The Spoil

Chapman (Your Presence Is Requested at Suvanto) unfurls an uneven tale of psychological horror about a woman’s lifelong experiences of the uncanny and struggles with ADHD. Mandy grows up in Tacoma, Wash., with her mother, Jandine; her stepfather, Terry; and her stepbrother, Jeff. As children, she and Jeff are terrified of the basement, convinced there is some evil presence there. Finding refuge at the public library, she reads obsessively about ghosts, aliens, and other unearthly subjects. Mandy leaves for college in Las Vegas and settles there after graduation. Years later, after Terry dies, Jandine joins her there, and Mandy cares for her as she declines from Alzheimer’s. When Jandine dies, Mandy’s childhood fears return, triggered this time by her belief that her kindly neighbor, known as TK, is possessed by a dangerous force. With the help of Jeff’s new girlfriend, Belén, along with Sam, the husband of Belén’s godmother, who is also experiencing cognitive decline, Mandy looks for a way to save TK. Mandy’s hectic narration is cluttered with free-associative tangents into esoteric subjects like ancient Egyptian history. More illuminating is an attempt to decipher an “ADHD parable” in Ray Bradbury’s “The Scythe” (“Today in hyperfocus my path through the grain is clear and easy to follow”). There’s plenty to admire, but not all of it hangs together. Agent: Jim Rutman, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Mar.)