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Product Description
Book Description
I could get in,' Marianne thought, 'if there was a person inside the house. There has got to be a person. I can't get in unless there is somebody there.
'Why isn't there someone in the house?' she cried to the empty world around her.I could get in,' Marianne thought, 'if there was a person inside the house. There has got to be a person. I can't get in unless there is somebody there.'Why isn't there someone in the house?' she cried to the empty world around her.
--This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.Product Description
This powerful and eerie classic about a girl haunted by her own dreams has been made into a TV series and a feature film. Ill and bored with having to stay in bed, Marianne picks up a pencil and starts doodling - a house, a garden, a boy at the window. That night she has an extraordinary dream. She is transported into her own picture, and as she explores further she soon realises she is not alone. The boy at the window is called Mark, and his every movement is guarded by the menacing stone watchers that surround the solitary house.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I bought this book after it was recommended to me at a meal in a restaurant. It sat unread for a while while I finished the massive Underworld by Don DeLillo (also excellent). However, when I finally opened the book, I could tell by the first chapter's end, that I was on to a winner! Although this is a book for children it is not at all patronising, nor does it aim for the lowest denominator - there are some very subtle touches here and there which conceivably would not be picked up by the average 12 year old. The story itself has depth and is not at all linear - it's an exciting read which deserves wider experience.
23 of 24 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
When I started reading this book, I thought: "Oh great, a boring story about some girl who's sick in bed. Fun." But, as I got into the book it became incredibly interesting. I started to feel I was Marianne, even though I'm a boy. When she met Mark in her dream as the boy she drew, because her tutor Mrs Chesterfield told her about him, I really felt for him. This book is really and truly gripping, an amazing read. When it ended, I was really sad because I wanted it to go on forever and follow the rest of the adventures and Marianne and Mark.
Overall, this book is incredibly enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone.
Overall, this book is incredibly enjoyable and I would recommend it to anyone.
48 of 51 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
20 years after I first read this book, I *finally* tracked it down again. I remember being sufficiently scared at 11 that I couldn't read it at night. This time I finished it in an afternoon and the last 2 decades have taken nothing away from this superb book, indeed there are more subtleties now than on reading it as a child. It's clear that Marianne's dream world is a reflection - as dreams often are - of her fears and anxieties in real-life. She and Mark, the boy at the window, are both ill, and both almost fearful of leaving their sickbeds after months in them. In Mark's case, he is defeatist and "lazy" about getting well again, and believes there is no point in trying to walk, because he knows he won't be able to. All of this is conveyed to Marianne by a third party, her governess, since Mark and Marianne in real life have never met. Mark initially couldn't walk because of his illness - which corresponds to the lack of stairs in the dream house. When Marianne draws in the stairs (equal to Mark having the ability to walk in real-life, but not the inclination), Mark still refuses to use them. The evil boulders and menacing air, propelling them finally to try to leave the house, represent the medical opinion that if Mark and Marianne never try to get better, they will be sick for the rest of their lives: the boulders get closer and try to stop them leaving, but they must make the effort if they are finally to leave the house (dream) or sickbed (real life). Each dream sequence directly corresponds to what is going on in their real lives, and the escape to the safety of the tower and the sea symbolises their return to health - will they ever make it?
This book is eerie and menacing, and while I intend to watch the movie based on the book, PaperHouse, I'm a bit wary having read other reviews that seem to say the film has missed a large part of what the book is about and what it symbolises, and instead concentrates only on the horror aspect.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
so pleased!
I watched this story on tv as a child many years ago and never forgot it...a haunting wonderful story. Read more
Published 3 months ago by english rose
Marianne Dreams
A book from my childhood - watched this on TV when I was about 8/9 - and never forgot it. When I googled 'girl draws house then dreams about it' the book eventually popped up! Read more
Published 15 months ago by deedan
A little too old-fashioned
And a bit odd too. Parts of the story that are supposed to be scary just end up being merely curious. I mean I would not be scared by a boulder with an eye. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Inspector Gadget
wonderful book
I first read this book as a child about 45-50 years ago and it has haunted me ever since. I could remember the plot and the strong impressions of surrealism and mounting tension,... Read more
Published 21 months ago by beebee
A page-turner
I read this book when I started teaching English and had charge of the library. It was a story that remained fresh in my memory, but the copy of the book disappeared. Read more
Published 22 months ago by film freak
The kid's program of book haunted me for years.
I've just found out they have found the B&W version -- they scrapped the color version. The original kids series during the 70's was much much scarier than the Paperhouse imho. Read more
Published on 8 May 2009 by Jayne W. Ryan
Utterly terrifying!
I first read this as a child and it scared the life out of me to the point that it still haunts me today. Read more
Published on 8 Oct 2008 by Roman Clodia
one of the single biggest influences on my life
Even though it's been over a decade since I read this book, I still often return to a very particular eerie sense it gave me, and find it terrifying but comforting at the same... Read more
Published on 31 July 2008 by Sasha
cheepy childrens classic
I first read this book many years ago when i was a child. I also watched the scary tv series based on the book ( which was exellent and very eery)The story begins at a slow even... Read more
Published on 1 Feb 2008 by sarah J
NOT THE LIGHT!! NOT THE LIGHT!!
I was one of those people who grew up being pleasantly traumatised by "Escape Into Night" during the 70's but had no idea as to the link to this book. Read more
Published on 9 Jan 2008 by A. Page
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