The Other (Tryon novel)

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. 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.

Plot
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.

Reception
The Los Angeles Times described the book as "beautifully, even poetically, wrought." . The book spent more than six months on the New York Times best-seller list and sold more than 3.5 million copies.