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3.55 AVERAGE
3.55 AVERAGE
I don't know why Stephen King thought this book was bad. I devoured it and I thought it was very heartfelt and sad. Definitely one of my fave reads.
King’s Bachman books are some of my favorites of his. Happy he revisited this one years later to give it a proper release!
Silly horror remake based on "Of Mice and Men."
Only if you've read EVERYTHING ELSE by Mr. King (I have), is this worth the 17 minutes it'll take you to read it.
Only if you've read EVERYTHING ELSE by Mr. King (I have), is this worth the 17 minutes it'll take you to read it.
If you haven’t read Of Mice and Men, then you should first (it’s barely even a novella, so won’t take you long). There is a large, powerful guy who is actually very gentle, and slow-witted because of a traumatic childhood event. He has a friend named George who takes care of him. Otherwise, he has no one, and he is prone to doing things that get him in trouble, including badly hurting (or killing) people because he was so strong and unaware. He even calls the baby “Skinner” (p. 216), a term used on Steinbeck’s novel to describe mule drivers.
But I also thought all the time about Raising Arizona, which messed up the mood. I mean, he kidnaps a baby and holds up convenience stores with a stocking on his head (except when he forgets). And indeed, it is a tragicomedy, in the sense that the mistakes he makes are painfully obvious and sometimes kind of funny (such as forgetting to lie).
The book moves along well, and it's one of the better Bachman books.
Bits of King: obligatory mention of Shawshank (p. 45 and p. 241). The realtor for the old Hetton House is Gerald Clutterbuck (p. 221) in Castle Rock, clearly a relative of Andy Clutterbuck from Needful Things.
The strong connection to Of Mice and Men made it clear that not only would Blaze not succeed, but he would be killed. Given this is a Bachman book, I actually thought the baby would die too, and it seems like he almost did, but not quite.
The link with George remains unexplained. Was Blaze smarter than he realized, or was there something supernatural?
But I also thought all the time about Raising Arizona, which messed up the mood. I mean, he kidnaps a baby and holds up convenience stores with a stocking on his head (except when he forgets). And indeed, it is a tragicomedy, in the sense that the mistakes he makes are painfully obvious and sometimes kind of funny (such as forgetting to lie).
The book moves along well, and it's one of the better Bachman books.
Bits of King: obligatory mention of Shawshank (p. 45 and p. 241). The realtor for the old Hetton House is Gerald Clutterbuck (p. 221) in Castle Rock, clearly a relative of Andy Clutterbuck from Needful Things.
Spoiler
The strong connection to Of Mice and Men made it clear that not only would Blaze not succeed, but he would be killed. Given this is a Bachman book, I actually thought the baby would die too, and it seems like he almost did, but not quite.
The link with George remains unexplained. Was Blaze smarter than he realized, or was there something supernatural?
Not my favorite King book, but still a riveting tale nonetheless.
3.5 Stars
King's take on Of Mice and Men posits that Lenny, or Blaze in this case, is actually capable, and society is the main reason he fails. This is a great take. I actually really like much of this, but it goes on for too long, and the ending feels somewhat soft, especially for Bachman.
King's take on Of Mice and Men posits that Lenny, or Blaze in this case, is actually capable, and society is the main reason he fails. This is a great take. I actually really like much of this, but it goes on for too long, and the ending feels somewhat soft, especially for Bachman.
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Steven King nails it. Great read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse
Not a bad novel, but as all fans of King know, he's either on, or he's not. Unfortunately, I feel this book is a case where he wasn't on. Bogged down with unnecessary detail, layer after layer of pity for the title character, and then just utterly depressing in the end.