Why did Straker even mention Barlow at all?

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The Walkin Dudemar

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Jul 17, 2012
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I am re-reading Salem's Lot now after many, many years. Last time I read it was as a middle-schooler a few months after the 1979 miniseries came out. I am really enjoying the mood of it and I think I am picking up a lot more this time than I did as a kid.

One thing that makes me wonder is why Straker and Barlow even bothered to include Barlow's name in their dealings with the public. Barlow never interacted with anyone in town except when he was attacking them. He just slept in his coffin all day and came out to drink blood and infect the townspeople at night.

Why didn't Barlow just put all their finances and business dealings under Straker's name and pretend Straker ran the whole show? Seems to me Barlow's constant absence "on business trips" raised more curiosity and speculation than just one older man opening an antique shop alone would have. There was no need to mention Barlow at all. Straker could have just moved in and started up the business and let Barlow out to feed without anyone knowing his name or that they were partners. Openly advertising his name when he would never be seen by anyone in day-to-day circumstances seemed like a risk that B & S would not realistically have taken.

The only logical explanation I can think of is that Barlow was vain and wanted his name out there.
 

Gerald

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Sep 8, 2011
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You never learn how Barlow and Straker came into contact in the novel, from what I remember. Straker seems not a complete disciple, like, say, Renfield, he seems to have more a mind of his own. If Barlow had put his own money under Straker's name, Straker could take off and disappear with the money.

But it's strange that it's never explained why Straker works together with Barlow when he knows he's a vampire. Or if anyone remembers, please remind me.
 
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Gerald

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I suppose Salem's Lot is written in the spririt of Dracula totally. The reason people come back to Dracula over and over, is because it's a novel that doesn't explain a lot in detail. So people keep speculating about the events, and draw their own conclusions and do their own adaptations and spin-offs intrigued by all the possibilities the novel only hints at.
I'm not sure if that was completely Stoker's intention, but it seems to come naturally when you have events told through various different sources and characters in different mediums, like letters, journals, newspaper articles etc.
 

Joseph Burdette

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Jul 26, 2018
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You never learn how Barlow and Straker came into contact in the novel, from what I remember. Straker seems not a complete disciple, like, say, Renfield, he seems to have more a mind of his own. If Barlow had put his own money under Straker's name, Straker could take off and disappear with the money.

But it's strange that it's never explained why Straker works together with Barlow when he knows he's a vampire. Or if anyone remembers, please remind me.
They met after the war, it was suggested that the Gestapo was after Barlow (maybe they knew what he was) and when Barlow made it to England he met Straker. Odds are he promised Straker immortality if he served him faithful
 

Gerald

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They met after the war, it was suggested that the Gestapo was after Barlow (maybe they knew what he was) and when Barlow made it to England he met Straker. Odds are he promised Straker immortality if he served him faithful

That's in the novel? Where do you find that out in the novel?
And on which occasion did they meet in England?
I know Barlow is an Austrian nobleman, but what was Straker?
 

Gerald

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There's not a lot you can find about Straker online. He just doesn't seem the typical Renfield type character, because he does much more on his own. Yet he is obviously clearly working for Barlow.

He is a Satanist, and that's probably his interest and reason for being with Barlow, as Hubie Marsten was a Satanist too and that's what drove Barlow to move into the Marsten house most likely.

It's been ages since I read it though, and I don't have the book at the moment. I noticed Hodder also now has a cheap version of the special edition that includes all the deleted scenes. So I might get that.
I have a feeling though, since this book leaves so many more questions than his books usually do that that was a deliberate attempt to give it the same feel as Dracula, where a lot is open to interpretation and people can discuss it over and over.
 

Edward John

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Aug 15, 2019
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There's not a lot you can find about Straker online. He just doesn't seem the typical Renfield type character, because he does much more on his own. Yet he is obviously clearly working for Barlow.

He is a Satanist, and that's probably his interest and reason for being with Barlow, as Hubie Marsten was a Satanist too and that's what drove Barlow to move into the Marsten house most likely.

It's been ages since I read it though, and I don't have the book at the moment. I noticed Hodder also now has a cheap version of the special edition that includes all the deleted scenes. So I might get that.
I have a feeling though, since this book leaves so many more questions than his books usually do that that was a deliberate attempt to give it the same feel as Dracula, where a lot is open to interpretation and people can discuss it over and over.
The Hodder edition is well worth it, it even comes with the "One for the Road" short story, which is set just in the aftermath of what happenned at the end of Salem's Lot.