Book reviews: Mark Haddon, Stephen King, Agatha Christie, Nell Dunn

Poor little book reviews. They have really fallen by the way-side! I keep stacking the books up for when I have time to review them, as I do like keeping a record of what I am reading, but the pile is starting to look the same size as my printer. So here are the latest four…

Up the Junction, by Nell Dunn
Blaze, by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon
Appointment with Death, by Agatha Christie

Up the Junction, by Nell Dunn
First published by MacGibbon & Kee Ltd, 1963
This edition published by Pan Books Ltd, 1966

‘Up the Junction’ is a slice of gritty sixties realism, far from the beautiful people. Nell Dunn uses colloquial speech of the time in her sketchy portraits of Battersea residents – girls with scuffed shoes and messy beehives, boys with leather jackets and crow-bars in their back pocket. There is no real story as such, but each chapter works as a vignette, giving us a glimpse into working-class life.

This book still has the power to shock now, so I can well imagine it was a bit of an eye-opener back when it was published. Controversial subjects are brought into the light, such as back-street abortions, slum clearances, living on higher purchase, casual sex, and teenagers with no prospects. Nell Dunn made her name from writing such truisms, alarming the Establishment. ‘Up the Junction’ was awarded the John Llewellyn Rhys Memorial Prize, adapted for television, and made into a film. To say it touched a nerve for entire generation is an under-statement.

Blaze, by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman
First published in Great Britain by Hodder & Stoughton
This edition published in 2008

As much as we are Stephen King’s Constant Readers, he is our Constant Writer, a prolific author who can bring out a book under his name and that of his pseudonym in the same year. This is what happened with Blaze, released alongside Stephen King’s novel ‘Desperation’.

Richard Bachman books nearly always see life from the bitter slice of the lemon. Blaze is about a mentally challenged man who hasn’t had much luck in life. He pairs up with a con-artist called George who plans to kidnap a millionaire’s baby and live off the reward money. After George dies Blaze attempts to continue the kidnapping, all the while asking George for guidance. And eventually, George starts speaking to him again…

The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon
Published by Jonathan Cape, 2003
This edition published by Vintage, 2004

This novel won the 2003 Whitbread Book of the Year and the 2004 Commonwealth Writers' Prize for Best First Book. After reading it you can see why – it is a refreshingly unusual story. It is told in the first person perspective of Christopher, a fifteen-year old with Asperger’s Syndrome and the tight viewpoint mirrors his condition. The story starts with his investigation of who killed a neighbour’s dog but reveals far much more than anyone intended.

I found it a clever book that is more of a galloping read than a story to linger over, although curiously (how apt) the impression of the story, and what isn’t told, is something to ponder long after the book is closed. It really gives you an idea of what it is like living with a child who sees the world in such literal terms – you feel for him and his parents. The only note that jarred for me was when Christopher hides in the luggage compartment of a train. On trains these are simply tiny, a small shelf in which to stow suitcases, and try as I might I cannot see how a fifteen-year old could possibly hide and be undetected in such a small space, not on a busy train to London. But then again we see things from Christopher’s perspective, so maybe because he didn’t notice anyone, we didn’t as well. It’s that sort of book!

Appointment with Death, by Agatha Christie
First published by William Collins Sons & Co Ltd, 1938
This edition published by Fontana Books, 1980

Oh how I love Agatha Christie books – she leads us neatly up the garden path when all along we should have been looking in the house, or rather, at the red cliffs of Petra. Appointment with Death takes us on a journey to Jordan where we meet the monstrous Mrs Boynton, a woman who likes to pull the reins of power tight around her family. Too tight, perhaps?

Poirot shines as ever, despite the dust and the heat wilting his magnificent moustache. I find Agatha Christie books are ‘comfort-reads’ for me – odd considering they are murder mysteries!




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Book reviews: Bernard Ashley, Stephen King, William Trevor

These are overdue reviews from books read way back in July. It seems July was a book-reading bonanza month for me!

Break in the Sun, by Bernard Ashley
The Running Man, by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman
The Children of Dynmouth, by William Trevor
More of Milly-Molly-Mandy, by Joyce Lankester Brisley


Break in the Sun, by Bernard Ashley
Illustrations by Charles Keeping
First published by Oxford University Press, 1980
This edition published by Puffin Books, 1981

‘Break in the Sun’ was serialised by the BBC and shown in schools, at least I watched it in my junior school. Thirty years later, I buy the book. Is it because the story stayed with me throughout those years or because I saw the cover and felt nostalgic? In a way it is a curious combination of both.

The story is about Patsy, an eleven-year old girl who feels displaced living with her mum, step-father, and their new baby. Her step-father is cruel and lazy; her mother harried and exhausted, and they have recently left behind a nicer life in Margate to live in a small flat in London. Walking home from school, Patsy gets into conversation with the theatrical owners of a barge. They need a young girl for a touring stage play that is heading to Margate. Patsy sees a chance to escape and convinces them she is a budding actress. When she runs away her step-father is forced to look at himself and re-evaluate the real reasons for his cruelty.

This story is a kitchen-sink drama updated to the 1980s, reflecting those troubled times of unemployment, as well as new family dynamics and the universal issues associated with being eleven-years old. Patsy is gutsy and fearless, and you feel for her so much, struggling to find a sense of belonging.

The Running Man, by Stephen King writing as Richard Bachman
First published by New American Library Inc. 1982
This edition published by New English Library 1988

Stephen King’s Richard Bachman books usually concentrate on a dystopian futuristic society. (Or should that be Richard Bachman’s Stephen King books? The author himself would probably like that sentence!) ‘The Running Man’ continues in this vein, twisting elements of George Orwell’s ‘1984’ alongside a scary vision of gruesome reality television shows aimed to subdue the masses. These shows in the book play on people’s desperation, greed, and fascination with horrific spectacle - akin to those who picnicked around the gallows on the day of a hanging. Sadly the reality shows on our television screens now don’t seem a million miles away. Maybe this book should be read in schools alongside George Orwell.

It is the law that every apartment has a ‘Free-Vee’ – a television bolted to the wall – and every day it shows big money game shows such as Treadmill to Bucks, a show that only accepts chronically ill patients in the hope that they will die on air before the payout. But the real prize money can be found on ‘The Running Man’ contest – where contestants run and are hunted down, by both officials and members of the public. Forget the image of the muscle-bound Arnold Schwarzenegger in the film version of this book, the real ‘running man’ is lanky, lean and clever enough to realise the truth behind the shows.

The Children of Dynmouth, by William Trevor
Cover designed by Zandra Rhodes, part of Penguin Decades celebrating seventy-five years of Penguin Books.
First published by The Bodley Head, 1976
This edition published by Penguin Books, 2010

This book follows awkward teenage loner Timothy Gedge on his wanderings around the seaside town of Dynmouth. Timothy enjoys spying on his neighbours, who only realise the true purpose of his interest when it is too late.

The story is delightfully unsettling. You feel deeply sorry for Timothy’s lack of social understanding and yet at the same time appalled and repulsed by his selfishness, his single-minded view of life. He is so desperately alone and that is the crux of the matter – as without this you would hate him, and yet with it he is curiously vulnerable. The neighbours, several of whom he blackmails, each emerge from their encounter with him saddened by the mirror Timothy holds up to reflect their lives. Tension builds throughout the book but the quiet finale is not what you’d expect, leaving the disturbing notion of having glimpsed the under-belly of real life, where a million Timothy Gedges await, as opposed to a dramatic film.

This novel won the Whitbread Award in 1976, and reading it you can see why – brilliant characterisation and description every step of the way.

More of Milly-Molly-Mandy, told and drawn by Joyce Lankester Brisley
First published by the Christian Science Monitor, 1929
This edition published by George G Harrap & Co, 22nd impression, No 2.
It’s a hardback with dust jacket, but I cannot find a date. I suspect 1962 or earlier.

Milly-Molly-Mandy books have a special place in my heart. I have written before about the author, but this collection follows again in the small-village adventures of a small girl and her friends. What is lovely is that the adventures are the sort that means so much to a five-year old – getting stuck climbing a tree, going for a picnic, going to the seaside. Joyce never talks down to her small audience, either, but seemingly captures their delight for the small pleasures in life and her stories feel like such an antidote to our materialistic society.


Scanner broke, so am missing two pictures! Will add them if I can fix scanner. *ponders scanners innards*
Update - November. Fixed printer!

Book worm reviews: July 2010

Oh life, you busy thing you. Awfully sorry for the prolonged absence – the longest time I have been away from my blog in three years. I was starting to dream of topics for posts and getting awfully sad on waking that there was no time to fling them into the world. Yup, am desperately searching for that mythical work/life balance again! One day, one day *she vows, misty-eyed*

But until that day – book reviews! I have been clocking up books at an alarming rate – it seems the less writing I do the more voraciously I read. So coming up over the remains of August are the following:

The Long Walk, by Richard Bachman (also known as Stephen King)
Absent in the Spring, by Mary Westmacott (also known as Agatha Christie)
Inside the Whale, by Jennie Rooney
The Borrowers Afield, by Mary Norton
The Inimitable Jeeves, by P.G. Wodehouse
The Bottle Factory Outing, by Beryl Bainbridge
Break in the Sun, by Bernard Ashley
Appointment with Death, by Agatha Christie
The Children of Dynmouth, by William Trevor
The Running Man, by Richard Bachman (also known as Stephen King)
More of Milly-Molly-Mandy, by Joyce Lancaster Brisley
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time, by Mark Haddon
Blaze, by Richard Bachman (also known as Stephen King)

Onto the Reviews!

Inside the Whale, by Jennie Rooney
Published by Chatto & Windus 2008

The title of this book neatly sets up the idea that this might be a story told in retrospect – as once you are inside the whale, then the worst has happened already and you are just waiting to see how you will be spat out the other end. At least that was how I matched the title to the book, and it did seem to suit the plot. Michael is an old man in hospital, and Stevie is an elderly lady living with her daughter. They are at the end of their life and yet the beginning won’t leave them alone, echoing in their thoughts and regrets, about how once they were almost together and then were spun off in different directions during the Second World War.

This is Jennie Rooney’s debut novel, and there are no huge dramatics in this gentle tale; it is a believable story of ordinary lives touched by coincidence. Her tone of voice throughout speaks with an understated humour, and her descriptions are very vivid. She writes short tight chapters taking turns with each character’s point of view, and in a way this is a love story, but not quite the love you may imagine. Poignant and bittersweet – this is a very well written debut, and I would be very interested to read what this author comes up with next.


The Long Walk, by Richard Bachman (also known as Stephen King)
First published by Signet, 1979
This edition published by Penguin, 1999

The books written under Stephen King’s nom-de-plume have a harder edge than his usual style. They are bitter about society, and often envision a totalitarian future run on extreme parallels in a brutal setting. Their endings generally have no comfort or feel slightly under-done. Having said that, I still love them, of course – as they have all of Stephen King’s brilliance and ability to make you see things you’d rather not – his writing turns over the rocks and reveal the heebie jeebies that lurk in the mud.

In this book The Long Walk is an annual walking contest for teenage boys. Feted by TV cameras and followed by huge crowds, everyone manages to skirt the reality of the walk which is that anyone who falls below a certain speed gets executed. As the walk continues and the numbers of participants fall, the psychological challenges supersede the physical, and the sense of futility grows for a society that accepts such a contest as ‘sport’.


Absent in the Spring, by Mary Westmacott (also known as Agatha Christie)
First published by Wm Collins Sons & Co, 1944
This edition published by Fontana Books, 1974

The Mary Westmacott novels are usually passed off lightly as Agatha Christie’s foray into romance, although affairs of the heart can be just as twisted and tangled as her who-dunnits, just as laden with all the heavy emotion love can bring. In a way these stories are Agatha Christie’s ‘chick-lit’ novels - more introspective, less of a cast of players, but yet still with that same economy of writing, those brilliant descriptions, and believable characters.

Absent in the Spring looks at the life of self-satisfied Joan Scudamore, so smug with her marriage and her children, her home and her friends. She is travelling back to Britain from staying with her daughter and the journey is derailed on the borders of Arabia. Stranded in the dessert, Joan has all the time in the world to contemplate her life, and the bright light of the sun slowly dissipates the shadows until all is revealed.

I really enjoyed this, much more than I thought I would. Afterwards I wonder why I didn’t seek these books out before – possibly the front cover of this one put me off – no disrespect to the actors, but this book would work better with an illustrated cover, and more to do with the emotional whirl in the dessert. But if you like Agatha Christie books anyway then these are a real find – such a treat to find an author you like stretching her writing wings in a different genre.

Book worm reviews: June 2010

In each 'Book worm' post, I review all the books I have read the previous month, no matter how varied! I am looking forward to discovering what takes my attention in a year. Coming up are the books devoured in June (although two are really from May, and one has been an ongoing process since April. Guess which!).

The Birds and Other Stories, by Daphne du Maurier
The E before Christmas, by Matt Beaumont
Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel (audio)
The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, by Stephen King
The Long Walk, by Richard Bachman (also known as Stephen King)
Absent in the Spring, by Mary Westmacott (also known as Agatha Christie)
Inside the Whale, by Jennie Rooney

June 2010


The Birds and Other Stories, by Daphne du Maurier
First published as The Apple Tree by Gollancz 1952
This edition published by Penguin Books 1975

It seems my fate with Daphne du Maurier books is to be forever left leaving the table hungry. There are six short stories within this collection, and each of them makes me pause at the last page, before I flick back and re-read, curious to know more, to wonder how I didn’t guess the build up, to pick through the words for any vital clues.

I actually read this book straight after reading the H.G.Wells classic ‘The War of the Worlds’, and it was quite strange to plunge straight into the story of The Birds, yet another way to purge the human race. The Birds of course inspired film director Alfred Hitchcock, but the film is completely different from the quiet menace of the book. It ends abruptly, but sometimes in life there is no explanation, and this story reflects that beautifully. The other stories are equally memorable – the call of austere nature in Monte Verità, the trap weaved from greed in The Little Photographer, the mysterious usherette in Kiss Me Again, Stranger and finally The Old Man, a brilliantly told tale of family history. This latter story stayed in my mind for a long time – I did not guess the ending, and so had to re-read to see the story with new eyes. I love it when a story manages to do that, pull you in so deeply that you believe everything the author says, and then at the end you laugh as you realise how you were duped – it is the work of a conjurer, and I am a delighted child watching the magic. Perfect.


The E Before Christmas, by Matt Beaumont
Published by HarperCollins Publishers 2000
This edition the same

This book is a quick read, an addendum to Matt’s debut novel ‘e’, and revisits the same characters and setting that made ‘e’ so memorable.

When ‘e’ first came out, it was very revolutionary. Composed entirely of emails, we very quickly get to know the characters through their correspondence with each other. It’s very interesting how the way people use punctuation gives a good idea of their character, and this is what ‘e’ does so brilliantly. There is the secretary who overuses exclamation marks and the hippy art director whose every communication involves a smiley face. There is also the back-stabbing – gushing emails of praise to the boss while behind their back emails of vitriol do the rounds. If you have worked for an advertising agency you will definitely smile and nod knowingly at the characters, but even if you haven’t there is recognition of certain types to be found in every office - put-upon Nigel in accounts, the harassed office manager who worries about air conditioning, the creative team who are always to be found in the bar next door.

The e before Christmas bounces you straight into the days leading up to the office Christmas party. Most enjoyable.


Wolf Hall, by Hilary Mantel
Published by Fourth Estate, 2009
This version is an unabridged audio book, released in March 2010, purchased via itunes

Wolf Hall won author Hilary Mantel the Man Booker prize in 2009, and I was eager to read it, although decided the audio version would be kinder on my ancient handbag. I am very glad I went for audio, as the narrator, Simon Slater, really brings each character alive with a different voice for each, and since there are so many characters I think this definitely gives the reader (or listener, rather) a helping hand.

The book plunges you into the events of the 1520s with such precision and knowledge that you feel this is the only way things could have unfolded, and the characters – King Henry VIII and his court – are exactly as Hilary maintains. Yet thankfully she does not wield her historic research with too heavy a hand – I am given enough detail to be able to see the clogged Thames, feel the political intrigue, and wonder at life in London so long ago. There is also a nice touch of clever humour here and there – it doesn’t come often, but when it does it will make you smile.

Having said that, this book does require a certain amount of focus to keep up with what is happening. I found the allegorical title of the book to be a bit odd, as I was waiting for a bigger connection with Wolf Hall, as opposed to a few spoken references. It is very heavy in dialogue, with a slight confusion over who is actually speaking (the audio helps here), and I found it hard to reconcile Thomas More of the book with Thomas More in A Man For All Seasons. But I did enjoy listening to it, as well as feeling very much in awe over her command of melding fact with fiction.


The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, by Stephen King
First published by Hodder & Stoughton, 1999 (UK)
This edition by Hodder & Stoughton, 2000

Whether or not you like the horror genre, Stephen King is a master story-teller, and many of his books play on the psychologically creepy rather than the gore so beloved by certain crime fiction writers, for example. He really knows how to send that shiver down your spine, how to make his words linger long after you have closed the book, and how to paint pictures in your mind.

The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon is such a simple premise – a young girl gets lost out walking in the woods with her family. This doesn’t seem enough to power a 290 page book, but the girl in question has a long journey ahead of her, and the state she is lost in is large and full of dangers. Our heroine in the book is very resourceful, much more than I would be at nine years old, and yet the empty woods loom close, and as a reader you can feel them press and settle at your back. Highly recommended.

Other book reviews will be liberally scattered in the week. Wishing you all a happy Sunday!

Book haul

Here are the books I received for Christmas:

The Arrival, by Shaun Tan

Shaun Tan has been one of my favourite illustrator / story-tellers since I bought his book The Rabbits a few years ago. What can I say about his work? Well, he likes pipes. He draws an industrial world made of pipes, funnels and tunnels, populated by strange creatures trying to make sense of where they are and if they fit. A second glance however conveys a deeper meaning – his stories reflect political and historical change, dark glimpses into the human psyche, and reveal a reflection we can either improve or strive towards.

The Arrival is a story without words, and tells the story of immigration. A man leaves his family to sail far away to earn money to send back to them, and yet the world he arrives in is alien and strange.

The Red Tree, by Shaun Tan

Depression, oppression – this story uses fantastic imagery to reflect how hopeless and lost people can feel, and yet even then there can be hope. The only thing I would say about this book is that the pictures about depression are many, and the pictures about hope are few – I would have liked to see more of a balance.

A London Christmas, by Marina Cantacuzino

This is an anthology of seasonal memories compiled from various sources. A small extract below, taken from A London Family by M. Vivian Hughes, memories from 1870.

Christmas Eve was the day we liked best. The morning was a frenzied rush for last rehearsals for our family play, last posting of cards, last buying of presents. My father came home early, laden with parcels. The tea-table was resplendent with bon-bons (crackers), sweets, and surprise cakes with icing on the top and threepenny–bits inside. The usual ‘bread and butter first’ rule was set aside, and we all ate and talked and laughed to our heart’s content.

It is a really sweet compilation of memories – I can see myself referring to it when am grown up with my own little place, trying to make traditions of my own.

Dewey, by Vicki Myron with Bret Witter

My mum thought I might like this story about a library cat in small-town America, as the cat on the cover looks like my Ginger Boy. I haven’t read it yet, and know nothing about the author, but it already has two things I like – cats and books - so it could be a winner. I’m always up for reading new authors – especially as one day I hope they will be up for reading mine!

John Lennon: The Life, by Phillip Norman

A lovely present from my brother, I am looking forward to settling down with this hefty book and seeing what it reveals. I have read a few books on John over the years, but this certainly looks like it will be the most in-depth – mainly as it is massive!

So I am pretty pleased with what I received (you can tell all is well when I chime in with a rhyme). Oh dear, sorry to go all Dr Seuss on you! I got some book vouchers as well, so these are the next books on my list.

Agatha Christie's Secret Notebooks: Fifty Years of Mysteries in the Making

Did I tell you I collect Agatha Christie books? I like the old Fontana publications, but over the years I have got a sizable collection of each imprint. Hence why moving house for me is so tricky – I usually have at least four boxes filled to the top with Christie’s. But it’s not just about the old illustrated covers; it is of course the stories. I think they are wonderful. And so I have to get this book! I can tell I would be completely absorbed by it.

Decades of Beauty: The Changing Image of Women, 1890s to 1990s

I saw this book around my friend’s house and thought it looked fantastic. It documents the social events and history behind the fashions, and has great portraits of the stylish ladies from each decade, and how the idea of beauty has changed over the years.

Under the Dome, by Stephen King

I cannot resist a new book by Stephen King for too long. This was published in November 2009, which means it has been out there for over a whole month and I have not yet read it. The world stops when I read Stephen King, which is why I have avoided buying it as yet, but I doubt very much I will get to February without acquiring this one.

On Writing

I have just finished a good book called ‘On Writing’ by Stephen King. It is part autobiography, part brilliant advice. It has inspired me to take a gleaming sharp hatchet to Chapter Two, it being too fat and bloated to run away.

And now my bloody hatchet is out and wildly swinging in all directions. Useless dialogue attribution, adverbs and extraneous sentences are all heading for the chop. Stephen King, I shall either thank you tremendously for this or howl at your feet as my novel turns into a postcard.

Finally I stand amidst the wreckage. Something has happened to the first 54 pages. They seem to be breathing on their own now. They sparkle and wink at me. I think they hopefully would do the same to you, too. It’s miles better, even objectively I can see that (and believe me, it could still be pants, its just now the Agent Provocateur of pants as opposed to Primark).

Stephen King's advice in his book has been a great help. Luckily I am not a big fan of the old adverb (she said firmly), as the whole idea is that the dialogue and preceeding action should tell the reader whether the sentence is said firmly, or not. I also much prefer to say 'said' (she shouts), so the dialogue attribution is generally okay, although there was one dodgy page when everyone cried, gasped, and whispered instead. Are the characters incapable of talking normally? Dearie me...

I remain amazed by the edit process. I feel like shouting 'CONSTANT VIGILANCE!' like JK Rowling's character Alastor Moody from 'Harry Potter'. But it is true - it's needed!

And Happy New Year!

Good King Stephen

Like Wenceslas, I looked out upon a feast of Stephen, but my feast was the 800 or so pages of Stephen King’s novel from this year, Duma Key.

I am a big fan of Stephen King’s ability to make people disappear into his stories, and this quality was something I particularly appreciated whilst commuting. I wouldn’t say I am a fan of horror writing, but I am a fan of any author that can do this conjuring trick. I also admire the longevity of his stories; the way they creep and linger in your mind way after the book has been shut and put back on the shelf.

Duma Key is a very long book, yet it didn’t outstay its welcome with superfluous passages, as I didn’t feel the need to skim and skip over the surface. I fell into the book very quickly with the excitement readers get when they know they are about to tumble down a good rabbit hole, and for the first 500 or so pages I barely surfaced for air. Yet for me the pace didn’t last, as the brilliant atmosphere built from the beginning finally congealed and trickled away with an unconvincing denouement. Similar descriptions from ‘It’, similar sleight of hand from ‘The Shining’, similar feeling from one of his shorter stories, The Langoliers – and somehow each one meant more in its previous state than here in its reincarnation.

But having said that, this is still a very good book – I am just inordinately fussy when it comes to my favourite writers. I want to be astounded each and every time, and have my investment in their world pay back a dividend of hours well spent. Duma Key was a good investment in that sense, it may not be the best book for me from Stephen King’s extensive back catalogue, but it certainly had the power to hold my attention, and capture my imagination.

It also made me want to write.

Stephen King

Given that I am not your usual candidate for horror stories, I love and adore any book by Stephen King.

This addiction started with the book ‘IT’, in 1997 on a surfing holiday to Cornwall. I borrowed it from our B&B to sit and read on the beach in-between attempts to catch a wave, and got so engrossed in it that the proprietor said I could take the book home. After IT, I quickly began working my way through his back catalogue, and was pleased to discover there were tons out there to choose from. It is hard to say which are my favourites, but IT, Firestarter, The Shining and Needful Things are definitely in the top ten.

Stephen King is the sort of storyteller whose tales linger, way after you put down the book and step back into your own world. They creep, they wake you up at night, and they have the power to instantly take me out of my surroundings and put me wherever he wants me. This ability is priceless, especially when you commute for three hours a day on trains and tubes, like I used to. Books are our equivalent to time travel, I think, blue police boxes and flashing lights not necessary.

It is the way he writes as well, not just the actual story. He makes good use of italics, brackets, breaking rules such as starting sentences with lower case letters, and short paragraphs to denote something creepy. Let’s use The Shining as an example.

Brackets

He would just walk right past that old fire extinguisher and go downstairs. He started towards it, moving closer to the wall until his right arm was brushing the expensive silk paper. Twenty steps away. Fifteen. A dozen.
When he was ten steps away, the brass nozzle suddenly rolled off the fat loop it had been lying
(sleeping?)
on and fell to the hall carpet with a dull thump.

Italics

‘Listen to me Danny. It wasn’t your daddy trying to hurt me. And I didn’t want to hurt him. The hotel has gotten into him, Danny. The Overlook has gotten into your daddy. Do you understand me?’

Short sentences / paragraphs

The lions were closer to the path. The two on his right had subtly changed positions, had drawn closer together. The tail of the one on the left now almost jutted over the path. When he had come past them and through the gate, that lion had been on the right and he was quite sure its tail had been curled around it.

They were no longer protecting the path; they were blocking it.

The whole shebang

(You promised.)
(Promises were made to be broken.)
He jumped at that. It was as if that thought had come from outside, insectile. Buzzing, softly cajoling.
(Promises were made to be broken my dear redrum, to be broken. splintered. shattered. hammered apart. FORE!)

***
The combination of stilted sentences and different styles seem to help heighten any tension, and it is a great way to play the reader’s emotions, especially with creepy tales. A good thing to remember when writing, methinks!