Psycho by Robert Bloch

Reviewed by Jeanne

Legend has it that before the movie’s premiere, Alfred Hitchcock went around buying up copies of Robert Bloch’s book so that movie goers would be properly shocked.  He felt that if they knew what was going to happen, they wouldn’t enjoy the movie.  Turning it around, I wondered if I would enjoy the book after having seen the movie.

The quick answer is that I did.  And even though I knew how it ended, I was still turning pages in a hurry to see how it played out in the book.

I’m sure there are still a few people who haven’t read the book or seen the movie, so to recap briefly the story begins with a young woman who impulsively steals money from her employer and in the course of her escape ends up at the Bates Motel, a run-down establishment off the beaten path.  She’s checked in by Norman Bates, son of the owner.

She doesn’t check out again.

The story is told from several viewpoints, starting with that of Mary (Marion in the movie), a woman who has spent her life waiting, waiting, waiting.  Time is ticking by, and she watches her chance for happiness, for a home and family of her own, rapidly disappearing.  When a large sum of money all but falls into her lap, she sees it as the solution to her problems.

We also see the story unfold from Norman Bates’ point of view, and by extension his mother’s because Norman is acutely attuned to what Mother thinks. 

That’s where the power of the story lay for me. Understanding the thought processes behind the actions was fascinating and gave the tale more depth than the movie. This is heightened because the whole book really poses the question, how well do we really know other people?  Not just our neighbors, but even our families? It brings to mind all those reports in the wake of a crime, any crime from embezzlement to murder, when the people interviewed say, “Oh, but she was such a nice girl!” or “He wouldn’t hurt a fly!”

I will admit that I had some trepidation about reading the book because I am not a blood and gore person, and I had heard that the book was more violent than the movie.  In a way it was, but like the movie the actual violence is hinted at, not graphically depicted. I was relieved at how discreet it was, even though there is no doubt as to what has taken place.  Bloch leaves that to the reader’s imagination.

The book was written in 1959, so there are a few places where it can seem a bit dated but overall it remains fresh and powerful.