Poor George Davies. He’s got a big problem…and I’m not talking about the fictional one described within the pages of my latest read. No, little Georgie has a bigger problem than that. He’s got the problem of the inevitable comparison to Regan MacNeil. You all know Regan, right? Little girl who lives over in Georgetown with her mom? Green pallor? Bit of a chiropractic challenge? Doesn’t like split pea soup, but really likes crucifixes? Yeah…kind of a hard act to follow on amateur night, that’s for sure.
Truthfully, though, it’s not completely fair to compare Justin Evans’s debut novel, A Good and Happy Child, to William Peter Blatty’s unnerving horror masterpiece, The Exorcist. Hell, it isn’t even really all that fair to have a link to Blatty’s book embedded in this review of Evans’s novel. But it is what it is.
The Exorcist happens to be one of my favorite horror novels. It’s also one of the few novels that I’ve actually had to put down while reading, because the overload it was causing to my way-too-active imagination was more than I could stand. It’s also become my own diamond standard for any possession novel I have read since (before you even ask, no, I haven’t read that many…I’m not that demented). So it was with A Good and Happy Child.
While Evans’s novel is nowhere near as atmospheric or frightening as Blatty’s, it holds its own fairly capably. The novel becomes even more impressive when you learn that this is Evans’s debut book. Not bad for his first time at bat. Plus, it’s not quite as straightforward as you might at first assume. There aren’t many sharp-edged twists, but rather slow, sloping curves that obfuscate your view of what’s ahead just enough to make the reveal around the bend delightfully unnerving.
Admittedly, I was hoping for something a bit more frightening since All Hallow’s Eve doth approach, and I do loves me some scariness. Also, there were several moments throughout the story in which I could sense that certain events and revelations were coming simply from the setup. I think that’s less the fault of the author and more the result of a lifetime of gorging myself on Stephen King and Nightmare Theater. All that being said, as its own story, separate from the inevitable comparisons to Blatty and others from its genre, A Good and Happy Child was a mostly satisfying read that will keep you awake at night if only because you want to keep reading to find out what happens next.
Final score: 3/5. I give Evans an extra half point for coming out of the gate with a strong, entertaining first try. It won’t chill you to the marrow like Blatty’s story can, but it’s a great start to his literary career.
