Let's Go Play at the Adams'

What thoughts dwell in the minds of children? Brains that are still forming. Ethos. Pathos. How far will humans go when singular responsibility is spread thinner amongst a group? Is there a moment of reflection beyond the point of no return? Mendel W. Johnson’s only published work asks these questions. Do you truly want to know the answers?

Mendal Johnson's "Let's Go Play at the Adams'" is a disturbing and truly horrifying study of human nature. The plot revolves around a group of five Maryland children/teens (the youngest ten, the oldest seventeen) who, as part of a "game," capture a twenty-year-old young woman named Barbara and hold her prisoner for almost a week. Barbara is the baby-sitter, Mom and Dad are in Europe, and the kids get a big kick out of flipping the power structure, even if it's just for a week. Barbara is chloroformed, bound, gagged, and held prisoner in the guest room. The kids manage the house, stay up late, eat ice cream, and go swimming whenever they want. That's how it starts. Later, things get much darker.Some have suggested the Johnson's novel was inspired by the real-life murder of sixteen-year-old Sylvia Likens (the inspiration for the film "An American Crime," as well as Jack Ketchum's horror-porn novel, "The Girl Next Door"). I reject this, however - "Adams'" really has nothing at all to do with the Likens case. Likens was the victim of poverty, parental neglect, madness, and mob rule - nothing could be farther from the upscale professional world of Johnson's novel. The only connection between this novel and the Likens case is that the victim in both is a young girl (Likens was 16, Barbara is 20) and that most of the abusers are children/teens. Likens' abuse was begun by her foster mother - the children simply followed-the-leader; they felt that their cruelty was somehow sanctioned because "permission" had been granted. There was never any intent to murder Sylvia Likens - in fact, there was never any intent at all. "Adams'" is about something very different. The five children/teens involved have a club, play a game, and kidnap/abuse Barbara as part of it. In the beginning, they are doing it "because we can." Later, the decisions they make are logical, carefully orchestrated, and democratically enacted. They vote on whether or not to kill Barbara. They have meetings to decide how to kill her. Interestingly, Ketchum's novel ("The Girl Next Door"), which was admittedly inspired by the Likens case, was also heavily influenced by "Adams'." Ketchum uses the idea of a perverse "game" among children as part of the background for his story - this was not part of the Likens case, but is certainly at the core of "Adams'.""Adams'" actually has a lot more in common with such films as "Last Summer," in which a group of teens (including a young Barbara Hershey) end up brutally abusing one of their so-called friends, or "The Sailor who Fell From Grace With the Sea," in which a young boy ends up murdering (and dissecting) his mother's lover. These are stories about children untamed (or what children can do before they are "broken" by adult rules and society - this is a phrase specifically used in "Adams'"). The novel is horrific not because of what these five children do to this young woman, but because of how little it bothers them and how easily they begin to see her as outside of humanity. Actually, the descriptions of abuse are quite tame, especially by current standards (fans of Ketchum's work, for instance, are likely to be disappointed). This is a very literary novel, with a detached omniscient narrator who is not after a prurient response from his readers. We hear few details of Barbara's rape, and even the final murder scene is told in such matter-of-fact language that the horror of it seems almost commonplace (which of course makes it all the more horrible). What never seems commonplace is the children's easy acceptance of murder as part of the game they call life. As Dianne, one of Barbara's tormentors explains, it's "the game that everyone plays. The game of who wins the game. People kill people. Losers lose." In a way, this is what we really do believe. But, as adults, as functioning members of a social world, we can't admit it.William Golding, in "Lord of the Flies," tells us what schoolchildren are capable of without the influence of adults and rules and laws and police. Mendal Johnson's view of human nature is even darker than Golding's. His schoolchildren don't need to be stranded on a desert island to see their inner beast released - they need only the opportunity, the means, and the courage. This, says Johnson, is what we all are - we're little demons who want nothing more than to win; which means making sure someone else is going to lose. It's not an easy novel to read. And if it leaves you feeling torn apart when you finally finish it, maybe that's a good thing.

*SPOILERS* This book had such an unsatisfying ending. I've never wished so much for a group of kids to get what was coming to them. It was disturbing for the sake of being disturbing with no bit justice at the end. Also the book was just too long. Way too much pointless exposition. A lot could have all been cut out and it would've made no difference to the story.

Reminiscent of the Lord of the Flies, a lost treasure in transgressional fiction, this is a terrifying tale of the evil that lurks inside curious and innocent minds when faced with opportunity devoid of all consequences and barriers. Shocking and sickening, yet tender and nakedly human, you will never forget reading this one, I promise.

I got this book because I have Paperbacks from Hell and I was reminded what horror was in the 70s and 80s when I first started reading horror. While this book was controversial at the time and there was the belief that children were innocent and couldn't do things like this. It challenged a lot of people's thinking and it was what made it a cult classic.While the things in the book are horrific, I wouldn't call this horror. The plot is slow and while I struggled to read it, I did finish it fast. If you're looking to go back to old horror from the 70s then this is a great start.

I read this book many years ago and it has stuck in my mind ever since as being one of the best 'dark' novels. I longed for Mensal Johnson to write the sequel -- surely the guilty could not get away with it? While the story held together very well, the rapid ending left it hanging - it seemed unlikely that the police would accept the story of the picker being guilty over a day when injuries were obviously old and inflicted over many days. When I saw a sequel (L G P at the A 2 by Peter Francis) I had to read it. I was not disappointed at all and found it excellent. That meant I had to re-read the original and all of my expectations were met. Both books are excellent examples of a subtle horror story, similar to the award-winning "Lord of the Flies" with normal behaviour slowly building extreme horror. Not the slasher type but more credible.

The influences and parallels are clear, but it seems like SK took the salvageable parts from this and repurposed them. other than those salvageable bits (primarily with the cruel reality of our ultimately unlikeable protagonist resorting to "talking" to her college roommate for advice on her predicament, and the physical toll of being tied up for days at a time) the book shows its age with how racist and sexist it is. some interesting concepts but ultimately a chore to read.

I can understand why people had a problem with this novel when it was first published in the 70's. Right now, we are all desensitized to the horrible things people do to other people because we watch violence on tv, play around with it in video games, and so forth. However, this wasn't the case in the 70's and I can understand why it was hailed as one of the most "disturbing reads" during that period. Now though, it's another piece of horror literature that we've seen before. For the most part, I enjoyed this one. Seeing kids turn into monsters is quite astounding in so many ways. However, this book was slow. A little too slow if you ask me. That's why I'll rate this with 3 stars meaning, it's good.

Love the book cover. It's recently printed, but the cover work has that classic kitschy 80s styling with regard to font and cover image. It made me feel like I was 12-year-old again and had just walked into the local book store and was flipping through the pages of some paperbacks.Even the quality and texture of the pages felt the same way.Can't wait to read this one!

This is indeed a nasty book. Brilliant, engrossing buy nasty. Barbara the kindly, loving babysitter wakes up to find herself drugged, gagged and tied up to the bed, one of her charge on a chair in the corner.From this we are tipped headlong into a truly disturbing nightmare of torture, both mental and physical.Five kids are responsible for this. It's all just a game to them. A series of small victories inflicted on this woman who represents, in their minds, the entire unfeeling, egotistical adult world.We don't really get to know these kids or Barbara before she's taken hostage and we, the reader, like Barbara don't get any respite or relaxation from the mounting tension as things turn seriously violent and more extreme. Each kid has their own twisted view on the situation. Each kid has their own horrid agenda and reasoning behind what they do and we are stuck in their heads for the majority of the time only leaving them to get sucked into Barbara's nightmarish vision as we are made to go through everything she goes through no matter how gruesome, humiliating and sickening.The writing here is amazing, to make you want to read on even though your skin is crawling is quite an achievement and Mendal Johnson excels in never turning away from the repugnant or chickening out along the way or at the dramatic finale, when most writers soften and cop-out instead of following the logical conclusion to the bitter end. You can't trust this writer, he's liable to do anything which makes for an explosive,gut-wrenching, exciting and unforgettable trip into the darkness.If you are easily offended, I don't think you should read this but for everyone else who likes their horrors realistic, foul and unpleasant but intriguing and thrilling, this book is highly recommended. Thank you.For other good books featuring twisted kids,you might like theseApples Lord of the Flies

Harrowing. Sticks with you like Jack Ketchum's 'The Girl Next Door.' Horror of the slow-burn variety.

The story is not as gory as I thought it would be (which is fine for me as I'm not really a gorehound). It can be sadistic, but not in a drawn out way. I can really only explain it (without spoilers) as taking a trip in the mind of each characters down a very dark path to which they all seem to be inevitably locked.I really enjoyed this book and will buy more in this series despite the prices. Why 4 stars ... I just found the writing style a little disjoined at times, I think it would have benefitted from better editing.

Will not forget this book, still trying to digest what I read. Very well written and tragic. Recommend to anyone that can handle it.