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A review by evansmith
The Stand by Stephen King
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-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
4.75
As a book that took me nearly 5 months to read (mostly due to it being a hardcover), I have got to say I savoured every moment.
It is an impressive grand narrative that explores the fear, paranoia and struggle against deadly disease and its invasiveness to those in a world quickly lost to pandemic. Intertwined within this grand narrative is an undercurrent of stories from a large cast of competing, unique and everyday characters with their own conflicts, complexities, relationships, and backgrounds. The time dedicated to flesh out all their journeys and stories makes the eventual convergence and bringing together of all characters to the emerging factions, and the inevitable conflict, a worthwhile payoff. As a result, the narrative manages multiple point of views, at times of characters handling and facing the same events, which allows natural intertextuality to bleed through. It is truly remarkable how King was able change and grow his characters consistently while keeping them feeling real in a world with increased supernatural themes.
Survival and the existential dread from a growing and ever pervasive loneliness reverberate from the story. There is an isolating guilt and helplessness that sets into the characters from simply being a survivor. This grim sorrowness, and the claustrophobia characters feel from it, highlights the irony of feeling this way in a world devoid of any immediate human contact. King does this to exacerbate the corruption of characters simply to find purpose while on a larger level, how easily evil can arise in world absent of people.
Faith stood out as the prevalent theme throughout the book. The void left by a world without society allows fanaticism and religious mania to take root. King amalgamates yet differentiates this faith through the ideological dichotomy between the supernatural good and evil that emerges. There is a consensual rejection of the old world by both good and evil. The former viewing it as a perversion of God, something that can only be cleansed though pilgrimage. The latter seeing it as an outright refusal of Christian tradition for excluding it from existing in the old world.
The brutal elimination of characters parallels the brutal new world that King has created by the end of the novel. The book concludes on a sombre acceptance for the fragility of civilisations, that they are destined to eventually fall and that power structures are only a temporary solution - evil is cyclical.
This is definitely one of King's standout pieces and captures the quintessential charm of his early works. I would highly recommend reading this in its complete and uncut edition to fully immerse into the characters and the world.
It is an impressive grand narrative that explores the fear, paranoia and struggle against deadly disease and its invasiveness to those in a world quickly lost to pandemic. Intertwined within this grand narrative is an undercurrent of stories from a large cast of competing, unique and everyday characters with their own conflicts, complexities, relationships, and backgrounds. The time dedicated to flesh out all their journeys and stories makes the eventual convergence and bringing together of all characters to the emerging factions, and the inevitable conflict, a worthwhile payoff. As a result, the narrative manages multiple point of views, at times of characters handling and facing the same events, which allows natural intertextuality to bleed through. It is truly remarkable how King was able change and grow his characters consistently while keeping them feeling real in a world with increased supernatural themes.
Survival and the existential dread from a growing and ever pervasive loneliness reverberate from the story. There is an isolating guilt and helplessness that sets into the characters from simply being a survivor. This grim sorrowness, and the claustrophobia characters feel from it, highlights the irony of feeling this way in a world devoid of any immediate human contact. King does this to exacerbate the corruption of characters simply to find purpose while on a larger level, how easily evil can arise in world absent of people.
Faith stood out as the prevalent theme throughout the book. The void left by a world without society allows fanaticism and religious mania to take root. King amalgamates yet differentiates this faith through the ideological dichotomy between the supernatural good and evil that emerges. There is a consensual rejection of the old world by both good and evil. The former viewing it as a perversion of God, something that can only be cleansed though pilgrimage. The latter seeing it as an outright refusal of Christian tradition for excluding it from existing in the old world.
The brutal elimination of characters parallels the brutal new world that King has created by the end of the novel. The book concludes on a sombre acceptance for the fragility of civilisations, that they are destined to eventually fall and that power structures are only a temporary solution - evil is cyclical.
This is definitely one of King's standout pieces and captures the quintessential charm of his early works. I would highly recommend reading this in its complete and uncut edition to fully immerse into the characters and the world.