Book Review: Marion
A feminist, rage-fueled retelling of Psycho, set in upstate New York, is a psychological thriller and horror novel that is powered by the love of two sisters who will do anything to help each other.
Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Marion was unhinged in the best possible way. From a genre perspective, it leans more into horror than thriller or mystery. In this feminist-rage retelling of Psycho, the novel’s protagonist (who gradually leans into her mental alter-ego Marion) is asked by her boss at work to deliver cash in an underhanded deal. Marion is feeling desperate for money, because she hopes to help her sister leave a marriage plagued by domestic violence.
A Cabin in the Woods
Marion takes a bus from Manhattan to her sister’s house in upstate New York, but the bus breaks down on the way. The hotels in town are full, so she has no choice but to stay as the only guest at a strangely isolated group of cabins, deep in the woods. The setting was super creepy and atmospheric.
Meet Norman
There, a man named Norman lives (eerily) alone, an eerily handsome bachelor, and “selflessly” cares for his mother. He invites Marion to dinner, but after, when she is showering all alone in her cabin, things take a turn…
If It Could Go Wrong, It Will…
The plot kicks off from there, and the script is flipped from Hitchcock’s Psycho. I kind of delighted in the fact that everything that could go wrong for Marion, did go wrong. At times I found this book quite unnerving, because I don’t usually read graphic detail about murder or decaying bodies and I rarely read or watch horror as a genre.
Feminist-Rage
Yet I understood or related to many of the motivations that fueled Marion, like helping her sister escape her toxic, violent relationships, and the pent-up rage she felt about being underestimated, sexually harassed, and manipulated by men in her life.
As the story progresses, her journey to help her sister becomes intertwined with her unresolved problems from her workplace, and Norm certainly did prey on her at the wrong moment. All of these plotlines build on each other, with relentless pacing and lots of murder, intrigue, and bait-and-switch.
If you like your psychological thrillers blended with horror, and current, feminist-rage inspired retellings of classic film story, then move Marion by Leah Rowan up to the top of your TBR this summer.
TW: graphic bodily detail, domestic violence
