Dream vacation?
Ben and Marian Rolfe are a married couple with several years of experience, living in Brooklyn, New York. He is a teacher, she is a housewife. They are both fed up with living in a cramped apartment with their neighbors constantly jumping at each other’s throats. The scorching heat of the 1970s US summer doesn’t help them at all, but only deepens their frustration. No wonder that when there is an opportunity to go for two months to a huge mansion outside the city for a small amount of money, the couple packs their clothes, takes their son David and Aunt Elizabeth and seizes the opportunity. The owners, the eccentric Allardyce siblings, willingly give up their property, leaving only their old mother, who does not leave her room, for whom food must be prepared. The deal doesn’t seem bad especially since in return the family gets a private beach, a large garden and, above all, a huge house. However, the idyll begins to turn into a nightmare. Ben has terrifying visions more and more often, the so far lively and full of life aunt begins to age at an alarming rate, and Marian does not see that something bad is happening around, because he completely loses himself in taking care of the house and Mrs. Allardyce. Apparently $ 900 and taking care of the old lady isn’t the only price the Rolfes will pay for their dream vacation. for he completely loses himself in taking care of the house and Mrs. Allardyce. Apparently $ 900 and taking care of the old lady isn’t the only price the Rolfes will pay for their dream vacation. for he completely loses himself in taking care of the house and Mrs. Allardyce. Apparently $ 900 and taking care of the old lady isn’t the only price the Rolfes will pay for their dream vacation.
A place among the classics
Robert Marasco is an American writer and teacher who has made a permanent mark in the history of literature, although he does not have many novels to his credit. He was famous for the play Child’s Play, written and directed by him (it has nothing to do with Chucky Doll ) and the Burnt offering. In addition, he wrote a book called Parlor Games , the publication of which went virtually unnoticed. What made the title, published in 1973, so wonderfully received by readers and compared to classics such as The Exorcist or Rosemary’s Baby ? Why is it considered that Burnt Offerings has paved the way for works such as Lśnienie orAmityville Horror ? The reason is simple. Marasco does not try to scare the reader with ghosts or vampires. There are also no psychopaths, hectoliters of blood and a pile of corpses. Instead, there is a slow build-up of tension. The recipient is to come to terms with the Rolfe family, understand what is bothering them, feel the atmosphere of the Queens district, the hot summer of the time, and finally go with them to their dream property. All the time, however, we do not know when the family will be somehow attacked. Meanwhile, everyone is slowly going crazy. The house begins to destroy them mentally, and before we know it, it’s already too late for them.
A sense of the moment
Polish readers can read Burnt Offerings only now, 47 years since its release. I must admit that the book is really addictive. Marasco masterfully builds tension and the right atmosphere. We actually get along with heroes who can both interest and irritate us. Thanks to the skillful plot management, the book is read very quickly, almost in the same breath, and you don’t forget about it immediately after it’s finished. But is it terrible? I don’t think so. It’s a horror novel that evokes emotions, but it’s hard to call it a real horror film. At least now. The phenomenon of the novel lies in the time it was published. Both me and any other reader would have had a completely different view of this title if I had lived in the 1970s and lived in New York. The heat of summer, the economic crisis, social unrest and cramped housing provoked all kinds of reactions among people. Many of them were like the Rolfe family – frustrated, dissatisfied and wanting to get as far away from the city as possible and raise their social status. Meanwhile, the house they rent does not help de-stress at all. On the contrary. It highlights their moods and flaws even more, and then drives them crazy. It must have been scary indeed, and I’m sure if we had been alive at that time we would have had no hesitation in calling it Burnt offerings is a terrifying horror.
The publisher is a plus
A big bow goes to Vesper. It is thanks to him that Polish readers finally have the opportunity to read the classics of horror literature, which undoubtedly is the Holocaust . However, this is not going to be the easy way. We get a hardcover book with an atmospheric picture of an old lady on the cover. We also find some drawings inside. Their author is Maciej Kamuda. These are black and white illustrations that make it easier to imagine the mansion, the Allerdyce siblings or the ghostly chauffeur from Ben’s vision. And that’s not all. At the end contains Members , written by the American writer, journalist and writer Grady Hendrix, who explains to us why the burnt offeringhas become cult and so important to the entire literary stream. The edition also includes a tab with pictures from the book.
Unfortunately, I found one drawback that probably not everyone will pay attention to. Personally, at some point it started to disturb me a bit. Well, from the very beginning we can find single words in italics in the text. It is not known what the purpose of this procedure is. They are not somehow relevant to the plot or even a specific sentence. I haven’t had a chance to see the original, so I don’t know if this style has been used in it.
Podsumowanie
Burnt Offerings is not a typical horror movie. It should be classified more as a thriller. The novel is full of tension, which the author builds from the very first pages, and the right atmosphere. With each passing moment, we become more and more involved in the events of the heroes’ lives. The book was certainly more terrifying at the time of publication, because it was written with the United States and the 1970s in mind. Nevertheless, you can see how much influence it had on other authors and it undoubtedly deserves a place among the classics of horror literature. The very nice Polish edition should also be appreciated. The whole makes it next to Burnt Offerings can not be ignored.
