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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
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:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Well. Colour me surprised.
For almost twenty years, I've been counting this book as one of King's weakest, and could never understand why he always said it was his favourite. Truth be told, I have only an inkling now of why it's his favourite, and I think it's partially due to King imagining the heroics of the spouse of a famous author both during and after their life...maybe. I don't know.
But, I do believe I figured out what turned me off this book so much the first time around. It was two things, the first being that it took forever for the story to actually kick in, but that can happen in a King novel from time to time, so it's more of an annoyance than a turn-off.
No, the true turn-off for me—and it might have slapped me around a little harder than it should have on the first read—was the "secret language" between Lisey and Scott. All the terms Scott used, that King harped on a LOT toward the front of the book, but just didn't let go of and kept adding to even as the book was wrapping up. I remember much of the focus of the initial reviews talking about the charming language of a long marriage.
And yes, there is terms that become canon between two people who live together long enough, but there's too much shoved in here.
Still, shove that aside, and this is King's rewrite of BAG OF BONES from the perspective of the wife instead of the husband, mixed in with a twisting of ROSE MADDER. So, yes, he's still cannibalizing his earlier stuff for parts, but he's at least remixing them in new and different ways.
I found myself enjoying this one far more than expected. Again, being truthful, I was actually tempted to skip right over this one, especially after suffering through the dreadful CELL just before it, but I'm glad I read it again.
It's much better than I remember.
For almost twenty years, I've been counting this book as one of King's weakest, and could never understand why he always said it was his favourite. Truth be told, I have only an inkling now of why it's his favourite, and I think it's partially due to King imagining the heroics of the spouse of a famous author both during and after their life...maybe. I don't know.
But, I do believe I figured out what turned me off this book so much the first time around. It was two things, the first being that it took forever for the story to actually kick in, but that can happen in a King novel from time to time, so it's more of an annoyance than a turn-off.
No, the true turn-off for me—and it might have slapped me around a little harder than it should have on the first read—was the "secret language" between Lisey and Scott. All the terms Scott used, that King harped on a LOT toward the front of the book, but just didn't let go of and kept adding to even as the book was wrapping up. I remember much of the focus of the initial reviews talking about the charming language of a long marriage.
And yes, there is terms that become canon between two people who live together long enough, but there's too much shoved in here.
Still, shove that aside, and this is King's rewrite of BAG OF BONES from the perspective of the wife instead of the husband, mixed in with a twisting of ROSE MADDER. So, yes, he's still cannibalizing his earlier stuff for parts, but he's at least remixing them in new and different ways.
I found myself enjoying this one far more than expected. Again, being truthful, I was actually tempted to skip right over this one, especially after suffering through the dreadful CELL just before it, but I'm glad I read it again.
It's much better than I remember.
Holy Catburger, Stephen King writes a strong female lead. Some of the fantasy-horror elements here fall flat, but the portrait of a woman experiencing grief and loss is very well done.
I really don’t know how to feel about this book.
I was expecting the book to go one way, by the blurb that was given, it was going to sound like a love story with a Stephen King twist. But I found myself getting ripped out of the story often and some of the language and how Lisey thought didn’t make much sense. Nor did she really grow as a character.
I was expecting the book to go one way, by the blurb that was given, it was going to sound like a love story with a Stephen King twist. But I found myself getting ripped out of the story often and some of the language and how Lisey thought didn’t make much sense. Nor did she really grow as a character.
This was my first Stephen book. I didn't fall in love with the characters, but I thoroughly enjoyed his descriptive writing. It truly made me feel like I was watching a movie. Quite thrilling and captivating at moments. I enjoyed the soft moments as they were a good change in pace from the scary moments. There are all kinds of unique phrases and knick knacks throughout the book that gave the book a cohesive feel. I just thought this was creative IDKKKKK (I lol'ed on the first page when he described how Lisey was pronounced as I had been wondering this very thing for days.)
Audio/Read.
So, I started listening to this in my car- narrated by Mare Winningham, same as Gingerbread Girl. One of the disks skipped, but I couldn't skip a chunk of the story, so I got the book- just to fill in the part I couldn't listen to. And of course, I couldn't stop myself- and finished it reading. I honestly think that the narration is what really kept me interested in this story- there's something about having the words "bad gunky" read to you that make it more acceptable than reading to yourself; but the simple love story is what sealed the deal. The story is just so tender, and dear. The story of a marriage, the story of a couple. Complete with fantastic elements, of course (it's Stephen King), but beautiful in just the simplicity. 'I was hot, and you brought me ice.' It was lovely- sad, yes, but lovely.
So, I started listening to this in my car- narrated by Mare Winningham, same as Gingerbread Girl. One of the disks skipped, but I couldn't skip a chunk of the story, so I got the book- just to fill in the part I couldn't listen to. And of course, I couldn't stop myself- and finished it reading. I honestly think that the narration is what really kept me interested in this story- there's something about having the words "bad gunky" read to you that make it more acceptable than reading to yourself; but the simple love story is what sealed the deal. The story is just so tender, and dear. The story of a marriage, the story of a couple. Complete with fantastic elements, of course (it's Stephen King), but beautiful in just the simplicity. 'I was hot, and you brought me ice.' It was lovely- sad, yes, but lovely.
dark
mysterious
tense
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
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-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:
Yes
The summary was promising, however the story did not level up to it.
It’s supposed to be one of his best novels, talking about grief, resilience and confronting the past, but I found it just boring.
A same scene could go on for 10 pages and I just didn’t feel the suspense that was supposed to be in the story.
It’s supposed to be one of his best novels, talking about grief, resilience and confronting the past, but I found it just boring.
A same scene could go on for 10 pages and I just didn’t feel the suspense that was supposed to be in the story.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
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