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3.63 AVERAGE
3.63 AVERAGE
4/08: S o, I am about 200 pages into this and I keep bouncing back from loving it to being annoyed. I can't take anymore of the "What Scott called..." All those little quirky names he has for almost everything are starting to get on my nerves. When in the flashbacks he reverts to baby talk, I want to skip right over it. Now, perhaps as I continue reading some of this will be clearer and perhaps I'll feel guilty for being hard on Scotty boy, but now, no way!
It is picking up, and I am very anxious to see how the situation with Zack plays out. I have been a Stephen King fan forever, and I really want to love this book, really I do.
5/08: I finished this book a couple of weeks ago, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. The beginning was confusing and I still have questions that I thought would be answered. Overall, not one of my favorite King books, but it certainly doesn't go on my Yuck list.
It is picking up, and I am very anxious to see how the situation with Zack plays out. I have been a Stephen King fan forever, and I really want to love this book, really I do.
5/08: I finished this book a couple of weeks ago, I didn't love it, but I didn't hate it. The beginning was confusing and I still have questions that I thought would be answered. Overall, not one of my favorite King books, but it certainly doesn't go on my Yuck list.
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
⭐️⭐️⭐️
Critical Score: B
Personal Score: B
For a long time, I had been itching to read this book because I wanted to know what it was actually about; Lisey’s Story is one of the very few King stories that I still did not know much about, so last week I finally couldn’t put it off anymore and needed to know exactly what this novel was all about.
I went in with quite high expectations. I knew this was King’s favorite book of his for a long time, that it was considered his most personal, and that it was about a strong woman on a mission.
I can’t say it lived up to the hype I created in my head. Which makes sense, as this might have been a critical success but is very controversial amongst fans for its slow pace, indulgence in Lisey and Scott’s interior language, and overall quirkiness.
But I can say that I admire this book. It’s challenging to get through because the style is the most literary I’ve ever seen King write in, but the story is rich, wholesome, and passionate.
I was expecting this to feel a bit more feminist, but I guess I was just getting my hopes up too high?
There’s something else lacking in this book, something that holds it back from being cozy like so many of his classics, and I’m not sure if it’s the 2000s time period or that Lisey is rich and King usually writes about the working class.
So it took me about halfway to really get invested in the story. Usually King’s books start off phenomenally and sorta decline from there, but this book got better as it went. I read the last third in a day and loved all of it.
The fantasy elements are sort of wishy-washy at times, but I’m used to that with King at this point. I just go with the flow. He’s not a plot magician, he’s a vibes guy; you gotta flow along with him.
Some moments were pretty scary, others were poignant, and a lot else was fascinating as a glimpse into King’s personal life—though I understand and respect that he went to some length to distance the story from his real life, at Tabitha’s wishes.
While I’m a bit let down because I expected to love this and find it a bit more emotionally involving, I am still a fan. And I’ll have to watch the limited series when a get a chance.
Critical Score: B
Personal Score: B
For a long time, I had been itching to read this book because I wanted to know what it was actually about; Lisey’s Story is one of the very few King stories that I still did not know much about, so last week I finally couldn’t put it off anymore and needed to know exactly what this novel was all about.
I went in with quite high expectations. I knew this was King’s favorite book of his for a long time, that it was considered his most personal, and that it was about a strong woman on a mission.
I can’t say it lived up to the hype I created in my head. Which makes sense, as this might have been a critical success but is very controversial amongst fans for its slow pace, indulgence in Lisey and Scott’s interior language, and overall quirkiness.
But I can say that I admire this book. It’s challenging to get through because the style is the most literary I’ve ever seen King write in, but the story is rich, wholesome, and passionate.
I was expecting this to feel a bit more feminist, but I guess I was just getting my hopes up too high?
There’s something else lacking in this book, something that holds it back from being cozy like so many of his classics, and I’m not sure if it’s the 2000s time period or that Lisey is rich and King usually writes about the working class.
So it took me about halfway to really get invested in the story. Usually King’s books start off phenomenally and sorta decline from there, but this book got better as it went. I read the last third in a day and loved all of it.
The fantasy elements are sort of wishy-washy at times, but I’m used to that with King at this point. I just go with the flow. He’s not a plot magician, he’s a vibes guy; you gotta flow along with him.
Some moments were pretty scary, others were poignant, and a lot else was fascinating as a glimpse into King’s personal life—though I understand and respect that he went to some length to distance the story from his real life, at Tabitha’s wishes.
While I’m a bit let down because I expected to love this and find it a bit more emotionally involving, I am still a fan. And I’ll have to watch the limited series when a get a chance.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This book was ... weird. Interesting in its own way but can't say I'd read it again.
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Total disappointment. I've been reading and enjoying King books I missed and this era seems chock full. I'm surprised that this one was so blah and uninspiring because king raves that he loves it. It didn't seem to get out of first, or maybe second gear; idling the whole time.
dark
emotional
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Stalking, Murder
I read the first third of this book many years ago but gave up because it wasn't keeping my interest. However I had always been intrigued by the plot and finally picked it up again.
Overall.. I love Stephen King, and .. at best... I think I liked this book? Definitely not my favorite of his by any means. There were a few issues...
The pacing of this book felt way off. The entire first half was excruciatingly tedious to me. Lisey going through old boxes, having flashbacks of the most boring memories of her husband, in their ridiculous relationship language (if I ever have to read the word "Smucking" again...), and a sidestory with her sisters that felt underwhelming at best. On top of that, King has a rambling style of writing at times, especially when getting into characters head. But with this book it just felt unending. There is almost no action in the first half of the book so it was just her rambling and rambling and rambling about her boring memories and grief. It was literally hundreds of pages of this tedium, and as the threads of action and supernatural started to reveal themselves, it was still so brief and far between that it could barely hold my attention.
The second half I found a lot more interesting. I appreciated more what he was trying to do with the first half (though i still think that could have been cut down to a quarter of its length), slowly going through memories, uncovering and revealing the hidden path. I liked how the sister storyline eventually tied in. I found it interesting how he used present tense for past memories (though at first I didn't like that either), and in some crucial parts of booya moon he was able to layer present day, along with memories, along with memories within memories, all at once into an interesting inception-like experience. And to use it all as a way to explore an idea like grief was creative as well.
Without going into too much detail, I loved Booya Moon and wished that instead of spending hundreds of pages of the book examining mundane memories and Liseys rambling boring thoughts, we could have spent a lot more time exploring that other place. It was wonderfully creative and immersive to me, and I absolutely loved this part of the book.
Again towards the end, the pacing felt off. After the climax of the storyline, I felt the book just continued on and on for a little too long when I already felt finished with the story. I'm not convinced the last pages couldn't have happened sometime earlier. It felt like the guest who didn't know the party was over and just kept sticking around....
Overall, I think I liked this book, but just barely. The parts I enjoyed, I really enjoyed. But the entire first half of the book was almost unreadable for me, and the pacing overall felt off, and my god the "Smucking"s. I think this could have made a really good short story instead, or he could have cut the first half down and spent a lot more time leading us through the other world.
Overall.. I love Stephen King, and .. at best... I think I liked this book? Definitely not my favorite of his by any means. There were a few issues...
The pacing of this book felt way off. The entire first half was excruciatingly tedious to me. Lisey going through old boxes, having flashbacks of the most boring memories of her husband, in their ridiculous relationship language (if I ever have to read the word "Smucking" again...), and a sidestory with her sisters that felt underwhelming at best. On top of that, King has a rambling style of writing at times, especially when getting into characters head. But with this book it just felt unending. There is almost no action in the first half of the book so it was just her rambling and rambling and rambling about her boring memories and grief. It was literally hundreds of pages of this tedium, and as the threads of action and supernatural started to reveal themselves, it was still so brief and far between that it could barely hold my attention.
The second half I found a lot more interesting. I appreciated more what he was trying to do with the first half (though i still think that could have been cut down to a quarter of its length), slowly going through memories, uncovering and revealing the hidden path. I liked how the sister storyline eventually tied in. I found it interesting how he used present tense for past memories (though at first I didn't like that either), and in some crucial parts of booya moon he was able to layer present day, along with memories, along with memories within memories, all at once into an interesting inception-like experience. And to use it all as a way to explore an idea like grief was creative as well.
Without going into too much detail, I loved Booya Moon and wished that instead of spending hundreds of pages of the book examining mundane memories and Liseys rambling boring thoughts, we could have spent a lot more time exploring that other place. It was wonderfully creative and immersive to me, and I absolutely loved this part of the book.
Again towards the end, the pacing felt off. After the climax of the storyline, I felt the book just continued on and on for a little too long when I already felt finished with the story. I'm not convinced the last pages couldn't have happened sometime earlier. It felt like the guest who didn't know the party was over and just kept sticking around....
Overall, I think I liked this book, but just barely. The parts I enjoyed, I really enjoyed. But the entire first half of the book was almost unreadable for me, and the pacing overall felt off, and my god the "Smucking"s. I think this could have made a really good short story instead, or he could have cut the first half down and spent a lot more time leading us through the other world.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
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:
Complicated