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A review by hinesight
Full Dark, No Stars by Stephen King
4.0
From the Afterword:
"I have little patience with writers who don't take the job [of writing] seriously, and none at all with those who see the art of story-fiction as essentially worn out. It's not worn out, and it's not a literary game. It's one of the vital ways in which we try to make sense of our lives, and the often terrible world we see around us. It's the way we answer the question, How can such things be? Stories suggest that sometimes - not always, but sometimes - there's a reason." (p. 365, hardback edition)
That's why I like King. In his work of dark and horror, the darkness and the horrible things happen for a reason. I used to wonder why he didn't put his gifts to more traditional fiction. I think now that he can't. He can't because in a more real world, there are no reasons, and he has a lot invested in the idea that reasons exist.
This book was horrible, in the sense that it was very, very dark and hard to read. Disturbing. I don't recommend it, exactly. But it was King at the top of his game, even if the premises of the four novellas that make up the book aren't exactly new. Overall, I'm glad I bothered.
"I have little patience with writers who don't take the job [of writing] seriously, and none at all with those who see the art of story-fiction as essentially worn out. It's not worn out, and it's not a literary game. It's one of the vital ways in which we try to make sense of our lives, and the often terrible world we see around us. It's the way we answer the question, How can such things be? Stories suggest that sometimes - not always, but sometimes - there's a reason." (p. 365, hardback edition)
That's why I like King. In his work of dark and horror, the darkness and the horrible things happen for a reason. I used to wonder why he didn't put his gifts to more traditional fiction. I think now that he can't. He can't because in a more real world, there are no reasons, and he has a lot invested in the idea that reasons exist.
This book was horrible, in the sense that it was very, very dark and hard to read. Disturbing. I don't recommend it, exactly. But it was King at the top of his game, even if the premises of the four novellas that make up the book aren't exactly new. Overall, I'm glad I bothered.