The Orphan

by Samantha Mellors

Genres: Horror

223 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 1980

About the author

Pseudonym of Eileen Lottman, who writes science fiction under that name.

Reviews

[Paul Petrowsky · Rating 1 out of 5]

How dreadful. This book is 223 pages and for the first 175 nothing worth mentioning happens. When things finally start to unfold you're left waking wtf? And not in a good way. How this book got made into a film I'll never understand, and I definitely won't be checking it out.

[Mikepottz · Rating 3 out of 5]

David's mum kills his father and then swallows the rifle blowing her head off. Aunt Martha comes to stay and take care of David. Aunt Martha is a controlling, annoying, racist, elitist, nutcase but does try to understand David's sorrow, trauma, paranoia. David's mental state is so fragile and fractured that he builds a shrine in a chicken coop with a gorilla suit that his father wore on his birthday. Martha will kill his dog and his chicken and David thinks she will send him to an orphanage or kill him. David's severe sorrow and loneliness, his lost of his parents will result in him stabbing flesh multiple times. A sad trip into complete destruction and a feeling of David's loss is tragic.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love how his aunt just died (in a savage way I believe she deserved) and all the kid cares about is a marshmallow. Damn right, you set your priorities straight.