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A review by jpaulthunders77
Pet Sematary by Stephen King
5.0
An author's legacy is not solely defined by the number of books that have climbed through the bestseller's list nor the number of works that have transcended from page to screen. The quality of work, as what the genre and the literary scholars define, is the primary indicator of the author's success as an artist.
Hailed as the master of horror, Stephen King has cemented his name on the hall of fame of modern classic authors. When it comes to the genre that will shake your core, unsettle your nerves, and make your galloping heart question the existence of a benevolent Higher Being—the country you live in doesn't matter— his stories appear everywhere. Go search the internet for best horror books , and his name is always there.
Someone might ask, "Well, if he's the master of horror, then what is his masterpiece?" Surely, this question won't garner a single response, for there is a universal truth that like love languages, the trigger of a fear bone varies on every person. Horror comes in different shapes and form based on culture and experiences. A fictional bullied girl with telekinesis might frighten real life bully bitches, an obsessed, deranged fan could send live wire shivers down an author's spine. In my case, a simple province boy with a snobbish pet cat, a sematary (cemetery) that brings back anything buried deep is a premise I don't want to happen in my entire life.
As what the synopsis says, when the Creeds moved to a beautiful, rural Maine town, they discovered a bizarre (comical in a way) lot at the back of their house where the beloved pets lay their final resting. What they hadn't known was behind that seemingly ordinary cemetery lied another cemetery with a bone-chilling origin and history.
I must admit, reading the book didn't send me a surfeit dose of anxiety or panic attacks, BUT what struck me the most was Stephen King's ability to write an atmospheric, character-driven, slow burn horror, without plunging the readers into the cesspool of boredom. There was something whimsical with the quality of his prose, that even when he was describing a deadfall or a timothy grass, you, as a reader would be dreaded with an anticipation that something evil was coming. Every sentence mattered, every character's backstory—even the most insignificant ones—shone and contributed to the entirety of the story.
The book's main theme dove into the multifaceted structure of grief and how it crippled each character in different ways. The level of details that King incorporated with the stages and process of grief was utterly magnificent. Each character had different ways to cope up with grief, but the unifying feature of them was how this particular emotion could be cyclical, debilitating, and most of all, EVOLVING. It could bring out the best in a person after the process but once you've trapped yourself, letting the MONSTER fester and conquer inside, it's just as good as a death sentence. Something would die permanently. Your body, your soul, your sanity—oh how hard would it be to tell?
For my final point, I just want to say that I was astonished with his impeccable stitching of the concepts of theology (Jesus and Lazarus analogy), medicine, philosophy, mythology, and psychology to bring us one powerful story that aims to teach one simple lesson: sometimes, dead is better
So if I were to ask what I would consider as Stephen King's piece de resistance, my answer would be simple: Pet Sematary
Sincerely yours,
Wendigo
Hailed as the master of horror, Stephen King has cemented his name on the hall of fame of modern classic authors. When it comes to the genre that will shake your core, unsettle your nerves, and make your galloping heart question the existence of a benevolent Higher Being—the country you live in doesn't matter— his stories appear everywhere. Go search the internet for best horror books , and his name is always there.
Someone might ask, "Well, if he's the master of horror, then what is his masterpiece?" Surely, this question won't garner a single response, for there is a universal truth that like love languages, the trigger of a fear bone varies on every person. Horror comes in different shapes and form based on culture and experiences. A fictional bullied girl with telekinesis might frighten real life bully bitches, an obsessed, deranged fan could send live wire shivers down an author's spine. In my case, a simple province boy with a snobbish pet cat, a sematary (cemetery) that brings back anything buried deep is a premise I don't want to happen in my entire life.
As what the synopsis says, when the Creeds moved to a beautiful, rural Maine town, they discovered a bizarre (comical in a way) lot at the back of their house where the beloved pets lay their final resting. What they hadn't known was behind that seemingly ordinary cemetery lied another cemetery with a bone-chilling origin and history.
I must admit, reading the book didn't send me a surfeit dose of anxiety or panic attacks, BUT what struck me the most was Stephen King's ability to write an atmospheric, character-driven, slow burn horror, without plunging the readers into the cesspool of boredom. There was something whimsical with the quality of his prose, that even when he was describing a deadfall or a timothy grass, you, as a reader would be dreaded with an anticipation that something evil was coming. Every sentence mattered, every character's backstory—even the most insignificant ones—shone and contributed to the entirety of the story.
The book's main theme dove into the multifaceted structure of grief and how it crippled each character in different ways. The level of details that King incorporated with the stages and process of grief was utterly magnificent. Each character had different ways to cope up with grief, but the unifying feature of them was how this particular emotion could be cyclical, debilitating, and most of all, EVOLVING. It could bring out the best in a person after the process but once you've trapped yourself, letting the MONSTER fester and conquer inside, it's just as good as a death sentence. Something would die permanently. Your body, your soul, your sanity—oh how hard would it be to tell?
For my final point, I just want to say that I was astonished with his impeccable stitching of the concepts of theology (Jesus and Lazarus analogy), medicine, philosophy, mythology, and psychology to bring us one powerful story that aims to teach one simple lesson: sometimes, dead is better
So if I were to ask what I would consider as Stephen King's piece de resistance, my answer would be simple: Pet Sematary
Sincerely yours,
Wendigo