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Thinner (1984)



Before reading: Well, well, well, if it isn't our good friend Richard Bachman. If you've been keeping score we are 2 for 2 with Mr. Bachman. So this could go either way. However, I am optimistic because I have (for some weird reason) seen the movie Thinner and know that this is one of his more successful and well-known Bachman books. This was also his final Bachman book before making the big reveal and essentially coming-out as King. Because of this, this book is sometimes described as being quite King-ish. While I have seen the movie, it was a very long time ago. Therefore, I am aware of what it is about overall but don't really remember or know any of the details. Let's dig in, shall we? Pun intended. 

After reading: I honestly really love and appreciate these fun, shorter reads that we get to enjoy after a long and heavy novel. I have no clue if King did this intentionally or not, but I'm a fan. First and foremost I want to say that I acknowledge that most of this book's content are problematic. However, I made the decision to just enjoy the book for what it was. For that reason, I'm not going to get into details about how almost every single page of this book uses outdated and racist terms and is basically fat-phobic...but just know that if you're going to read this one, that is what you're going to get. All of that aside, I have to give it up for Richard Bachman. 

Was this one of King's best pieces of work? Absolutely not. Was it one of Bachman's best pieces of work? Absolutely. This was everything that Roadwork wishes it could be. However, it is pretty obvious why King had to reveal himself after this one because it was so King and not so much Bachman. The writing itself just felt much more mature than the other Bachman works. The writing style reminded me a lot of Pet Sematary, for comparison. Also, he literally talks about himself. I'm giving you a big ol' eye roll Mr. King. He actually says, "...starting to sound a little like a Stephen King novel." Okay, Stephen. Also, he is so horny for Maine in this book it isn't even funny. There is so much Maine talk that I would honestly be concerned if this wasn't written by Stephen King. Enough about King, let's just talk about the book.

Like most of King's books, this was a good read. I enjoyed it and it read quite quickly. Although it was a supernatural book, it didn't really feel like it was. It read more like a dark horror/thriller and at one point I did get a little spooked. It had good bones and all the elements that you would want a shorter novel to have. I didn't take too many notes because it was so short but I did find a couple things I wanted to point out. One was that there was a direct mention of OshKosh bib overalls, which coming right after The Talisman definitely stuck out. Something else I noticed was the language that Rom's used was...off? They said they were speaking Romanian but when I tried to put it into Google translate it came up as Swedish and didn't make a lick of sense. Unsure if it was actually translated or not but I found that interesting. Besides that, I honestly didn't do too much thinking while reading this one. Just sat back, relaxed, and enjoyed the book. I will say that, personally, I really loved the ending. I love ambiguous endings, especially ones where the characters don't live happily ever after. I think this works particularly well with "short" stories, so that got bonus points from me. 

I would absolutely recommend this one if you are looking for a quick and enjoyable read. I would also recommend this if you are looking into venturing into reading Stephen King for the first time. It has a lot of elements that are distinctly King without being too overwhelming or too horror based. Have an open mind and go give this one a read!

Next up we are going back to see what's happening with The Plant!

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