Psycho by Robert Bloch

Psycho by Robert Bloch
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I easily read this pulp in 24 hours. To me this is what pulp can be, the reason it was invented.

I was surprised how closely the movie stuck to the book, with a couple things actually making more sense in the book. Mary was changed to Marion for the movie. In the book Mary lives hours away from Sam and leaves town to drive to him. He has debts that need paying off and she takes the money to help him. In the book they live in the same town, and it's really unknown where she's going when she takes the money, she appears to be leaving Sam and her sister and her life for no reason that's ever explained. So I preferred the book explanation which actually made sense. I guess it would have been harder to show the relationship as flashbacks in the movie.

Even little things in the movie that I never realized didn't make sense are explained in the book. For example, Sam and Lila are outside the church talking to the Sheriff and his wife about Bates and their suspicions. In the book they were up all night worrying and there was a robbery in town taking much of the police out of commission. In the movie they're at a church for no reason.

The only thing that wasn't great about the book of course was Norman's appearance. I much preferred Anthony Perkins and put him in the lead role when I read the book.

A quick, enjoyable supplement to the movie. Recommended.

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