[FairfieldLife] RE: RE: Le Saint Regis
Ann wrote: Ha! I never would have pegged you for a Stephen King fan. Oh, when he's in good form, he is (was?) a fabulous writer. He never really got the credit he deserved because horror fiction isn't considered "literature." I'm actually not a horror fan, so you're not wrong to be surprised. I never really read King for the horror. Did you ever read his "Dolores Claiborne"? There's no horror (supernatural horror, at any rate) per se in that one, but it's a terrific plot and a marvelous character study. "Misery" as well, but the violence is so up-close-and-personal that I found it hard to read. Another one in which the horror is real-life is "Cujo." But don't you EVER read it. It's brilliantly written (King was in the midst of his alcoholic period when he wrote it), but it would really be devastating to a dog lover (at least I think it would). "Under the Dome" was way too black and white; the bad guys were just so unrelentingly without virtue or redeeming qualities that it got very tiresome and very predictable. Yes, exactly, simplistic Central Casting-type villains. It was also not remotely believable although the disintegration of law and order was fascinating to watch but again,not all that realistic as it all happened in about six days. Still, the guy is readable. I remember a long time ago he and his family wanted to rent my sister and brother in law's house up in Maine for the summer but Peter was still fully engaged in the TM thing then (teaching at MIU and initiating) and no way was he going to let a guy with a mind like SK rent his place - too creepy. I wonder if he would still feel that way not that he is out of the TM Movement. Far as I can tell--I've read a lot of interviews with him--he isn't a creepy person at all. At least the creepy stuff he writes doesn't seem to come out in his personality. I wrote: I was a huge King fan--along with my mother and sister--for many years, read about every novel he wrote. (I never read the Dark Tower series because I don't care for that kind of fantasy.) Then I read two real duds (IMO), Duma Key and Under the Dome, and was so disappointed I gave up on him. The first half of Duma Key was brilliant, but the second half just disintegrated; Dome simply wasn't interesting enough to succeed at that absurd length, and the ending was unsatisfying. Not sure what you mean by "icky," but for me it wasn't icky enough; aside from the outlandish premise, it was actually pretty mundane. It struck me that nobody was editing him any more, and for some reason he'd lost his sense of pacing; possibly he'd become short on self-discipline and ideas as well. Anyway, maybe I'll give him another chance and try "Doctor Sleep." But it better be good, or I'm going to be mad. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: I hadn't read any King for a very long time. After "The Shining" there wasn't going to be any of his offerings that could be better. But that was a long time ago, in fact I was living in FF at the time, that's how long ago I read that. I remember sitting on the floor of the bathroom finishing the damn thing at 2 in the morning not wanting to keep my then boyfriend awake until all hours with the light on. Anyway, I picked up "Dr Sleep" about a month ago on a whim and I liked it. Then I thought maybe I should read "Under The Dome" which was interesting but Mr King can leave one with a weird sort of icky feeling after reading his stuff so I have taken a break for a while. I will most likely root out something else of his to read before too long as I love the macabre. Right now I am rather enjoying "Ender's Game", it is a very interesting concept and well written. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: Back on the Ile Saint-Louis this week, before settling in for a few weeks in the quartier I'd rather explore, the Butte aux Cailles. And this week, I've managed to find an outside table at the closest Wifi Bar to me. It was always so packed before -- during the less...uh...chilly weather -- but tonight I am clearly one of the only patrons to realize that it's really comfy sitting here under their terrace space heaters. This is really a great sidewalk cafe, with a view looking out onto an intersection of streets normally filled (in more clement weather) with locals and tourists alike, but tonight largely empty. It also looks out upon a bridge that sports one of The Great Views Of Paris. Their loss, my gain. Tonight I get to sit here and rap about whatever I want, pretty much free from attractive distractions. :-) But about the only thing I can think to rap about is the book I'm reading currently -- mainly on the train between the Netherlands and here, but because it's really starting to grab me, also in the evenings, after work. It's been a fun read, because I've been rediscovering a writer I had enjoyed thoroughly in the pa
[FairfieldLife] RE: RE: Le Saint Regis
I was a huge King fan--along with my mother and sister--for many years, read about every novel he wrote. (I never read the Dark Tower series because I don't care for that kind of fantasy.) Then I read two real duds (IMO), Duma Key and Under the Dome, and was so disappointed I gave up on him. The first half of Duma Key was brilliant, but the second half just disintegrated; Dome simply wasn't interesting enough to succeed at that absurd length, and the ending was unsatisfying. Not sure what you mean by "icky," but for me it wasn't icky enough; aside from the outlandish premise, it was actually pretty mundane. It struck me that nobody was editing him any more, and for some reason he'd lost his sense of pacing; possibly he'd become short on self-discipline and ideas as well. Anyway, maybe I'll give him another chance and try "Doctor Sleep." But it better be good, or I'm going to be mad. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: I hadn't read any King for a very long time. After "The Shining" there wasn't going to be any of his offerings that could be better. But that was a long time ago, in fact I was living in FF at the time, that's how long ago I read that. I remember sitting on the floor of the bathroom finishing the damn thing at 2 in the morning not wanting to keep my then boyfriend awake until all hours with the light on. Anyway, I picked up "Dr Sleep" about a month ago on a whim and I liked it. Then I thought maybe I should read "Under The Dome" which was interesting but Mr King can leave one with a weird sort of icky feeling after reading his stuff so I have taken a break for a while. I will most likely root out something else of his to read before too long as I love the macabre. Right now I am rather enjoying "Ender's Game", it is a very interesting concept and well written. ---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, wrote: Back on the Ile Saint-Louis this week, before settling in for a few weeks in the quartier I'd rather explore, the Butte aux Cailles. And this week, I've managed to find an outside table at the closest Wifi Bar to me. It was always so packed before -- during the less...uh...chilly weather -- but tonight I am clearly one of the only patrons to realize that it's really comfy sitting here under their terrace space heaters. This is really a great sidewalk cafe, with a view looking out onto an intersection of streets normally filled (in more clement weather) with locals and tourists alike, but tonight largely empty. It also looks out upon a bridge that sports one of The Great Views Of Paris. Their loss, my gain. Tonight I get to sit here and rap about whatever I want, pretty much free from attractive distractions. :-) But about the only thing I can think to rap about is the book I'm reading currently -- mainly on the train between the Netherlands and here, but because it's really starting to grab me, also in the evenings, after work. It's been a fun read, because I've been rediscovering a writer I had enjoyed thoroughly in the past, but had lost track of. Possibly my loss. The writer is Stephen King. And the book is "Doctor Sleep," his sequel to "The Shining." It really rocks. If you're into That Sorta Thing. That Sorta Thing being great characterization, long and painstakingly slow at times "scene setting," and an incredible ability to make one's readers CARE about the characters. If you read "The Shining," and even if you only saw the Kubrick movie, Danny (the kid in the movie, the one who was tuned into the Shining), is now grown up. And a recovering alcoholic, trying to get over decades of trying to make his gift "go away." It didn't go away. Now he finds himself in a small New Hampshire town, working in a hospice in conjunction with a cat who always knows when its guests are about to die, and clues Danny so that he can use his gift to help them peacefully pass over. You should also probably remember that Stephen King IS a recovering alcoholic, and this is the first time he's dared to write about that struggle. Into this intrudes the worst, baddest-assed, most Pure Evil bunch of people-who-do-not-deserve-to-be-called-human humans you've ever encountered. I dare not even mention how they get their kicks and prolong their miserable lifetimes, because Buck would faint. But I sense Great Drama ahead, and because IMO King is at the top of his form, Great Writing, so I'll keep reading...
