The Killing Doll
This Book is Currently in the Wild!
1 journaler for this copy...
Arrived today from a paperbackswap member.
I started this last October and was more than halfway through it when I got diverted to other books and misplaced this one. So when I picked it up again this last week I had forgotten a lot of details. Ultimately I simply started over.
It's a complex mixing of two separate stories. The main story is about Dolly and Pup, siblings. While a young boy Pup gets interested in magic and becomes quite obsessed with it. Dolly goes along, making him a cape and helping him with his spells as needed. Over time, Dolly's interest grows while Pup's declines. Over time, too, Dolly's need for Pup becomes greater than his need for her.
The book was written in the early 1980s, and I believe the story takes place in the 1950s. I don't remember if this is explicitly stated. I suspect it because of attitudes expressed in the book more than from anything else.
Dolly was born with a large birthmark on her face. Her parents and others assume that she has no chance for a normal married life because of this "defect". She is taken out of school early and taught to sew. She accepts her position in life, while doting on her younger brother. When their mother dies, Dolly steps in as substitute mom.
The second story is about Diarmit. Diarmit comes from a large Irish family. An accident changed his mental state and he is no longer able to work as a butcher. He lands in an apartment, where he spends most of his time dwelling on the world he has created in his head. That world is a troubling place, and he has to protect himself from it. Diarmit has a set of knives that are great protection.
There is a point when Pup and Diarmit meet, peripherally, but it is a glancing meeting that changes neither. Thus the stories continue on their paths to an inevitable collision.
As with many of Rendell's stories, this one contains characters who are not perfect. The flaws are what make the plots work and make the characters interesting. It is easy to be drawn into this world and take it with you.
It's a complex mixing of two separate stories. The main story is about Dolly and Pup, siblings. While a young boy Pup gets interested in magic and becomes quite obsessed with it. Dolly goes along, making him a cape and helping him with his spells as needed. Over time, Dolly's interest grows while Pup's declines. Over time, too, Dolly's need for Pup becomes greater than his need for her.
The book was written in the early 1980s, and I believe the story takes place in the 1950s. I don't remember if this is explicitly stated. I suspect it because of attitudes expressed in the book more than from anything else.
Dolly was born with a large birthmark on her face. Her parents and others assume that she has no chance for a normal married life because of this "defect". She is taken out of school early and taught to sew. She accepts her position in life, while doting on her younger brother. When their mother dies, Dolly steps in as substitute mom.
The second story is about Diarmit. Diarmit comes from a large Irish family. An accident changed his mental state and he is no longer able to work as a butcher. He lands in an apartment, where he spends most of his time dwelling on the world he has created in his head. That world is a troubling place, and he has to protect himself from it. Diarmit has a set of knives that are great protection.
There is a point when Pup and Diarmit meet, peripherally, but it is a glancing meeting that changes neither. Thus the stories continue on their paths to an inevitable collision.
As with many of Rendell's stories, this one contains characters who are not perfect. The flaws are what make the plots work and make the characters interesting. It is easy to be drawn into this world and take it with you.
Journal Entry 3 by jlautner at Black Horse on LOVR in San Luis Obispo, California USA on Sunday, January 28, 2018
Released 6 yrs ago (1/25/2018 UTC) at Black Horse on LOVR in San Luis Obispo, California USA
WILD RELEASE NOTES:
Left on the bookshelf.
