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A review by tobin_elliott
Bag of Bones by Stephen King
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Five books into my Great Stephen King Re-Read (2024 Edition), this was a novel I was sincerely looking forward to revisiting. Like DESPERATION before it, I remember truly loving this book the first time around.
Unlike my re-read of DESPERATION this one didn't disappoint. I loved this one all over again.
I was amazed at how much of the story I'd forgotten. I had the opening few chapters clearly, but, by the time Noonan got to Sarah Laughs, I'd forgotten damn near all of it. I'm kind of glad I did, as it allowed me to basically re-read it and experience it much like the first time.
There's so much I loved here. The horror was quite subtle for the first three-quarters, allowing King to also examine Noonan's relationships with Jo, with Matty, with her daughter, with the extended family and townspeople, and while I'm sure some readers found it somewhat self-indulgent and "that crazy Stevie overwriting again" I found it essential to how the story played out.
On top of that, King's examination of grief was given the space it needed to breathe, which I appreciated. I find that, in stories, it's given short shrift, making it feel like it's felt and dealt with in a couple of weeks. It felt real here.
The other aspect I loved—and I'm guessing it's something more that authors would respond to—was King's portrayal of Noonan's creative process and the writing process in general. In fact, it was kind of killing me and every time King brought it up, I kept thinking that I should be writing.
Was it a perfect book? No, but very few are. But did King grab me pretty much from the first page and hold me until the last one? Hell yes.
I was going to say this is one of his best "latter year" novels, but looking at my shelves, it's very clearly closer to the middle output. But he was having a fairly solid streak, with the one-two punch of GERALD'S GAME and DOLORES CLAIBORNE, then ROSE MADDER (a book that I feel has been undervalued), then THE GREEN MILE, DESPERATION, and now this one.
But this particular one? This is one I point to when asked why I love Stephen King.
Unlike my re-read of DESPERATION this one didn't disappoint. I loved this one all over again.
I was amazed at how much of the story I'd forgotten. I had the opening few chapters clearly, but, by the time Noonan got to Sarah Laughs, I'd forgotten damn near all of it. I'm kind of glad I did, as it allowed me to basically re-read it and experience it much like the first time.
There's so much I loved here. The horror was quite subtle for the first three-quarters, allowing King to also examine Noonan's relationships with Jo, with Matty, with her daughter, with the extended family and townspeople, and while I'm sure some readers found it somewhat self-indulgent and "that crazy Stevie overwriting again" I found it essential to how the story played out.
On top of that, King's examination of grief was given the space it needed to breathe, which I appreciated. I find that, in stories, it's given short shrift, making it feel like it's felt and dealt with in a couple of weeks. It felt real here.
The other aspect I loved—and I'm guessing it's something more that authors would respond to—was King's portrayal of Noonan's creative process and the writing process in general. In fact, it was kind of killing me and every time King brought it up, I kept thinking that I should be writing.
Was it a perfect book? No, but very few are. But did King grab me pretty much from the first page and hold me until the last one? Hell yes.
I was going to say this is one of his best "latter year" novels, but looking at my shelves, it's very clearly closer to the middle output. But he was having a fairly solid streak, with the one-two punch of GERALD'S GAME and DOLORES CLAIBORNE, then ROSE MADDER (a book that I feel has been undervalued), then THE GREEN MILE, DESPERATION, and now this one.
But this particular one? This is one I point to when asked why I love Stephen King.