The Bad Seed (P.S.) by William March Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of The Bad Seed (P.S.)
Book Review: An enduring classic of suspense
Summary: 5 Stars
To all outward appearances, little Rhoda Penmark is every parent's dream. Quiet, neat, studious, and polite, the eight year old easily charms most adults. But lurking under Rhoda's pleasant facade is a ruthless, calculating sociopath who is willing to kill to get what she wants. Her first victim is an ex-landlady who promised her a pretty bauble in her will. Her second victim is a classmate who wins an award Rhoda covets. The third, a janitor who makes the mistake of threatening to expose her.
This thin volume is so chilling because March portrays Rhoda so realistically. Like most eight year olds, Rhoda can be willful and selfish, but where most children would probably throw a tantrum, Rhoda takes deadly action. The horror is increased by her mother's complicity in her daughter's crimes--Christine Penmark's failure to accept the truth, and her failure to take action against Rhoda once the seeds of doubt have been planted in her mind, frustrate and frighten the reader. Eventually, Christine does react, but is it too late? Can a force of nature like Rhoda be stopped? You'll have to read the utterly absorbing The Bad Seed to discover the surprising and disturbing answer.
Book Review: Great transaction!
Summary: 5 Stars
Book was as described and would order again through them anytime and probably will!Book Review: Still a Good Read
Summary: 4 Stars
I imagine "The Bad Seed" was a truly shocking story back in the fifties when it first came out and it remains a chilling little tale that is well written and quite believable. The sad thing is that you can pick up a newspaper today and read more shocking stories about real childhood psychopaths.
I thought the characters were well developed and the story moved well. I watched the movie (1950's version) last night for the first time and though the movie got all the attention and is what most people remember, the book is much better and though the film was well-acted, Rhoda just seemed colder and more menacing in the book. The book also does a better job at developing the story of Christine's mother and her forgotten past. The ending of the book was much better as well!
Overall, a quick, entertaining read!
Book Review: THE BAD SEED!!!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
FOR ALL OF US "OLDER" PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO REMEMBER THE MOVIE, THIS IS A GREAT COMPANION TO THE MOVIE. OF COURSE LIKE ALL BOOKS AND MOVIES MADE FROM BOOKS YOU HAVE YOUR OWN MENTAL INTRERPATATION OF EACH. ALL IN ALL, GREAT BOOK WORTH READING, BUT A BETTER MOVIE.Book Review: rhoda is FABULOUS - - period.
Summary: 5 Stars
i got this book at noon the other day and finished it by eight that evening - - a page turner, gripping, gothic, yet campy and with a sense of irony about that campiness that endeared the book to me.
eloquently written, his language is engaging yet elegant, revealing and graphic, yet dark and mysterious, like sinister housewife gossip and whispered rumours.
if you root for the anti-hero (and believe me this book has one HELL of a little anti-hero to offer), this is definitely the book for you. i found myself time and again reading it, eyes wide, mouth open... "oh my god. she's the devil... she's FABULOUS!!" Rhoda is an utterly timeless character, and you can tell the author cares about her a lot; she's a little machine, a robot with no soul, she plays back what you want to hear like a broken record and kills without a second thought, but somehow you admire her, even begin to be taken in by her.
this book captures the feeling of the time it takes place, i see some incredibly caucasian small southern/east-coast town, a nightmare of whitewash, green grass, sunshine and trees and bushes bursting with flowers.
i would like to say how mortified that i am that Eli Roth is helming the (surprise!) REMAKE of this story... hollywood. rotters. yech.
so before the whole franchise becomes tainted with modern horror dreck of the ilk of hostel and saw, READ THIS BOOK and fall in love with it.
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