| The Other | |
| Author: | Thomas Tryon |
| Orig Lang Code: | English |
| Country: | United States |
| Language: | English |
| Genre: | Psychological horror |
| Published: | May 1971 |
| Publisher: | Knopf |
| Media Type: | |
| Pages: | 272 |
| Isbn: | 978-0394467443 |
| Followed By: | Harvest Home (1973) |
The Other is a psychological horror novel by American writer Thomas Tryon, published in 1971. It was his debut novel.
Tryon, who had been a working actor, retired from his Hollywood career to become a novelist. Upon its release, the novel received wide critical acclaim and became a surprise bestseller.[1] [2] The Other was adapted into a 1972 film of the same name directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Uta Hagen. The novel was reprinted in a commemorative edition in 2012 by New York Review Books with an afterword by Dan Chaon.[3]
Set in 1935, the novel focuses on the sadistic relationship between two 13-year-old and identical twin boys: one of whom is well behaved while the other is a sociopath who wreaks havoc on his family's rural New England farm property.
The Los Angeles Times described the book as "beautifully, even poetically, wrought."[4] . The book spent more than six months on the New York Times best-seller list and sold more than 3.5 million copies.[5]