashes Ward into submission, grabs her boy, and runs. As Johnny recuperates in the hospital, Sherry rents a room in a boarding house--among a group of outcasts--anxious to escape her marriage and her memories. But when her vindictive in-laws file a suit for custody of Johnny, Sherry's oppressive world starts closing in. She needs someone on her side. When new boarder Clifford Stone arrives, he's just what Sherry's looking for. Charming and sympathetic, he's promised to be there should Sherry ever need him--he's also been hired by Ward's calculating father to insinuate himself into her life. Clifford has been paid well to love Sherry, manipulate her, destroy her reputation, and, if need be, even worse. The Balloon Man was made into Claude Chabrol's classic 1970 film, La Rupture (The Breach). A gripping suspense novel, it will have you "flipping your wig all the way to the last page" (Kirkus Reviews). "Old fashioned suspense has given way to contemporary trauma and you'll be flipping your wig all the way to the last page. . . . You won't want to finish it." --Kirkus Reviews No se han encontrado descripciones de biblioteca. |
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Google Books — Cargando... GénerosSistema Decimal Melvil (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999Clasificación de la Biblioteca del CongresoValoraciónPromedio:
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This book is hardcover, printed in 1968. It can be interesting and sometimes disturbing to read books from several years ago, as they reflect the culture of the time. This book is a good example of both "interesting" and "disturbing".
Sherry Reynard is married to a man, Ward, who has been experimenting with drugs. One day he comes out of the bedroom a badly changed man. He is violent and unseeing. He attacks Sherry and then throws their three-year-old son John across the room, unthinkingly. Sherry manages to hit ward with a frying pan and get John to a hospital, realizing that she cannot continue to live with Ward. She finds a room in a boarding house for the time that John will be in the hospital, and consults a lawyer about divorce.
All of this happens rather fast. I felt that the story was jumpy, assuming a lot, not filling in details. As it continued it seemed to find a pace I could accept.
Sherry's father-in-law has never liked Sherry, believing her not good enough for his son. She does not have the background or education his son has. He believes she is responsible for Ward's deterioration, and decides to find dirt on her so Ward can gain custody of John. To this end he hires shifty Cliff Storm, who is not above creating dirt if he can't find any. And thus the dirty tricks begin. Meanwhile, Ward is staying at his parents' home with a private nurse, a nurse who finds Ward's behavior erratic and unpredictable.
Thus Sherry is set up for difficulties. Will she be able to keep John? Will dark secrets emerge as Storm looks into her past?
Not a great book but readable, interesting enough to keep me going. What I found disconcerting were primarily two things: 1) Ward's permanent drug damage. Some people were damaged by LSD back in the early days but very few had permanent damage. I think Armstrong's perception was likely a common one at the time. 2) There is a young woman with Down Syndrome in the boarding house. She is referred to as "feeble-minded" and a "half-wit" and described as slow and uncomprehending. I think it's an unfair representation and insulting to boot. I don't know how common this perception was - I don't think I ever felt this way. ( )