Before reading: We are into the thick of it, gang. From here on out it's a bunch of big hitters and some of King's most famous pieces. Now, not only have I not read Pet Sematary but I also haven't seen either of the movies. I'm not really sure why, it just hasn't happened. So while I am aware of what the story is about generally, I don't actually know any details. I know this is one of King's bests and I'm very excited. Also, I have a weird connection to this one. Stephen King wrote this based on how many pets he would see hit by cars on the road that he lived on. Well, my dad happens to live on that road. I very recently visited my dad for a couple weeks and like a complete and total creep, I might've parked outside that house a few times. There was just something about knowing that he was in there when he got inspiration and wrote the story right there that I found so interesting. I apologize to the people who live there currently. Now that I have confessed to being a weirdo, let's pretend that didn't happen and just read...
After reading: Wow. Honestly, Stephen King at his best. The writing, the characters, the suspense...all so good and so distinctly King. If you ask King what his scariest novel is he says Pet Sematary and up to this point I have to agree. In addition to it being scary it is really really good and deep and terribly (tewwibly) sad. This is a really sad story. It also felt oddly comforting. I read a little bit each night because I didn't want it to end. I didn't take too many notes, I was just so into what I was reading without too many thoughts.
First and foremost, Stephen King has the best cat names. I'm telling you, if you are looking for cat name inspo all you have to do is Google a list of names of cats from SK novels. There were also many references to other King books such as Cujo and Salem's Lot which was very interesting. This is because it also referenced The Shining....the movie, not the book. I feel like that sent me down a 'what's canon and what isn't' spiral that I don't want to get into cause it'll make my brain hurt. Also, one of the things I see happen again and again in King novels is that we don't get into the climax until almost the very end. We spend most of book building up to what's to come and getting to know the characters. I feel like that attests to how great of a writer he is because I never mind this fact. I earnestly enjoy just reading with sometimes little to no action until the end.
Let's talk about how scary this book was because I have quite a few notes on that. Never have I been so scared of a book. Not in its entirety but at one specific part. My notes are "scary!" "don't read this alone at night" and "legit scary." It definitely didn't help that I was reading this...alone...at night. I had the blanket up past my nose for protection. Dang, Stephen. The writing in this thing was out of this world. It is so crazy to think that he never wanted this published. It's so so good. Does it get a little dark? Sure does. And that is the reason that he never wanted it published, but (for good or bad) reading it in 2022 makes it not as jarring as it might've been back in the 80's. Still, at its core, it is very dark and disturbing but I'll be damned, you can't stop reading it.
Now let's talk about how sad it is. It's just a heart wrenching tale of grief and loss all the way through. It puts death and loss right in your face and forces you to confront it. Even though certain plot points are inevitable and you see it coming a mile away, it is still sad when it happens. Then the grief continues through the end in very real and raw ways. This is in no way whatsoever a happy little read. It makes you feel empty.
That all being said, it is honestly a work of art. I might never want to read it again because it is so heavy but I'll never regret had reading it. In fact, I'm glad that I did. A fun thing I noticed and wouldn't have had I not read it was that the ending had a lot of similarities to both The Shining and The Outsider. I would be very interested to know if this is all intentional and if these stories are all tied together. If you know you know. If you don't...get out there and read some King. Unfortunately, I didn't love the ending. Had the ending been a little bit better I might've put this in my top two King books. I am a sucker for an ambiguous end but this one felt like it just ended too abruptly and with too many loose ends. I can 100% understand if King felt completely emotionally wiped out after writing this and just wanted it to end but come on, man! Don't leave me hanging! Other than that, 10/10 recommend.
As much as I'm sad that this one is over I'm excited to continue onto the next...The Eyes of the Dragon!
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