OK, I finally finished it. And I think that I actually displayed near-heroic restraint in waiting until tonight *to* finish it. Because my life recently seems to be filled either with work or diligent cafe loitering, I find that I do most of my actual *reading* on the train, going back and forth between here (Paris) and there (Leiden). I thought that I'd be able to finish the last, thrilling stretch of the book on the train ride this morning, but when we arrived in Paris, I still had twenty pages to go. Bummer, dude. It took *major* restraint to wait until after dinner for the final pages.
But they're done, and I give the book an enthusiastic, unrestrained thumbs-up, on all levels. It's the best Stephen King novel I've read in quite some time and possibly one of his best, period. It's epic. What becomes of young Danny after his experiences in the Overlook Hotel during "The Shining" is both horrific and wonderful. This is a novel written -- as were some of Tolstoy's best -- from the vantage point of age, and wisdom. In describing Danny's journey from alcoholic to 15-year AA token carrier, King is on another level doing nothing less than describing his own similar real-life journey. King *feels* every pang that Danny *feels* every time he drives by a bar. He *feels* it as easily and as psychically as Danny reads minds. I'm not going to get into plot or anything about the novel, but I will say -- just as a teaser for the FFL audience -- that this is by far the best novel I've ever read at depicting what it is like to be telepathic. King just *nails* it, in such a way that leads me to believe he's had flashes of mind-to-mind talk in his own life. It's also a novel about levels of bravery that most of us will never have to call upon. Dan is brave on many levels, but Abra -- OMG Abra -- is one of the bravest characters I've ever encountered in literature. I hope Stephen King sticks around long enough to write *her* sequel. I for one cannot *wait* to hear more of her adventures. I would also *love* to see the film that will inevitably made of this novel. I can only hope that it is done justice to, in terms of finding an adequate screenwriter, director, and above all, actors. I honestly don't know who I could cast as Dan...no one springs to mind as having the necessary range and depth to do him justice. And Abra is even more challenging. Finding young actors and getting great performances from them is no easy task. I can only hope that whoever winds up casting this film has as much luck as Luc Bresson had when casting "Leon: The Professional." Abra deserves an actress of the caliber of Natalie Portman. This novel has one other character who I also just can't *wait* to see portrayed on the screen in the movie. Rose the Hat. Read the novel. See if Rose doesn't remind you of someone you've encountered somewhere before. :-)
