Meeting Evil

by Thomas Berger, Jonathan Lethem (Introduction)

"I envy your first encounter, if that is what it is, with Meeting Evil, one of Berger's most relentless and ingenious 'contraptions.'" --Jonathan Lethem, from the Introduction Meeting Evil tells an adrenaline-pumped, genuinely frightening tale of malevolence that swerves swiftly and irrevocably to a catastrophic climax. John Felton meets evil late one Monday morning when the doorbell rings. Standing on the front porch is a stranger. He wears expensive running shoes and a baseball cap and calls himself Richie. He tells John his car has stalled and asks for help. An altercation at the gas station leads to a shocking crime as violence begets violence. At the end of this harrowing day, John returns home to find Richie ensconced in his living room, chatting up his wife. The evil has somehow seeped into his life. Thus begins the transformation of an unremarkable husband and father of two into a desperate man willing to go to any length to protect his family from the darkness that threatens them. This is an extraordinary masterpiece and a chilling portrait of mounting menace played out against an everyday world of domestic routine, personified in a protagonist of basic decency grappling with both the immediate and existential meaning of true evil.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Audiobook, Mystery

240 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.

Thomas Louis Berger was an American novelist, probably best known for his picaresque novel Little Big Man, which was adapted into a film by Arthur Penn. Berger explored and manipulated many genres of fiction throughout his career, including the crime novel, the hard-boiled detective story, science fiction, the utopian novel, plus re-workings of classical mythology, Arthurian legend, and the survival adventure.

Berger's use of humor and his often biting wit led many reviewers to refer to him as a satirist or "comic" novelist, though he rejected that classification.

Reviews

[JBP · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes I'm baffled by the average scores on goodreads--this is one of those times. I only finished this awful book just to unleash a rare one star review!

This was just terrible, from start to finish, which was kind of a surprise because I've read a few other Berger books (Being Invisible, Neighbors, Little Big Man) and enjoyed those a lot. Same direct Berger style but the story of a man who is accidentally drawn into a hellish day of crime he can't get out of absolutely drove me crazy.

Frankly, the lead character (John) is a complete and utter moron. It's hard to take when Berger paints each person in this book so one-note, obvious, naive and simpleminded. John never gains any smarts the entire story no matter what has gone down. Ugh. Let me say it again: ugh!

[Aina Winky · Rating 2 out of 5]

From the very beginning,the story doesn't give me the hype that I hope for and the character was kinda complicated and confusing. I got frustrated at John for his lack of courage when dealing with the bad guy. Well the plot kinda dragged but I'm satisfied with the ending.

[Aaron Martz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A freaky, disturbing thriller about an everyday man who is kidnapped by a seemingly cold-blooded and thoughtless maniac who eventually reveals his intellectual stance on his behavior. This book, which takes place over the course of a single evening, is gut-wrenching, unbearable to read in places, but nonetheless captivating and thoroughly engrossing. Berger is an author of almost unequal intelligence gifted with a supreme high brow humor which he often employs to skewer middle class values. It's a shame he is not more widely read.

[Jon Von · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice little weird thriller that, about ten pages into it, I realized that I'd seen the movie of this not once but twice. It came out in 2012. I was working at a video store and watched tons of random cheapo DVDs. (Bear with me, here). I showed it to a friend- This was over ten years ago, and I had completely forgotten about it, but it all came back to me. Something resonates with it. The weird, simplistic nightmare story, the steady escalation. A normal man with a family is sort of kidnapped by a lying psychopath on a crime spree. He sticks around to help, trying to see the good in everyone, even as his wife calls and he risks exposing his family. Because this man is not good, he is very not good. But what can you do? The book is obviously way better, but I didn't know there was a good version of the idea. Casting the character of the twitchy young mental patient as sixty-year-old Samual L. Jackson was certainly a choice.

[Jasun Horsley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this in one sitting ~ or lying ~ which is pretty unprecedented for me these days.

Berger has a knack for creating ambiguous characters and scenes and for pulling you into the action.

The story is about the worst day of one man's life and it takes place in "real time" ~ that is there's no time lapses, just a steady, relentless journey down the rabbit hole of misfortune.

The title is a bit misleading or histrionic; it's not so much about meeting evil as it is about making a series of serious misjudgments and how things can rapidly snowball from inconvenient to nightmarish due to the simple inability to say "No."

It reminds me of something Graham Greene wrote in Ministry of Fear, that in the right circumstances, many people would literally choose to die rather than risk social embarrassment.

[Jim · Rating 2 out of 5]

if you like the feeling of watching horror films and screaming at the actors to stop acting stupid and take charge of their own survival, then this is the book for you. I completely lost interest in John after he prepared to sigh his way through what was shaping up to be the rape of a boy. There's also incredibly drawn out interior monologues of John's rationalization for continuing on long past the point of logic, which I have come to suspect have a sort of intent on the part of the author, possibly a send up of householder values, but it's protracted beyond the point of tedium -- same with the excruciatingly long dinner scene at the end. There was some hope that the book would turn and have John the one who was the evil -- as when John starts to loath his wife during the dinner (something the author made it easy to do with his one-note presentation -- the whole contrived lack of communication between them was one of the main drivers of the plot spiraling out of control). It's not a good introduction to the work of Berger, I gather, but it was the only one on Audio, and that was the good news --the masterful Bronson Pinchot provided his usual excellence -- his performance of Richie was reminiscent in its madness of Guy from STRANGERS ON A TRAIN

[Aníbal M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was kind of a different book. It is a thriller, but the main character is not the mysterious, curious and strong man. He's flawed, weak and guided by his moral compass. I loved that! Many people complained about how John was portrayed, but I thought it was brilliant. His character evolved through the book and he seemed less and less close minded, and was dragged into a psychopath's world. I loved Richie, too. He was the soul of the book and the relationship between both characters is kind of amazing.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not one of Berger's best, the main character is just a little too feckless for the book to be compelling. Also, the relationship between the wife and husband seems way off to the way normal couples interact.

[Christopher Sutch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel marks the return of Berger to the creation of quality fiction (his two previous novels, _Changing the Past_ and _Orrie's Story_ were not among his best work). This is also the third book in a sort of examination of the psychology of physical and (im)moral dominance (a trilogy that began with _Neighbors_ and continued with _The Houseguest_). The writing is fairly compact and to the point, and the action is contained to a single day. The problem, however, is that, unlike its two previous companion novels, this book verges away from philosophy and into realism (which, ironically, weakens its emotional impact). Where the previous two novels of this kind by Berger contain many strange and inexplicable events that heighten the uneasiness and sense of alienation suffered by both protagonists and readers, this novel remains firmly planted in reality and thus heads toward an all-too-easily foreseen denouement. It's a fine read, but for a superior tale of this kind, I'd recommend _The Houseguest_.

[LisaMarie · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5. Yep, the same TB who wrote Little Big Man that they made into the movie starring Dustin Hoffman. (And there was a movie made of this starring Luke Wilson and Samuel L Jackson I never saw.) Well, this is the most interesting pick up and put down I’ve encountered in a while. I saw the audio on Hoopla and started listening to it. Bronson Pinchot narrates very well (in fact, he’s done a few audiobooks, including Strangers on a Train that I’m currently on hold for). I guess, Richie, the "evil" that John “meets” when he opens his front door is a bit reminiscent of Bruno in SOAT, but after such a disturbing encounter involving Richie pretending there’s a problem with the brakes of his car while John’s shirt’s stuck in the door causing him to have to run, he willingly gets in the car with him, which then leads to adventures in much mindfuckery I’m sure, but oddly enough (because who isn’t lured in by the promise of mindfuckery?) I have no desire to be alongride for.

[Jake · Rating 3 out of 5]

John the "protagonist" is spineless and does everything that the stupid people in horror movies do to allow the horror to continue. Richie the psychopath is much more interesting. This one kept me interested and kept up the suspense but was a bit too much. I'll try some more subdued Berger some other time.

[Rick · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is not one of Thomas Berger's better novels but the prolific Berger never writes a bad book and he had me guessing about how this one was going to end. The plot seemed a little far fetched a shublike Everyman randomly encounters a psychopath and from there embarks on a series of improbable misadventures.
I kept waiting for the protagonist to just cut his losses and get away from the evil character but that never happens.Perhaps Berger is attempting to show us how the allure of the outlaw captivates even the most normal people but I was never sold on this because the characters never seemed credible. Please read Berger one of the great forgotten novelists but this book is for the hard core fan.

[Michael Carrier · Rating 3 out of 5]

RPL Audio

Similar to Neighbors. A good read but sort of wanted to get to the end. Could not figure out why the "hero" just did not pull the rip cord. I know, that ends the story, but that is how I felt.

[Andrea Robinson · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was just okay. Like many other reviews I found myself angry and frustrated with the main character who never seemed to gain the courage to take out the bad guy until the very end.

[Renny Barcelos · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story but for it to work you have to really suspend your disbelief and not to ask many questions.
The audiobook's narration is excellent.

[William · Rating 1 out of 5]

gave it 50% DNF

[Jody]

Abandoned at 1 hour in. I can read about main characters making stupid decisions in better books.

[russolomew · Rating 4 out of 5]

dang

[TJ Pool · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent dive into the human psyche and superbly written. Thomas Berger is a genius.

[Jim · Rating 5 out of 5]

What would you do if someone knocked on your door for help?

Another great book form Thomas Berger.

[Olivia Osborne · Rating 2 out of 5]

an exceptionally mid book, and that’s being generous

plot had potential, but was taken nowhere


john is spineless

[Christina Moore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Truly unique. Leaves you asking yourself, "How would I handle this series of events?" " Would I have acted the same or differently?"

[Dustincecil · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

kind of unsettling for the first 70 or so pages, then a little bit bit boring. some weird macho cliches.
ultimately just OK.

[Christie (The Ludic Reader) · Rating 3 out of 5]

According to Jonathan Lethem, Thomas Berger is “one of America’s three or four greatest living novelists.” I’d never heard of him when I added Meeting Evil to my tbr list, then shelf – where it languished for several years before I finally got around to reading it.

Meeting Evil is the story of John Felton, a young real estate agent suffering through the downturn in the American economy. He’s married to Joanie, father to Melanie and Philip and his life is about to get very complicated. It’s Monday morning when his doorbell rings. Standing there is Richie, a young man of John’s general age. His car has stalled in front of John’s house and Richie asks for assistance. What begins as a an act of good Samaritanism, quickly devolves into a harrowing crime spree – with John along for the ride.

I’ve never read a book quite like Meeting Evil before. While sometimes John seemed ridiculously naive and stupid to me, the character of Richie is a creation of pure malevolence. He’s dangerous and unpredictable. Before John even knows what has happened, he’s part prisoner and part co-conspirator in Richie’s road trip from hell. Although John soon realizes the danger he is in, Richie turns out to be a master manipulator. At one point John even announces “We’re all in this together.” Try as he might to escape (and he does try) John’s day just keeps getting worse.

Berger is a masterful writer. The book has a propulsive energy and is often wickedly funny. It’s quite unlike anything I’ve read before and I look forward to reading the second Berger title on my tbr shelf, Best Friends.

[Jessica Haider · Rating 4 out of 5]

It’s a normal morning when John Felton answers a knock at the door of his family’s home. Standing on the doorstep is a stranger who claims that he’s having car trouble and would like help pushing his car down the road towards the nearest service station. John, a middle class Real Estate agent with a wife and 2 children likes to think that he is a nice, helpful, and polite guy so he agrees to help the stranger. This decision is the first of many that make John’s day go totally off track into dangerous situations.

The stranger, Ritchie, is totally obnoxious and does not care at all for others, although he does keep stating how much he admires John. John becomes an unwitting participant in Ritchie’s crime spree. John has many opportunities to chose to exit the situation. John seems incapable of saying no. He just keeps going along with Ritchie since he seems to be afraid of the awkward situation that would arise if he voiced his opinion or opted out.

The book raised lots of philosophical questions such as: “What does it truly mean to be evil?” and ”How good can you be if you stand by and let evil carry on?”. Meeting Evil is a well written work of black humor. I found myself completely drawn in and unwilling to put the book down. It is difficult to give an in depth review of this book without giving away too much of the story, so I will keep this review brief. I had never read anything by Thomas Berger before but after reading Meeting Evil I will definitely pick up something else by Berger at some point in the future.

[Bill FromPA · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berger returns to the theme of Neighbors and (presumably) The Houseguest (yet to be read in my Berger project), with a middle-class everyman haplessly involved in an escalating series of violent encounters. At times, the continuing involvement of the protagonist with his psychopathic companion stretches suspension of disbelief a bit far, but the plot travels along a a rapid enough pace to keep it from completely losing credibility. The mixed and changing motives of realtor John Felton are actually a touch of realism; in extreme circumstances "consistency" of character would be harder to credit. A short middle section giving the POV of psychopath Richie serves a dual purpose of giving perspective of the character and heightening the suspense of the final section. The novel sometimes approaches Patricia Highsmith territory, with the innocent protagonist finding similarities with his criminal double, though the nature of "evil" in the title is never analyzed.
Previous: Orrie's Story
Next: Robert Crews

[Alexander · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an OK read to me. My 8 y.o. daughter bought a copy of this for me at the local dollar store and kept asking if I'd read her book yet -- so I finally read it. I've never read anything by Thomas Berger before. He clearly has a good grasp of storytelling and plotting. While this story takes place mostly over the course of a single day, he does a good job of continuing to keep the plot moving forward. This book reminded my of Kafka. In reading it, written 3rd person voice that follows one main character closely, I often found myself questioning whether this main character was reliable or not, whether he was in fact presenting a very skewed and not real experience, or if it was being presented as a true representation of reality. His POV is a bit nightmarish, where everything that could go wrong is going wrong. The downside to this book is that I found many of the plot setups a little too mundane and boring, at times questioning how/why characters were doing what they were doing, it being a little forced by the author. But the book finishes strong, picking up momentum to a strong ending. Jonathan Lethem writes a long, interesting introduction as to why he thinks TB is the cat's pajamas -- so there's that too.

[Reggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Meeting Evil is a breathless, suburban horror story, in which husband, father, and Real-Estate salesman, John Felton finds himself suddenly "the best friend" of Richie, a man with a decidedly bent sense of the way the world should be. In one very long day-from-hell, John goes from feeding his children and folding laundry to making life-or-death decisions, all the while contemplating his motivations for his life.

Presented in what amounts to acts, Meeting Evil is a thrill ride. The white-knuckle kinetic energy of the first act gradually gives way to the more subdued, but no less suspenseful, final one, in which Felton must remove the danger that has ingratiated itself into his life in ways that he had never imagined.

[Chris Cangiano · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mild-mannered realtor and family man John Felton makes the mistake of opening the front door and agreeing to a stranger with car trouble. Unbeknownst to John, the stranger Richie is a total sociopath and John will spend the rest of the "worst day of his life" being dragged, sort of, along on Richie's crime spree. Berger effectively builds the novel's momentum and the relentless dream/nightmare logic upon which the action is premised. However, you will best be able to appreciate Meeting Evil if you can shelve your need for characters who act, think or speak like normal human beings, and just enjoy the ride (I couldn't completely do it hence the three star rating).

[Trisha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just like that annoying song on the radio that you can't help singing along to, this novel is truy infuriating yet totally compelling. I wanted to reach into the pages and wring the neck of the main character who stumbled from one bad decision to another. Berger did somehow catch the flawed thinking, vulnerability, and self-doubt that we all experience at times quite masterfully. You will have to judge this one for yourself!