A review by tjh14850
Revival by Stephen King

4.0

Solid narrative, where we follow the course of the main character (Jamie) from his boyhood until he is in his senior years. We meet many characters along the way and many of these return to the narrative, some more than once. The story takes some time jumps, but there is a good recalling of what happened in the interim. There are several themes that keep the story interesting and funny at times. The story of how Jamie meets and becomes a close protege of the local minister plays a big role in the story. Also Jamie's guitar playing and experience of playing in bands is a constant thread. The story could have ended about halfway through as a "happier ever after" - but takes some big twists. Toward the end, the reader thinks that he has the ending figured out, but it takes a final twist in the end. There are elements of religion, technology, music, and thoughts of the afterlife which run through the book. There is also an element of the supernatural and the thought that we are seeing true miracles or just some unexplained science at work. Just watching the characters interacting keeps the story interesting. I almost rated the book higher, but I was not satisfied how the story ended (and ended rather abruptly).