The Other (Tryon novel)

The Other
First edition cover
AuthorThomas Tryon
LanguageEnglish
SeriesNew York Review of Books Classics
GenrePsychological horror
PublishedMay 1971
PublisherKnopf
Publication placeUnited States
Media typePrint
Pages272
ISBN978-0394467443
Followed byHarvest Home (1973) 

The Other is a psychological horror novel by American writer Thomas Tryon, published in 1971. It was his debut novel.

Tryon, who had been a working actor, retired from his Hollywood career to become a novelist. Upon its release, the novel received wide critical acclaim and became a surprise bestseller.[1] The Other was adapted into a 1972 film of the same name directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Uta Hagen. The novel was reprinted in a commemorative edition in 2012 by New York Review Books with an afterword by Dan Chaon.[2]

Plot

Set in 1935, the novel focuses on the sadistic relationship between two 13-year-old, identical twin boys Niles and Holland Perry: one of whom is well behaved while the other is a sociopath who wreaks havoc on his family's rural New England farm property.

Reception

The Other spent more than six months on the New York Times best-seller list and sold more than 3.5 million copies.[3]

The Los Angeles Times described the novel as "beautifully, even poetically, wrought".[4] The Cleveland Plain Dealer said that it was "A psychological thriller that you read a second time to see how the author did it". The book was "Truly extraordinary!", according to Kirkus Reviews. "Like most professional writers", Anthony Burgess griped, "I resent Tom Tryon’s The Other, since Tryon should get on with the job of being a good actor and not write good books as well. Enough is enough already. The Other is a highly readable chiller". "A whirlpool of Oh-My-God horror", Ira Levin wrote; "Please congratulate Mr. Tryon for me. What a marvelous job he’s done".[5]

References

  1. ↑ "Thomas Tryon's bestselling novel The Other (1971), which also received a cinematic tribute in 1972". Renner, Karen J., Evil Children in the Popular Imagination. London, Palgrave Macmillian. ISBN 9781137599636 (p.4)
  2. ↑ Tryon, Thomas (2012). The Other. New York Review Books Classics. New York Review of Books. ISBN 978-1590175835.
  3. ↑ Cohen, Noam S. (September 5, 1991). "Thomas Tryon, Who Quit Acting For a Writing Career, Dies at 65". The New York Times. p. D26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved August 9, 2026.
  4. ↑ Hughes, Dorothy B. (May 3, 1971). "Murder Through a Glass Darkly". Los Angeles Times.
  5. ↑ Cite error: The named reference nyrb was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
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