Edgar's past collides with his present in a storm of ghostly happenings that will have you ducking under your covers and reading with a flashlight. Characters you have grown to love for their utter realism will become a tragic part of the tapestry of a story about love, loss, and learning to let go.
There are moments of circumstance that are simply beyond belief, but the way King weaves them into the prose you'll find yourself nodding as if you had just seen that very thing the other day. There are a couple of moments where I felt he wandered too far into cliché – a cliché of himself at one point. I saw shades of The Shining, and then another of the classic creep-out, The Monkey's Paw, but I found myself caring enough about the characters that those moments didn't matter.
I was sad when the book ended. It held the comfortable rhythm of The Body and the heartbreaking emotion of Bag of Bones. There were a few places I felt King's political or religious viewpoints may have slipped out through his character's lips, but I suppose that's the benefit of being a well-read, widely-enjoyed author: You can pretty much say what you want.
I wouldn't recommend reading this on a plane, alone, or away from your comfort zone, unless you really don't want to sleep for awhile, but I do highly recommend it to anyone looking both for an escape from reality and a reason to stick around. The story will offer you the escape; it's subtle lesson, the reason.
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 â€" 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