The Night Of The Hunter

THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER

by Davis Grubb

 

Nomination: National Book Finalist 1955

 

Date Read: January 6, 2022

 

“I declare, this Goddamned depression has turned up the undersides of some mighty respectable folks, Bart!”

 

And so begins the tale of a family besieged by the serial killer Harry Powell. Desperation and the Depression cause Ben Harper to rob a bank. Being a complete novice, Harper ends up shooting two bank employees. He is able to flee before his arrest and brings hope the fateful $10,000 and has John and Pearl, his two children, help him to hide it before he is arrested. Ben is housed with Harry Powell “The Preacher” in prison and Harry is unrelenting in trying to find out what Ben did with the money. Ben, lock-lipped, is ultimately hung.

 

Once Harry is released from prison, he heads to Virginia, where Ben’s widow, Willa, and his two children are. He romances Willa with his sermonizing and promises of redemption. John, however, knows what Harry is really about, being grilled by him when Willa isn’t around. Which brings me to…

 

I found it difficult to believe that Willa was so overcome by her recent marriage and salvation that although she heard Preacher threaten Pearl with her own ears, she still rejected that as truth. One would think that hearing these threats, in addition to John telling her repeatedly that Preacher was harassing him about the location of the money would have opened her eyes to what was going on under her roof.

 

I also found it difficult to believe that Pearl wanted to go back to “Daddy,” even after he pulled a knife on John and cursed both kids out multiple times, pulled Pearl’s arm, etc. I understand she is only four and a half but kids aren’t that dumb and are able to sense danger and know when someone is mistreating them. I can only conclude that Grubb doesn’t have a very high opinion of women.

 

Even with Grubb’s underestimation of women, The Night Of The Hunter is wildly entertaining and creepy. Grubb is outstanding at creating tension, making your skin crawl and creating characters that you can LOVE/HATE. 

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