From the Corner of His Eye
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 Cover of From the Corner of His Eye |
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| Author | Dean Koontz |
|---|---|
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Suspense, Thriller |
| Publisher | Bantam Publishing |
| Released | 2000 |
| Media type | Paperback |
| Pages | 768 |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-553-58274-7 |
From the Corner of His Eye is a novel by the best-selling author Dean Koontz, released in 2000. It is the story of a boy named Bartholomew Lampion, a ruthless killer named Enoch Cain, and a girl named Angel, born by the result of a rape.
Contents |
[edit] Synopsis
Dean Koontz tells a fascinating tale of good and evil, and how the concepts influence people's lives. The book begins with three separate stories that eventually intertwine: A loving relationship between a mother and her genius son, a ruthless killer, and a young woman who takes it upon herself to raise her late sister's baby.
[edit] Characters
[edit] Bartholomew Lampion
Bartholomew Lampion (known as Barty by his mother and his friends) was born to Agnes and Joey Lampion, but Joey died in a car accident on the way to the hospital to take Agnes in for labour. Barty was exceptionally smart as a baby. He learned to talk and walk exceptionally early and taught himself to read at the age of two. He also started advanced mathematics a little later. Throughout the book he is known as a "child prodigy." One day when Barty and his mother went to Joey's grave it was raining. Agnes got soaked in the weather, but not a single drop touched Barty. This is shown on page 292-293.
"As the fragrances of wet wool and sodden denim rose from her
sweater and jeans, Agnes switched on the heater and angled the
vanes of the middle vent toward Barty. "Honey, turn that other vent
toward yourself."
"I'm okay."
"You'll catch pneumonia," she warned, reaching across the boy
to flip the passenger's-side vent toward him.
"You need the heat, Mommy. Not me."
And when she finally looked directly at him, blinked at him, her
lashes flicking off a spay of fine droplets, Agnes saw that Barty was
dry. Not a single jewel of rain glimmered in his thick dark hair or on
the baby-smooth planes of his face. His shirt and sweater were as dry
as if they had just been taken off a hanger and from a dresser drawer.
A few drops darkened the boy's khaki pants-but Agnes
realized this was water that had dripped from her arm as she'd
reached across him to adjust the vent.
"I ran where the rain wasn't," he said.
-From the Corner of His Eye- Pages 292, 293.
At the age of three Barty was reading and started to complain about wavy lines in the pages of his book. When his mother took him to the doctor He found out that he had a rare cancer that would spread to his brain if his eyes weren't removed. So they took his eyes out, but later in the book he gets his vision back when he is thirteen. Again he says that he was walking where he wasn't blind.
[edit] Agnes Lampion (The Pie Lady)
Agnes Lampion was Barty's mother and was married to Joey Lampion who died the day Barty was born. Agnes guided Barty through life and helped him when he was blinded. She was also known as the "Pie Lady" and gave out pies to people as well as doing various other acts of kindness around the town.
[edit] Enoch Cain (Junior)
Enoch Cain was a delusional and arrogant psychopath. With a demented motive, he pushed his wife out of a fire tower sending her to her death. He managed to fool all investigating officers that it was in accident, except Tom Vanadium who devoted his life to proving his guilt. He often promised himself he'd never kill again for fear of punishment, yet broke those promises due to his increasing insanity. He and the White family's lives became intertwined because of an unsettling dream and a vicious act of violence.
[edit] Thomas Vanadium
Thomas Vanadium was a detective and previously a priest. He had a talent to flick quarters through a hole or gap in dimensions and into another.
[edit] Celestina White
Celestina White was the sister of Seraphim White (Angel's mother) and adopted Angel when her sister died. She was hunted by Junior, but managed to escape.
[edit] Angel White
Angel was the daughter of Seraphim White and Seraphim's rapist. Angel was adopted by Celestina, her aunt. Angel and Barty become friends almost immediatly. She, Celestina, her stepdad, and grandmother move in next to the Lampions'.
