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siftalinds's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
This is very dark fantasy spooky magic which I like, I just think he went maybe too far with the horrible things happening to this man
ukks0309's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
4.25
cutsajack's review against another edition
5.0
This is a great read!
At the beginning I wasn’t a fan of the main character, Edgar. He came off as brash and amid the throes of Edgar going through a divorce, I wasn’t very interested in the narrative. I was getting big Jack Torrence vibes like in the beginning of “The Shining,” as Edgar’s temperament is/was similar to Jack’s. As the story progresses Edgar loses his brash nature and I came to love his character.
The plot of this one is fairly straight-forward. Edgar gets in an accident and has his right arm amputated. He develops an aggressive temperament which leads him to getting a divorce. His psychiatrist recommends that he should have a change of geography, and so, Edgar decides to rent a house on a fictional island off the coast of Florida: Duma Key. There, he meets a rambunctious man named Wireman. Wireman looks after an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s named Elizabeth Eastlake, who owns the property that Edgar is renting.
Edgar’s psychiatrist also recommended that Edgar take up any hobbies/interests that he has had in his life. Edgar takes up drawing and painting during his time on the island. It seems as if the island is conjuring the paintings that Edgar creates, as he lets the paintbrushes guide him while he’s painting. As the story progresses we learn more and more about this supernatural nature of Duma Key.
The prose in this one, in great King fashion, is both lyrical and straight-forward. The banter between Edgar and Wireman is great; their time together is one of the greatest friendships that I have ever read in a novel.
There is also a good representation of Alzheimer’s as both Wireman, and Edgar—in due time, take care of Elizabeth.
The supernatural element of Duma Key really ramps up in the ending of the novel.
Overall, this is a wonderful tale and has greatly earned the 5/5 rating from me.
Happy reading, everybody!
At the beginning I wasn’t a fan of the main character, Edgar. He came off as brash and amid the throes of Edgar going through a divorce, I wasn’t very interested in the narrative. I was getting big Jack Torrence vibes like in the beginning of “The Shining,” as Edgar’s temperament is/was similar to Jack’s. As the story progresses Edgar loses his brash nature and I came to love his character.
The plot of this one is fairly straight-forward. Edgar gets in an accident and has his right arm amputated. He develops an aggressive temperament which leads him to getting a divorce. His psychiatrist recommends that he should have a change of geography, and so, Edgar decides to rent a house on a fictional island off the coast of Florida: Duma Key. There, he meets a rambunctious man named Wireman. Wireman looks after an elderly woman with Alzheimer’s named Elizabeth Eastlake, who owns the property that Edgar is renting.
Edgar’s psychiatrist also recommended that Edgar take up any hobbies/interests that he has had in his life. Edgar takes up drawing and painting during his time on the island. It seems as if the island is conjuring the paintings that Edgar creates, as he lets the paintbrushes guide him while he’s painting. As the story progresses we learn more and more about this supernatural nature of Duma Key.
The prose in this one, in great King fashion, is both lyrical and straight-forward. The banter between Edgar and Wireman is great; their time together is one of the greatest friendships that I have ever read in a novel.
There is also a good representation of Alzheimer’s as both Wireman, and Edgar—in due time, take care of Elizabeth.
The supernatural element of Duma Key really ramps up in the ending of the novel.
Overall, this is a wonderful tale and has greatly earned the 5/5 rating from me.
Happy reading, everybody!
snazzymoose's review against another edition
3.5
Good but not great. Squarely in the middle of King books for me.
takisam's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
cake_cats_books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
3.25
jordanb94's review against another edition
4.0
One of Kings more "modern" classics. I would say besides 11/22/63 it's his best book in the new era
mlregal's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
chocorb's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.75
so far i’ve read around 4 king books and liked exactly 1.5 of them. (it and half of misery lol)
it’s not that his books are necessarily bad, it’s just that they take so damn long to get to the point. in the end though, it all fits nicely since throughout the novel every context clue has been so subtle that it fits naturally into the narrative. i think my main problem with his books is that not only does he yap too much, his storytelling has the slowest buildup ever and with my attention span, nah i fell asleep twice during this book.
i really wanted to like this but it’s just impossible for me to fathom such a slow beginning and then everything goes down in one single chapter. im pretty sure this was the same case with revival too.i didn’t feel connected to any of the characters either, and felt only a little sad at their deaths (mostly wireman though, i kinda liked that dude
i think this will be a 1.75 star read for me
it’s not that his books are necessarily bad, it’s just that they take so damn long to get to the point. in the end though, it all fits nicely since throughout the novel every context clue has been so subtle that it fits naturally into the narrative. i think my main problem with his books is that not only does he yap too much, his storytelling has the slowest buildup ever and with my attention span, nah i fell asleep twice during this book.
i really wanted to like this but it’s just impossible for me to fathom such a slow beginning and then everything goes down in one single chapter. im pretty sure this was the same case with revival too.
i think this will be a 1.75 star read for me