I read this book when I was 12, and it was the first time I was ever truly terrified from a book.
I am now 46, and am not sure if I read it now, I’d give it 5 stars, but 12 year old me would give it 6 stars if she could.

A quick read, could see it all coming a mile off so no real horror but passed a couple of nights.

This book pissed me off. I really enjoyed the first 75% and the build up. I loved the setting, an old creepy mansion, hot sticky summer.. When the Mom died and the family just kinda moves on I was able to make excuses and look past it but it rubbed me the wrong way.. then Ruby dies, Kevin dies, Jennifer and Kerry die and we are expected to believe that this one woman with a injured hip committed these murders and was able to shuffle their bodies all around the house? And to give Julie the ending he did was the friggin mayo on the poop sandwich. This is my second John Saul and I will absolutely read more because I loved the first book I read but the last 25% of this one was a thumbs-down from me.

Not quite southern gothic, not quite quiet horror, John Saul’s “lThe Unloved fits somewhere in between in a sub genre I once heard described as “cosy horror”.

In other words, horror that’s slightly above general suspense but nowhere near the kind of stuff King or Koontz was famous for. Call it horror for soccer moms or for those who don’t want to lose sleep or be disturbed by over the top subject matter.

And that’s not to say The Unloved was ever terrible or safe. Saul’s characters are well written, the story flows along at a nice clip, and the suspense is done with enough tension to keep the pages turning far into the night. There’s even a great epilogue to this story that I really enjoyed and thought was perfect for the overall tone and feeling.

Aside from the plethora of vintage horror that’s gotten ridiculously popular and expensive,I feel like there has also been a bit of a resurgence in popularity with mainstream classics from the 70’s and 80’s as us aging millennials rediscover many books we were too young to read when they were originally published. Saul was massively successful for many years and with the advent of social media, his books are being rediscovered and discussed all over again…which, as the rise in extreme horror continues, is a good thing. We need simple and easy to read horror to become popular again.

4.111111666 stars, shockingly loved this

A cold and domineering mother's influence haunts her family from beyond the grave... Promising premise and an interesting deep-fried South setting, but unfortunately it all goes a bit overboard and after about half the village is killed you just don't really care anymore. The creeps are few and far between, and as for emotional investment, you get a feeling that Saul himself cares very little about his characters, or his story, and that rubs off on the reader. Too bad. The last few paragraphs make for a surprisingly good ending but it doesn't save this book from being a bit forgettable.

Interesting book… but some “fatal flaws” for me personally. The narrator had a tendency to emphasize “THEN” which grated on me as it made me realize how often the word was used… THEN… and THEN… and THEN… and THEN…. Some of the plot points were kind of skimmed over without being explained… how did that happen? Who did that? When did it change?

Overall premise was intriguing, but it just couldn’t push past 3 stars for me.

Characters:
* Kevin Devereaux - son (moved away from home)
* Anne - Kevin’s wife
* Julie - Kevin’s daughter, age 15
* Jeff - Kevin’s son, age 8

* Helena (mother)
* Lucinda (mother’s caretaker)
* Margarite (daughter, lived at home)
* Ruby (in-home servant/cook/housekeeper)

John Saul's books are like comfort food, you just know they are going to be satisfying. Like a nice bowl of homemade mac n cheese.
This one is introduces us to madness, death, delusions, tragic pasts, a ruthless Mother and a decaying old Southern mansion. While it sounds like a book V.C Andrews wrote, I assure you it is not like that at all.
Gobbled this one up in one day, if you haven't read it yet, definitely check it out. Great for a rainy Sunday. Don't forget snacks. 4 out of 5 ballerina slippers.

I have always enjoyed John Saul books. They can give you the creeps as your reading them. This was not scary just creepy. It started out a bit slow but that changed quickly than I could not put it down. The ending was a bit predictable but it was still worth reading. If you are a Stephen King or Dean Koontz fan I recommend picking up a copy of this book and reading it.

This book was long, boring and predictable. This is my 2nd and probably last, John Saul book.

This has to be one of my favorite novels. It is excruciating to read in the sense that you're quite frankly terrified of what's to come at certain parts of the book. I definitely recommend this.

John Saul este unul dintre maestrii genului horror, povestile sale de groaza fiind pline de suspans, detalii socante, infricosatoare si originale.
"The unloved" a aparut in 1988 iar protagonistul sau este Kevin Devereaux. Romanul debuteaza cu o imagine terifianta dintr-un vis in care Kevin este copil iar mama lui incearca sa-l omoare cu un topor. Insa cea care incaseaza lovitura este totusi mama sa.
In prezent Kevin este parintele a doi copii, o fata, Julie si un baiat, Jeff. La scurt timp dupa cosmarul avut este sunat sa mearga acasa caci mama lui este pe moarte si vrea sa-l vada pentru prima data dupa 20 de ani de la despartire. Kevin se intoarce astfel la locul copilariei sale iar mama sa il intampina cu niste ganduri si planuri malefice. De altfel intreaga casa are o asemenea aura diabolica, mai ales ca exista o camera a copiilor ce este mereu incuiata.
Avem de-a face cu un horror foarte reusit, plin de suspans. Ca in fiecare roman al lui Saul punctul forte il constituie forta malefica, raul pur. Villain-ul este extrem de bine construit si conturat.
Eroii cartii sunt niste copii ce vin in contrast cu adultii care sunt naivi, neputinciosi, creduli si nefolositori in aceasta lupta cu raul.
Foarte interesant este faptul ca pe tot parcursul romanului cititorul se intreaba mereu daca elementele malefice sunt umane sau supranaturale.
De asemenea puterea mamei asupra copiilor ei, frica si dominatia pe care o genereaza asupra lor este foarte asemanatoare cu ceea ce gasim in "Psycho". Mama este venerata pana la nebunie si crima, mai ales de catre fata ei.
Exista si unele lucruri care nu mi-au placut sau mi s-au parut prostesti, cum ar fi decizia sotiei lui Kevin de a pleca pe timp de furtuna, ceea ce ii va fi fatala si faptul ca nimeni nu prea o jeleste. O alta situatie ciudata ar fi atunci cand o fetita dispare in furtuna si nimeni nu prea se sinchiseste de ea.
Sfarsitul, mai ales ultimele 50 de pagini reprezinta un adevarat masterpiece al genului, extrem de bine scris, palpitant si in care personajul negativ se desfasoara in toata splendoarea sa. E fascinant de nebun si am adorat fiecare cuvant al ultimelor capitole.
In incheiere avem de-a face cu un horror ideal pentru aceasta perioada a anului, cand ne apropiem de Halloween si este recomandat a se citi dupa miezul unei nopti cu luna plina atunci cand suntem singuri acasa si crengile copacilor ne lovesc fereastra precum mainile unui schelet.