I first read this book as a teenager over 30 years ago, and it has remained with me ever since, always disturbing, always demanding to be examined more deeply. When I found a paperback copy at a used book sale two years ago, I found that my memories had not played me false - if anything, it was even more troubling now that I was old enough to better comprehend it. Is the author describing life as Hell or Purgatory? I waver between the two, even as the book's grotesque images appear in my mind, appalling but powerful. Well worth reading ... but be prepared to be haunted afterward.

I read this book 27 years ago in 7th grade. I have often looked for it, but have never found it. I read it only once, it has changed my life. Scariest thing I've ever read, I still find elements of this book in my nightmares.

I read this book 25 years ago, and its story still haunts me. Read it for the first time waiting for a plane in the Azores. During the flight, I caught myself surveying the ocean, looking for an island with a single tall mountain, and a ship wreck near.