James Lasdun
The Horned Man (2002)
Author: James Lasdun
Genre: Horror (Psychological)
Plot Summary:
Lawrence Miller is a newly-appointed professor of gender studies at a small college near New York City. Given his background, he has been appointed to the Sexual Harassment Committee at the college. The story opens with Lawrence pulling down a book in his office (which, for reasons which are never discussed) is filled with books and possessions that are not his own but which are, according to Lawrence (the book’s humble narrator), property of the previous occupants. Regardless, he reads a few pages of said book, comes back the next day, and notes that the bookmark has been moved 30 pages forward. Slowly, Lasdun unfolds his tale. Lawrence begins learning of the previous occupants of his office. The most recent was a young female professor who was found bludgeoned to death in Central Park. Prior to her, the office had been occupied by a bizarre faculty member named Trumilcik who had been accused of sexual harassment and then gone seemingly mad when confronted with the evidence and had stormed off never to be seen again. Soon a colleague of Lawrence’s named Bruno is brought before the Sexual Harassment Committee (partly due to eyewitness testimony from Lawrence). Soon thereafter, things begin to get strange for Lawrence. It seems someone is using his office when he’s not there, sometimes removing or moving objects. Lawrence begins to suspect that Trumilcik is still around and perhaps in cahoots with Bruno. Is this the case, or is Lawrence loosing his mind…or both? SPOILER: It would seem that Lawrence is mad and is at least partially driven by the jealousy that destroyed his marriage. Just how crazy Lawrence is is not spelled out by Lasdun, but this ambiguity is not dissatisfying but rather is a positive aspect of the story. While the story reaches a "logical" conclusion, Lasdun leaves the reader with plenty to chew once his story ends. A disquieting, but engrossing read.
Geographical Setting: New York City; Corinth, New York (a town upstate)
Time Period: present (2004); references to attempts to impeach a President and the Iraqi no-fly zone
Appeal Characteristics:
Though I have classified this as horror, there is no tangible “monster”. Rather the monster is something within the protagonist. The story is told from the first-person. Given the sense of pursuit, this perspective further inclines me to categorize it as horror rather than suspense. The are also elements of the supernatural (namely, unicorn mythology). The story’s horror stems primarily from the uncomfortable emotions and disorienting psychology of the narrator. It reminded me somewhat of Peter Straub’s In the Night Room in that the reader is often left to wonder what is real and what is merely in the narrator’s mind—something that is difficult to do given the author’s decision to make the story disorienting. However, unlike Straub’s story, things get stranger as Lasdun’s protagonists slips further into his own delusion. Reading the story, I couldn’t escape the discomfort of being inside the head of a seriously confused and, as it turns out, extremely neurotic/psychotic mind. Lasdun does a commendable job lulling the reader into this disquieting story while telling a story that compels the reader to keep turning the page. One reviewer referred to this book as “unputadownable”. I must concur. I finished it in one sitting. Other appeal characteristics might include the setting (New York City) and the profession of the protagonist (college professor). The story is not necessarily quick-paced, but it is, as I have stated, a compelling page-turner written in a style that would appeal to fans of more literary fiction. Indeed, Lasdun has been called the 21st century Poe and is often compared to Navokov.
Similar Authors: Peter Straub
Red Flags: sexual references, horrific elements, and some implied violence.
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