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3.84 AVERAGE
3.84 AVERAGE
I would like to thank Kathryn for this suggestion. I've read a few King books, and loved them, but sometimes you look at his entire oeuvre and feel a little overwhelmed at where to start again.
This is a tale of a figure who moves to a small little town in Maine and starts an antique shop, if you will, with all sorts of little oddities waiting to find their new homes. And anybody who walks in ends up finding something from the bottom of their deepest desires. I remarked to Kat that the description of a woman buying a lampshade, aka, "buying this lampshade for $12.56 has really completed my collection" (to paraphrase) is exactly how I feel about catching the vanilla ice cream Pokemon; it may be garbage, but it is completing my collection, and therefore it's beautiful.
Naturally, of course, this is a tale about the perils of materialism. And it's not a straight thriller, like you might expect from King. I don't think I ever felt creeped out at any point while listening to this. But its got plenty of the classic thriller elements - suspense, action, gore, an evil cryptid, explosions, monsters, perverts, etc. Speaking of the evil cryptid, I'm very intrigued by the idea that Leland Gaunt, our evil proprietor, is made out of the same stuff that Pennywise is. As an aside, I really got the same drift from Joe Hill (King's son) in NOS4A2 with the evil Santa being. I wonder if he considers them to be in the same universe...
There are no wasted words here. It may be an almost-800 page tome, but there's nothing to trim. In fact, there's a nigh deus ex machina moment that maybe could have used a bit more exposition. What a hallmark of not only King, but his editor.
Please read this book with an eye out for caution. Thrillers get into the messy guts and complexities of life, and there are deep notes of tragedy. A boy commits suicide right in front of his brother, and we aren't spared the details.
This is a tale of a figure who moves to a small little town in Maine and starts an antique shop, if you will, with all sorts of little oddities waiting to find their new homes. And anybody who walks in ends up finding something from the bottom of their deepest desires. I remarked to Kat that the description of a woman buying a lampshade, aka, "buying this lampshade for $12.56 has really completed my collection" (to paraphrase) is exactly how I feel about catching the vanilla ice cream Pokemon; it may be garbage, but it is completing my collection, and therefore it's beautiful.
Naturally, of course, this is a tale about the perils of materialism. And it's not a straight thriller, like you might expect from King. I don't think I ever felt creeped out at any point while listening to this. But its got plenty of the classic thriller elements - suspense, action, gore, an evil cryptid, explosions, monsters, perverts, etc. Speaking of the evil cryptid, I'm very intrigued by the idea that Leland Gaunt, our evil proprietor, is made out of the same stuff that Pennywise is. As an aside, I really got the same drift from Joe Hill (King's son) in NOS4A2 with the evil Santa being. I wonder if he considers them to be in the same universe...
There are no wasted words here. It may be an almost-800 page tome, but there's nothing to trim. In fact, there's a nigh deus ex machina moment that maybe could have used a bit more exposition. What a hallmark of not only King, but his editor.
Please read this book with an eye out for caution. Thrillers get into the messy guts and complexities of life, and there are deep notes of tragedy. A boy commits suicide right in front of his brother, and we aren't spared the details.
Not only was I bored out of my mind for the first few hours, I was also rolling my eyes the entire time...Humans hurting one another to get something they deem needful...Silly and too realistic...Couldn't connect with any of the characters either...Not for me!
I hadn't read this book in years, but was inspired to do a re-read because of the new Castle Rock show on Hulu. It was nice to dive back into that world, and to revisit Castle Rock! Some of my favorite King tales have taken places there, and I should have read this again a lot sooner than I did. I won't do a full review here, I just don't have the gumption in me right now, but trust me when I say that if you haven't read this one you definitely should! It can't be missed!
Overall the story is pretty good, makes me wish the Castle Rock show included a few more characters. It dig drag a bit in the middle and probably could have been shortened but overall it was interesting and I like how it ties in other King works.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I don't know why I finished this huge doorstopper. The climax landed with a thud and the characters mostly came off as dumb yokels. If it weren't for some specific references to it being 1991, I would have thought this story took place in the 60s. Characters and dialogue seemed very old-fashioned aside from some of their cocaine use. Stephen King himself reads the audiobook and he does a very good job of it.
This was the very first King book I ever read. I was 9, maybe 10 years old. This book hooked me as fan. Loved it then. Love it now.
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A bit slow - always kept my attention but wow that ending! The last 30% basically exploded!
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I found this book to be very slow in places. It took a long time to get into the faster paced reading that I am used to with Stephen King. Once there, (past halfway) it was quite good - but it just took too long to get there.