In Duma Key, King creates a whole person in his character, Edgar Freemantle, a good deal of the author himself was revealed through Edgar's voice. Perhaps on some level this story was King's way of healing (both mentally and physically) from the car accident that broke his hip.
A victim of a tragic construction site accident, Edgar is forced to rebuild a life out of the debris left behind when both his body and mind are broken. Through a series of seemingly meaningless coincidences, he ends up renting a house on Duma Key that he affectionately dubs “Big Pink” (revealing King's penchant for imbuing his love of rock music into his characters and storylines) and begins his healing process. As we walk through Edgar's tortured nights and painful days, we see that life on Duma Key is not what one might expect it to be. Not inside Big Pink, at any rate.
Edgar once sketched. Now he creates. In a style reminiscent of Salvador Dali, he creates esoteric nightmares and dreamscapes on canvass that captivate all who glimpse them. Not only that, but through something called "missing limb phenomenon" (which actually exists on some level - I looked it up), he is able to manipulate his surroundings.
Things turn spooky, though, as King is wont to do, when Edgar is befriended by Wireman, a codger with a penchant for Spanish colloquialisms and a sad story that very nearly shattered my heart. Wireman's phrases stuck with me, and his interaction with Edgar makes the story sing. He is one of the most interesting characters I think King has ever created, and I've read almost all of his printed stories thus far.
It takes about half the book to uncover the fact that this is actually a ghost story, but I was so caught up in Edgar's "healing" process that I didn't even notice. And when I did, it hit me between the eyes. The history of Duma Key and Elizabeth Eastlake, the elderly lady that Wireman cares for and who owns the Key and all its buildings, is at once tragic, supernatural, and fascinating.
Article comments
1 - Kelly Hicks
I always love your quotes, and the opening paragraph of this article doesn’t disappoint.
I like how you keep returning to your point that King’s writing allows the reader become invested in his story no matter how far out it may be " because of his characters. I think that is so true, and you made that point very clearly and eloquently.
This is a fantastic introductory blog, I feel like running out to the bookstore to buy this book:) Thank you for this review, and I can’t wait to read more from you!
Kelly