A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay

 

Demonic Possession or acute schizophrenia? 

That is for you to decide in Paul Tremblay’s novel, “A Head Full of Ghosts” by Paul Tremblay. I rated this book 4 out of 5 pages. 

The reader is introduced to the Barretts, a seemingly normal family, living in New England. Comprising the Baretts family is 14-year-old Marjorie, her younger, eight-year-old sister Merry, and their parents. 

We are introduced in the beginning to Merry, returning to her family home, to give an interview to a bestselling writer. We learn how the family is torn apart by Marjorie’s descent into madness and the house of horrors that ensues when the Catholic Church and the media become involved. The family becomes the spectacle of a reality show leading to incidents which cause the reader to have so many questions. Is Marjorie faking? Is Marjorie possessed? Is Marjorie truly suffering from a mental illness? As Merry continues to take us on the journey of her family, shifting from present to past, we learn things are not always what they seem, and the very nature of evil is not always what we think it is.

I cannot say enough how much I enjoyed this book. At first, it seemed a bit elementary to me and I thought it was going to be a tough one to get through but, the further I dived in, and the more details revealed in Merry’s interviews, I really found myself questioning the characters and their motives. Each character had their flaws, their indiscretions and it was interesting to see the development in each of them. I thought each character was well developed and seemed very relatable in a very disturbed way, especially today with reality television. Paul Tremblay made it easy to empathize with Merry and Marjorie and the family but also have a distaste for the parents subjecting their daughter to the various trials to find her help.

The one thing I appreciated about this book was the ending and how Paul Tremblay brought everything together. It was not neatly wrapped up and was a book that left me thinking and analyzing long after I finished reading. Who really was the evil person in this book? Who was lying? Was Marjorie sick? What role did Merry really play in all of this? Was she as innocent as she seemed? These were just a few questions, of many, that this book left me asking. This was what I enjoyed the most. The higher level of thinking A Head Full of Ghosts required me to employ was so appreciated and refreshing. Another homerun for Paul Tremblay.