The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane

by Laird Koenig

Book Overview

Award-winning and international best-selling novel by Laird Koenig. Thirteen-year-old Rynn is a gifted prodigy who lives in a big old house with her reclusive father...all alone. Or does she? When... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 069810577X
• ISBN13: 9780698105775
• Release Date: February 1973
• Publisher: Coward, McCann & Geoghegan
• Length: 217 Pages
• Weight: 0.77 lbs.

Customer Reviews

A Real Survivor

I saw the movie when I was 15 on some cable channel back in the 90s and saw who I wanted to be in the character of Rynn (the "rhynn" in my email addy is in honor of her). Because of the movie, I found the book and also discovered Emily Dickinson. The movie, one of my favorites, is outdone by the book (which I've read several times). The book and movie were originally done in the 70s, but I think this is not a problem at all. I still loved it. This should also appeal to the "ghosts" (people who try to stay invisible to society) and "moles" (fake being part of it) of any age and gender out there, who refuse to let their spirits be broken and owned by the impersonal and unedifying forces of the vapid masses and malicious control freaks that haunt our world. This is also a book where the heroine (and later accomplice) overcome adversity by cleverness (and admittedly some ruthlessness, but their enemies are just as ruthless) rather than by dramatic fights, which is refreshing in and of itself, IMO. It combines mystery and suspense and romance, spiced with many creepy secrets. I recently had a dream where I saw a modern remake of the movie and nearly woke up in my excitement. I've since started rereading the book and I still love it. This is one of my all-time favorites, and I read it again every October.

Over ten years later and this book still delivers

I first read "The Little Girl Who Lived Down the Lane" as a junior in high school. And I recently had the distinct pleasure of tracking down a used version. Nearly fifteen years later, this book still effectively delivers. Koenig has crafted a rarity. It is a tense, suspenseful narrative that never relies on theatrics or histrionics to raise the reader's unease. The book is short - one suspects that it can be read in a sitting - but the book leaves a lasting impact once finished. The narrative shifts between several characters. But the main - and memorable - protagonist is Rynn. Rynn is a young woman who a reader is unsure to be rooting for or apprehensive of. Throughout the book, she displays extraordinary resource and tightly wound emotions - but her voice and feelings are telegraphed in away that seems thoroughly convincing and realistic. And although Rynn is the main character to which all other others rotate around, the reader is put into the perspective of the satellite characters. To summarize the novel, unfortunately, would be to give away the ending. The theme and questions, however, are simple. Young Rynn is harboring a secret in the house she and her father have rented in a quiet New England hamlet. What is the secret? And why is Rynn so determined to protect this secret it all costs? Internal narrative is Koenig's strong suit. Emotions, particularly Rynn's, seem genuine and realistically developed. Not once are there illogical jumps in character or story development. The one caveat is that book takes place in the mid-1970s - so many situations have to be read with a grain of salt because they would never be allowed to occur in the present day. If you are searching for a page-turner of a suspenseful nature - this book is highly recommended.

A creepy love story to give you goosebumps.

Although the film adaptation is fine (Jodie Foster was perfect for the part) it does not come close to the haunting power of this chilling novel. Thirteen year old Rynn lives at the end of the lane with her recluse father, or does she? Mrs. Hallet, her landlord, is getting suspicious of Rynn and her lifestyle just as her child molesting son (who is far older and creepier in the novel than in the film) is begins harrassing the little girl as well. Complicating matters further is Rynn's growing attraction to the equally curious Sheriff's son Mario.Laird Koenig masterfully weaves these plot threads togehter into an icy spider web that Rynn may or may not get herself free of. Watching it all come together (and apart) creates one of the truly great cult classic novels of the seventies. Required reading for psychological thriller fans and those with a taste for gothic imagery. Highly recommended.

This is one lane you should definitely travel

In "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane" Laird Koenig presents us with a character a complexity that is rarely seen in literature. She is both cultured and cunning, affectionate and coldly ruthless, and you're not sure if you should root for her or not! This book is why I read!

Outstanding.

The movie The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane is my absolute favorite ever, and the book is, of course, certainly worth reading. Here is a tale of murder, secrecy, and survival. Intertwined between all this is a touching love story between 13-year-old Rynn and 16-year-old Mario. One might question the age difference between the two, but upon reading the book (or seeing the movie, which I also highly recommend), we see that Rynn is far surpassed the usual maturity level of a person her age. Rynn lives in a small, secluded house at the end of a lane in a small New England island town with her English poet father, Leslie Jacobs, or so she says. The only problem is no one ever sees him.Survive. That's what her father told her. Don't play their game. And Rynn won't, not even when she is badgered my Mrs. Hallet, the real estate lady that rents the house to Leslie and Rynn and who insists on knowing where Leslie is at all times, no matter what it takes; or her son, Frank Hallet, who is notorious in their town for taking an unhealthy liking to girls much younger than he.Rynn's only friend in the world is Mario Podesta, an amateur magician who is crippled. Only Mario knows Rynn's terrible secret, and he soon becomes her co-conspirator.I won't give any spoilers, but I will say that this book is absolutely amazing. It is unfortunate that it is out of print at this time. If you can get ahold of a copy, however, read it. You will not regret it.