The Association, by Bentley Little

(pb; 2001)


From the back cover:

"Congratulations, Barry and Maureen:  You've been approved by the Association and are encouraged to move into our exclusive gated community as soon as possible.  Please be aware that we reserve the right to approve your décor, your landscaping, your friends and your job.  All relationships with neighbors should be avoided.  Any interference from the outside will not be tolerated.  Any attempt to leave will be stopped.  Any infraction of the rules could result in severe fines, physical punishment or death.  Please send all other inquiries to the house on the hill.  Preferably before dark.  P.S. You're being watched.  Sincerely, The Association."


Review:

The first quarter of The Association is good, well-written, character solid, with smart, semi-satirical touches of humor thrown into the mix.  Somewhere between that first quarter and midway through, it becomes ridiculous - pet murders, and mutilated homeless people pop up, and everyone pretends like that's normal.  Then, home invasions, audio and visual surveillance inside and outside the homes, "mysterious" disappearances and murders of residents and visitors, as well as overt threats of physical violence. . . and the residents of this gated community do don't anything until it's way too late.  In short: this overly long novel suffers from a case of Plot Convenient Stupid People Move Into New Homes and Are Afraid to Leave, Despite Obvious/Repeated Threats to Their Lives.

Given the timing and location of the novel (2001, Utah), it feels like Little is making a quirky Grand Statement about the United States.  While that ambition is admirable, especially with its aforementioned humor,The Association should have been written as a character-smart, plot-trimmed novella, not a full-length novel.

Good writer (I've read other works by Little), crappy novel. 

From The Borderlands: Stories of Terror and Madness edited by Elizabeth E. & Thomas F. Monteleone

(pb; 2003: horror story anthology)


Overall review

Exemplary anthology, originally published as Borderlands 5, with only a few clunkers in the mix. Well worth your time.


Standout stories

1. ) “All Hands” – John R. Platt: Quirky, delightful entry about a man who wakes up with a different pair of hands each day.


2.) “The Growth of Alan Ashley” – Bill Gauthier: Black-humored take on the delusion of “self-improvement” – a strange “growth” on the titular character’s body becomes imbued with increasing, dangerous importance. If this were a film short, I could see this being directed by Eraserhead-era David Lynch, or Videodrome-era David Cronenberg.


3.) “The Goat” – Whitt Pond: Heartbreaking tale about a teenage boy who’s trying to save his supposedly demon-possessed brother from their fellow townspeople.


4.) “The Food Processor” – Michael Canfield: Surrealistic tale about two brothers whose collective desire to build things conflicts with their Father’s desire that they become chefs, like him. Superior, semi-bizarre work, one that would make an excellent Tim Burton film, illustrated by Peter Max.


5.) “Storytime with the Bluefield Strangler” – John Farris: Destined-to-be-a-true-classic story about a little girl who’s being terrorized by a real-life boogeyman.


6.) “The Planting” – Bentley Little: Perverse B-movie gem about a pair of panties, a cabin and a dessicated mummy.


7.) “Infliction” – John McIlveen: Stunning, emotional tale about an ex-alcoholic tracking his runaway daughter, four years gone.


8.) “The Thing Too Hideous To Describe” – David J. Schow: Funny, ultimately sad story about a small-town monster who makes a friend. One of the most imaginative entries in this bunch.


9.) “Magic Numbers” – Gene O’Neill: The operative phrase for this one-of-a-kind work is um, wow. Memorable work.


10.) “Head Music” – Lon Prater: Another destined-to-be-a-classic tale, this one about a young man who’s drawn to a oceanborn monster in the middle of the night. Reminiscent of H.P. Lovecraft’s finer nightmares, or any issue of Creepy.


11.) “Around It Still The Sumac Grows” – Tom Piccirilli: Envy-inducing entry about a middle-aged man who returns to his high school – site of countless teenage humiliations – twenty years later.


12.) “Annabell" – L. Lynn Young: Sublime, sad work about a physically-beautiful mother who seeks to protect her deformed daughter from the barbed horrors of the world.


Solid entries

“Ramis Temporalis” (Gary A. Braunbeck); “Faith Will Make You Free” (Holly Newstein); “N0072-JK1” (Adam Corbin Fusco); “Time For Me” (Barry Hoffman); “Prisoner 392” (John F. Merz); “Answering the Call” (Brian Freeman); “Smooth Operator” (Dominick Cancilla); “A Thing” (Barbara Malenky); “Slipknot” (Brett Alexander Savory); “Stationary Bike” (Stephen King).


So-so entries

“Father Bob & Bobby” (Whitley Strieber); “Dysfunction” (Darren O. Godfrey); “One Of Those Weeks” (Bev Vincent).