What Lurks Within Young George Davies?
Introduction
A Good and Happy Child is a horror novel written by Justin Evans, and to my mind, acted as a smart way of indulging my curiosity for demonic possession without having to endure the heart-attack-inducing jump scares that are produced in the films. But I was certainly foolish in thinking that this disturbing piece of fiction would not leave me with a few sleepless nights, its contents slowly seeping into my subconscious like a slow poison whose effects would take hold as time went on.
The story begins with a young man named George Davies, who struggles to keep his life together due to his marriage disintegrating like a bar of soap that was left in a tub of water, his anxiety being so as to prevent him from even caring for his infant child in a normal and healthy manner. George seeks professional help for his problems, visiting a psychiatrist to get to the bottom of his problems, and as it would seem, one such avenue that seemed to have left the most scars, as it is in most cases, lies in his childhood. With this in mind, the shrink recommends that George recall and record significant moments of his childhood in notebooks, which goes on to replace the more traditional chapters often seen in other novels.
Notebooks of the Past
As a young boy, George Davies was the only child of two highly respected and talented academics, which naturally meant that George did not exactly have the conventional kind of household or engage in the regular kinds of activities most would engage in. Instead, George became used to the little quirks of his parents, their academic talks, and intellectual arguments becoming commonplace in his world. However, this would make George an outcast in the eyes of his peers, small-town boys more familiar with TV dinners, golf and football on the weekend, and the odd fishing trip.
George always felt alone, not only amongst his friends at school but also sometimes in his family, despite his parent's love, the young George often felt that his parents set intelectual expectations and goals that he would never meet. Things became worse for George due to the unexpected passing of his father, leaving a vacuum that would beg to be filled, and would eventually be filled by someone that appeared to George as the novel progressed. A "person" that George started to refer to as his "Friend."
At first, this Friend showed George amazing things in the dead of the night when he would visit George at his window or other places. Showing himAn intoxicating yet exhilarating dream world that gave George the acceptance and safety he had so long been yearning for. But as time would go on, this "Friend" started to provide George with information that would otherwise turn him into an untrusting and angry little boy, information about his father's death, and those who may have been responsible for it creating a black flame within the young man that threatens to burn all around him. A series of strange events would start to take place, the major event being one in which George would cause a near-fatal accident for one of his father's closest friends, an accident that would result in George being sent away for expert examination.
What would follow would be a series of questions and tests to get to the bottom of Georges' strange behavior, but it would seem that some, particular the unfortunate victim that was severely injured, believed that there was a possibility that something else was going on with George, something that science was not going to be able to understand or treat. Tom Harris, the man in question, that suffered bad injuries from George's tampering's with his car at a Halloween party, teams up with Georges' God Father, Freddy, and another psychiatrist/ordained minister to take a look and do their research and experiments to see if their worst fears could be true, and that's that George could be possessed.
Battle for the Brain Or Mind/Soul?
What follows is an engrossing story that sees George placed in the middle of a tug of war between two vastly contrasting areas of expertise, on the one hand, scientists attempting to come to a rational explanation for Georges' behavior, merely seeing it as a cry for attention and means of coming to grips with his father's death. And on the other hand, a group of caring family friends who believe that George's "friend" Is an entity that cannot be rid of with simple medicine and tests, but instead with faith, prayer and will power. Despite being terrified at the implications that each camp brings, George also sees a window into a hidden part of his father's life, and his journey into his mind is one that holds more than just salvation for himself, but also answers about his father, his work and the causes of his passing.
The notebooks are bookended by George's activities in the present day, and the struggles that he faces with regards to his own family and the progress that he attempts to make with his psychiatrist. This balancing act as a whole in the book is one that creates an interesting dilemma for readers. The stories of his youth seem to suggest something supernatural and malevolent, while the odd focus on his present life seems to snap readers back into the possibility that George is recalling a childhood that could be inaccurate and all explained with science. The book does well to explore the vast social complexities that George must work through, both past and present, not only the challenges posed by his own family life but also the relationship his mother had with various friends, colleagues, and family.
Justin Evans creates a story that is effective and thrilling in its earlier-mentioned dichotomy of the natural and the supernatural, making us all think about the dark passengers we have in our own lives and how they manifest themselves. He effectively takes readers along with George through hospitals and special institutions, painting such vivid images of the locations and events that readers can smell the nauseating odors of the hospitals, see the disturbing characters that George interacts with, hear the menacing sounds and feel the sensations that the characters experience. His secret meetings with Tom Harris and the gang take him deeper down a rabbit hole that always risks devouring him, Georges' "friend" making it particularly difficult to separate fact from fiction, his odd visits into the murky depths within which his "friend" resides providing only fragments of his father's mysterious past.
Thoughts
A Good and Happy Child is a chillingly relatable book, not necessarily only in its content being taken literally, but also the impact that all our childhoods have on the adults we eventually become. Some scars run deep and paralyze with fear and anxiety. The composition of the book is inspired, each notebook giving a lucid glimpse into George's memories and the terror that resides there. Each character is more interesting than the last, Evans not skipping any detail with their mannerisms, appearance, and even their accents. It's difficult to be original when it comes to stories about demonic possession, and yet, Evans gives an interesting interplay between a variety of factors that constantly keeps readers on their toes, his ability to give significance to both the mundane and monumental being a strong aspect of the overall book.
While I felt that the ending could've had a little more kick, what I found in A Good and Happy Child was a horror novel that still made me nervous of the shadows cast from a flickering light in the room. It's words caused my imagination to have a field day, and his ability to craft a story with such detail and accuracy with regards to the fields of theology, psychology and more, show a hard-working author that looked to tackle his subject matter from every available angle. If horror novels are what you fancy collecting, then make sure this one is placed on the to-buy list. Wish you all pleasant reading, and sweet dreams ;).
Score
7.5/10