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3.32 AVERAGE
3.32 AVERAGE
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
This was a weird read. And not in a good way.
A troop of policemen get their hands on a Buick Roadmaster which is actually not a car but a doorway to another dimension. It gobbles up beings from one dimension and chunks them up in another. The troop finds this miracle and decides to shut their mouth until the son of one of their officers who was recently killed in a road accident asks them the story of the slick midnight-blue car in their shed.
From a Buick 8 is a Lovecraftian story. Beings from another dimension haunts the people in our dimension. Only the beings aren't primordial gods but pitiful creatures who die minutes if not seconds after landing on our side of the multiverse. The Lovecraftian elements are supposed to relate to the inexplicable horror of losing a father to a freak accident. The son has to learn to let go of his father's death as the officers of troop has learned to let go of their freaky car.
But the thing is: it doesn't make sense.
The son is supposed to let go because a road accident is just that: a freak accident. There is no reason, no explanation. But in this story, there is a reason. At least the protagonist of the book seems to think so. He thinks it was the Buick that got in the head of the inattentive driver. So it's not just a freak accident. And the whole story falls apart.
Theme aside, this may be the most experimental of all Stephen King novels. He plays with timelines (which is common), POVs (also common), and POV style (what? why?). Structured as a bunch of characters telling a story to another character, From a Buick 8 is as much about telling stories as anything else. Stephen king reminds us that the stories we see on movies and books aren't real. Real lives aren't full of abrupt and consequential changes of the heart. In real lives, people change slowly, unperceivable to themselves.
A troop of policemen get their hands on a Buick Roadmaster which is actually not a car but a doorway to another dimension. It gobbles up beings from one dimension and chunks them up in another. The troop finds this miracle and decides to shut their mouth until the son of one of their officers who was recently killed in a road accident asks them the story of the slick midnight-blue car in their shed.
From a Buick 8 is a Lovecraftian story. Beings from another dimension haunts the people in our dimension. Only the beings aren't primordial gods but pitiful creatures who die minutes if not seconds after landing on our side of the multiverse. The Lovecraftian elements are supposed to relate to the inexplicable horror of losing a father to a freak accident. The son has to learn to let go of his father's death as the officers of troop has learned to let go of their freaky car.
But the thing is: it doesn't make sense.
The son is supposed to let go because a road accident is just that: a freak accident. There is no reason, no explanation. But in this story, there is a reason. At least the protagonist of the book seems to think so. He thinks it was the Buick that got in the head of the inattentive driver. So it's not just a freak accident. And the whole story falls apart.
Theme aside, this may be the most experimental of all Stephen King novels. He plays with timelines (which is common), POVs (also common), and POV style (what? why?). Structured as a bunch of characters telling a story to another character, From a Buick 8 is as much about telling stories as anything else. Stephen king reminds us that the stories we see on movies and books aren't real. Real lives aren't full of abrupt and consequential changes of the heart. In real lives, people change slowly, unperceivable to themselves.
reflective
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Cool! Not one of my favorites but it was good. I liked all the characters and the Buick was very interesting.
I never believed it was possible to make a car terrible and horrifying. Yet this book has a great life lesson. It does at times seem long, but this is worth the read.