Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Lisey's Story--Stephen King

Genre: Fiction/Horror
Year Published: 2006
Pages: 688
Rating: 4

Sometimes, Stephen King has an amazing knack for combining the horror of reality with the horror of fantasy. This is apparent in Lisey's Story--although, in this novel, the horror and beauty of reality mix with the horror and beauty of fantasy. From the horror/beauty of her grieving her long-time husband's sudden death, to the horror/beauty of her late husband's childhood, this novel is certainly not one-sided. Even the fantasy portion of the novel--a world outside of our own--contains that which is most beautiful and healing and that which is most horrific and poisonous.

Lisey's husband has been dead for several years when a psychotic fan of his begins threatening her. It becomes quickly apparent that this is no benign threat; at the same time Lisey realizes that her late husband has left a series of clues--a riddle hunt, of sorts--that may save her life. But to get that far she must confront the secrets of her past with her husband, secrets which she has kept hidden even from herself for years. What follows is a sad, suspenseful, funny, frightening, and poignant adventure on which Lisey must embark to save her own life.

Like many of King's books, this one started slow. It took me about 100 pages to finally get caught up in it. Once I was caught, however, I was firmly enmeshed. The suspense was intense, and I was very, very frightened. (Some King scares me more than others. The Tommyknockers scared me so much I could never reread it. This book, too, scared me a lot). As per most King the writing is fantastic and the characters are developed with precision and authenticity. And the ending is satisfactory--unlike some of King's books, which frustrate me with their unfinished feel. For better or for worse, Lisey's story ends with finality. In many ways, that is the whole point of the novel.

Book-a-week # 44
R.I.P. III Challenge, Naming Conventions Challenge

1 comment:

Mari said...

I haven't read a Stephen King book in years. I think it is about time I picked one up. This sounds like a good choice.

Thanks for the great review.