I just finished this and I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. I really love how Joe writes so I was fully on board and loved the story.
But I may need to read it again to process it. Anyone have thoughts on the treehouse of the mind?
Horns--Spoiler Thread
I just finished this and I'm having a hard time wrapping my mind around it. I really love how Joe writes so I was fully on board and loved the story.
But I may need to read it again to process it. Anyone have thoughts on the treehouse of the mind?
The kindness of close friends is like a warm blanket
Yeah i know what you mean Matt there is alot going on in the book and im going to start a second read asap ... i wasn't expecting Horns to turn out to be such a love story but i feel it was very well done and Horns is now one of my favourite books EVER
I agree with that, the book is up there with me too.
I just had a hard time figuring out what was going on at the end and how he burned the place down. It made sense that it was her love that kept him from being what he was but I didn't get how the horns actually came.
The kindness of close friends is like a warm blanket
I don't think he burned the place down Matt. I think it was Hell all along. Just not in the way we think of it. He went to Hell and became it's ruler along with his bride, Merrin. That's what I took from it.
The horns were just a part of his transformation into the Devil.
Margaret Emmie Mackey Catoe, you are, have been, and always will be my soulmate, and I love you.
Con todo mi corazon, por todo de mis dias. And I always will, in this life and into the next.
August 2, 1947 - September 24, 2010
I got that idea too and that is why it confused me. The morning he woke up with the horns he had done a "terrible thing" the night before.
When he finally remembers what that was, he realizes he destroyed the treehouse of the mind. He was the one banging on the trap door remember? I thought he burned it down in that scene.
The kindness of close friends is like a warm blanket
Could their treehouse be connected to hell somehow??? Im asking because Ig was healed by the fire, so maybe the treehouse wasn't harmed by this???
I believe Ig is thinking he did a bad thing by setting the treehouse on fire, when he actually did no harm to it at all.
He thought he burned it down, hence the "terrible thing" he did that night. I have to say that I was quite disappointed that his "terrible thing" wasn't nearly as terrible as I had thought it would be.
I think the treehouse WAS Hell, or at least a part of it.
Margaret Emmie Mackey Catoe, you are, have been, and always will be my soulmate, and I love you.
Con todo mi corazon, por todo de mis dias. And I always will, in this life and into the next.
August 2, 1947 - September 24, 2010
Hmmmm...I may need to read that part again. I may be missing the "non physicality" of the treehouse but I was convinced he destroyed it.
Is there a chance that act opened the gates to hell somehow. He was really convinced that whatever he did caused the horns and it had been several months since the murder right?
The kindness of close friends is like a warm blanket
That night he may have opened the gates to hell and therefore opening himself to becoming the devil!? And i think its almost a year to the day that ther story starts to Merrins death!?
I, however, think that he and Merrin opened the gates the day they entered the treehouse. I also think it's quite possible that he himself, as the Devil, put the treehouse there for them to use the first time since it seems to exist outside of our reality.
Margaret Emmie Mackey Catoe, you are, have been, and always will be my soulmate, and I love you.
Con todo mi corazon, por todo de mis dias. And I always will, in this life and into the next.
August 2, 1947 - September 24, 2010
Holy moly. I loved the book but really hadn't thought so hard to make sense of these things. You guys are making my head hurt.
I really enjoyed the book. Meeting Koe and hearing him read from and discuss the book, was a great pleasure.
Its a fantastic read and the second time though was even more emotional because i knew why things were being done. I don't know how Merrin had the strength to try and break up with Ig , and Lee is up there with Rennie from "Under The Dome" with my most hated characters in a book!
Oh and has anyone else read the extra chapters in the PS Pub edition? Ig's grandad is called RANDALL Terrance FLAGG
I thought a large part of the story was based on the concept that the devil isn't bad at all, it's people that are bad and that they chose to perceive the devil as this great tempter and evil doer to absolve themselves of the blame and responsibility for their own actions. I thought it was clever and quite funny how the devil that Ig became was such a stereotypical image, it's man's perception of the devil. Ig needed Merrin to see the goodness in himself, to be the best person he could be and without her...well, he begins to take on board how everyone thinks he's guilty of her murder and sees him as a monster, his self esteem is pretty non existant anyway, so he quite literally becomes the monster - only to ultimately find that the seemingly normal people who surround him are far more monstrous than he has ever been.
I don't think he became the devil, he became a devil. The letter in the treehouse was signed by Lucifer, implying that the treehouse was already there and had been for sometime. Like a place where people get to make their final choices, I don't think Ig was the first or last person to visit it. Even though he burnt the treehouse down, it seemed more like a gateway to me, the burning of it was symbolic for him because he'd chosen a path and moved on - so then the devil might use the tree house (in another form to another person) again.
Ig's initials, I.M.P foreshadowed the change - which I thought was very witty. I also enjoyed seeing Derry and the number 19 get a mention
The what edition? I don't understand what you're saying. I loved this book and I would love to read extra chapters.Originally Posted by Tito_Villa
Its a fantastic read and the second time though was even more emotional because i knew why things were being done. I don't know how Merrin had the strength to try and break up with Ig , and Lee is up there with Rennie from "Under The Dome" with my most hated characters in a book!
Oh and has anyone else read the extra chapters in the PS Pub edition? Ig's grandad is called RANDALL Terrance FLAGG
I work at a bookstore in Alabama and I'm always suggesting this to people. We got quite a number of them in when it came out and I just finished selling the last copy today. At least 3/4 of the copies we sold were simply because I work there.
PS Publishing - they do collector's editions
I might get some wrath from Joe Hill fans but this book didn't do much for me. The best part to me was when he found out why she broke up with him. Things got really emotional for me when I was reading her letter.
The idea was neat but the language a little too simple.
P.S. "The treehouse of the mind" as a nod to "The Manhattan restaurant of the mind"?
That's the part of the novel that I really could've done without. Just didn't do anything for me.
A NEW GAME BEGINS
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