Oof. This was a bit of a tough one to go through after having to have our cat put down yesterday, but after reading "he undergoes an unfortunate transformation from cute li’l cat with a fuzzy little belly you just want to pet to a kill-crazy monster from beyond the grave." - I suspect you, Rabin, have never owned a cat. This transformation is what we cat owners call "a normal Tuesday."
'Non-fiction',eh?I am perfectly willing to suspend disbelief, especially for a film that trucks in questionable behavior like trying to resurrect one's child based on the advice of a neighbor that could quite possibly have dementia,but King was clearly pulling(or trying to)the wool over our eyes with that(tongue in cheek?) statement.He later said that he barely remembered writing parts of the book,thanks to being in the throes of his alcoholism,which explained quite a bit,including why his protagonists so often sounded like 12 year old boys.Writers-gotta love 'em.
One thing I love about the original Pet Sematary is that Fred Gwynne is one of the few people in the entire history of film to ever come close to an authentic old-timey Mainer accent. Lithgow didn't even try, probably knowing that only folly could lie there. The runner-up is Boston-born Richard Dysart in the killer mutant bear movie Prophecy (1979), so he's got some New England in his bones already (Gwynne was from New York, mostly Poughkeepsie before his family moved). Coincidentally, if you ever get up to Maine, there's a truck stop outside Bangor called Dysart's that makes delicious homecooked-style food and is known to be frequented by Stephen King (just to tie it all together). Get an Eggs McRuth sandwich, you won't be disappointed.
Pet Sematary and Salem's Lot are my picks for King's finest novels. And I agree with the author that Pet Sematary is his scariest. The evocation of grief is finely observed and the writing reaches incredible heights - the two trips to the burial ground still get to me, even though I've read this book at least a dozen times over the years.
The Dead Zone is another amazing one, and gets more timely by the day. That and The Shining, along with the two you mentioned, round out most of my top 5. I waffle between Firestarter and Misery, FS is flawed but the setup and characterization is amazing, and Misery is just a lean mean machine. My opinion means nothing, though. I am a Tommyknockers apologist.
The book meandered like hell in the middle, but the third act brought everything together so well. And the depth of the friendship between Bobbi and Gard is among the most beautiful relationships he has ever written.
Oof. This was a bit of a tough one to go through after having to have our cat put down yesterday, but after reading "he undergoes an unfortunate transformation from cute li’l cat with a fuzzy little belly you just want to pet to a kill-crazy monster from beyond the grave." - I suspect you, Rabin, have never owned a cat. This transformation is what we cat owners call "a normal Tuesday."
'Non-fiction',eh?I am perfectly willing to suspend disbelief, especially for a film that trucks in questionable behavior like trying to resurrect one's child based on the advice of a neighbor that could quite possibly have dementia,but King was clearly pulling(or trying to)the wool over our eyes with that(tongue in cheek?) statement.He later said that he barely remembered writing parts of the book,thanks to being in the throes of his alcoholism,which explained quite a bit,including why his protagonists so often sounded like 12 year old boys.Writers-gotta love 'em.
One thing I love about the original Pet Sematary is that Fred Gwynne is one of the few people in the entire history of film to ever come close to an authentic old-timey Mainer accent. Lithgow didn't even try, probably knowing that only folly could lie there. The runner-up is Boston-born Richard Dysart in the killer mutant bear movie Prophecy (1979), so he's got some New England in his bones already (Gwynne was from New York, mostly Poughkeepsie before his family moved). Coincidentally, if you ever get up to Maine, there's a truck stop outside Bangor called Dysart's that makes delicious homecooked-style food and is known to be frequented by Stephen King (just to tie it all together). Get an Eggs McRuth sandwich, you won't be disappointed.
Pet Sematary and Salem's Lot are my picks for King's finest novels. And I agree with the author that Pet Sematary is his scariest. The evocation of grief is finely observed and the writing reaches incredible heights - the two trips to the burial ground still get to me, even though I've read this book at least a dozen times over the years.
The Dead Zone is another amazing one, and gets more timely by the day. That and The Shining, along with the two you mentioned, round out most of my top 5. I waffle between Firestarter and Misery, FS is flawed but the setup and characterization is amazing, and Misery is just a lean mean machine. My opinion means nothing, though. I am a Tommyknockers apologist.
Tommyknockers is wildly underrated, not least by King himself.
The book meandered like hell in the middle, but the third act brought everything together so well. And the depth of the friendship between Bobbi and Gard is among the most beautiful relationships he has ever written.