THE GHOST ON THE HILL

by John Gordon ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 28, 1977

Gordon's early indulgence in special effects (especially the ominous rooks who fly and cackle at key moments) are easy to forgive as he gets on with this taut, expertly cast, atmospherically staged drama in which the ghost--though eerie as could be desired--is both an integral figure from the impinging past and a catalyst for present resolutions. The setting is the native English village to which attractive, well-married Grace Jervis returns with her sophisticated son Ralph. They take up with some of the local young people, especially Joe, the son of Grace's girlhood friend Betty. Both Betty and Grace are terrified of a local old woman who speaks of and to her dead son; we learn that Grace had occasioned the retarded boy's suicide one long-ago Midsummer's Eve. The ghost beckons; Betty dies (she's been ill); and though Grace and Joe have allowed themselves to be drawn dangerously close together, it is Joe and his village girlfriend Jenny who put the spirit to rest on the anniversary of the hanging. And Ralph, whose mocking tone has grated all along, proves no good to anyone. Gordon leaks his secret in tantalizing hints, then still hits you with the revelation, and he orchestrates tension at crucial moments by cutting rapidly from one character to another. Calculated to be sure, manipulating perhaps, but most effectively so.

Pub Date: March 28, 1977

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1977

Categories: FICTION