Skip to main content

Desperation (1996)



Before reading: I've been so excited to read Desperation even though I don't know too much about it. Why? Because this is the first time we are getting back-to-back related books. Now, I'm not going to go too much into that here since Desperation came first but I will delve more into that in my next post! Besides that, what do I know about this book? Not much. I know that it is about a town with a bunch of characters...classic. I am a sucker for King towns and books about people living in those towns. I also know that people have strong feelings about this book and the one after it. Some people love this one and not the next one. Some people love the next one and hate this one. Some people love both. I'm hoping to be the latter! 

After reading: I have such a love/hate relationship with that after-reading feeling. It is somehow both a fulfilling and an empty feeling. I suppose it is a testament to King's talent that he is able to instill that feeling so often. The good news is, the next book should fill that void. Per usual, this was a really great book. I hate that it took me an entire month to read (I just don't have the time!) but at the same time, I didn't want to leave the story and secretly enjoyed it lingering. I wouldn't place this amongst King's bests, but it is pretty solid. As I was reading this one I began thinking that I might even recommend it to a first time King reader. Desperation is everything you want in a King book. I've said it a million times but I absolutely love when King has a large ensemble town-based story and that is what we got here, just trimmed down a little. If you are a fan of The Stand, The Mist, and or Needful Things (just to name a few) then you'll love this one. King also does supernatural horror really well and this will itch that scratch if that is what you're looking for. This also brought back the familiar good vs evil trope that King likes to play with. This was a very good and very enjoyable read. I did not take too many notes because I was just enjoying the ride. I saw someone else describe this book by saying it starts fast and never stops and I think that is completely accurate.

My first note was a thought I had throughout the book, which is that it is so cinematic. Apparently there was a movie made from this before, but I think it needs to be done again and done better. When you read it you can see it play out so vividly. I need to see this come to life on the big screen! We also got a few references, but not as much as most other King books, overall it was very much a standalone story (not counting the one that literally came out with it). The biggest one was that we had a character from our last novel, Rose Madder, Cynthia, who was a minor character in RM and she was one of the main characters in this one. I thought that was fun and I was excited when she popped up. There were also small references to Misery, The Stand and The Tommyknockers (kinda) which were all blink-and-you'll-miss-them types. Not a reference because this book came out 20+ years after this one but it reminded me a lot of The Outsider. 

I very much enjoyed reading this book. It was a story you could immerse yourself in and now I'm sad that it is over. Or is it? 

Up next is...well, well, well...look who's back from the dead, it is none other than Richard Bachman. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RanKING

I have randomly decided that in addition to reading these books, I'm also going to rank them from my most favorite to least favorite. I will do this as I read and I will add in the books I've already read after I re-read them. I also apologize for the horrible pun in the title but I couldn't pass it up :) All right! Here's my ever-changing list: The Long Walk It The Shining Pet Sematary The Institute Misery The Dark Tower: Wizard and Glass Black House Needful Things Dolores Claiborne The Green Mile The Regulators The Dark Tower: The Wastelands Insomnia Firestarter The Talisman The Dark Tower: Wolves of the Calla Christine The Dark Tower: The Gunslinger The Outsider The Dark Tower: The Drawing of the Three Desperation Rose Madder Bag of Bones Cujo The Dark Half Different Seasons Salem's Lot The Stand Hearts in Atlantis The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon From a Buick 8 Gerald's Game Everything's Eventual Four Past Midnight The Plant (unfinished) Thinner Rage The De
Post a Comment
Read more

What am I doing?

Being a true Mainer, while my mother was pregnant with me, she was reading a book by Stephen King. Specifically she was reading The Dark Half by Stephen King. In that book there is a character named Shayla and that is where my name came from. Growing up in Maine already gives you a sense of closeness with Mr. King but having him be the reason for my namesake always drew me even closer to him. In fact, for my 23rd birthday I was gifted with Stephen King’s personal copy of The Dark Half that he signed for me.  I grew up watching many Stephen King shows and movies and read a few books. My favorite book of all time being The Long Walk by Stephen King, himself. All in all, however, I’ve only read about 5 of Mr. King’s books in total. I feel like this weird connection and fascination I have with him has ultimately only led me to one place. And that place is right here, preparing to read all his books. With all honesty, I get crazy ideas like this all the time but only seldom do I see anyt
1 comment
Read more

The Long Walk (1979)

Before Reading:  I could go on and on and on about The Long Walk and I will (after I re-read it). For now I’m just going to keep it short and sweet. Remember when I said that I love Rage and have it on my bookshelf? Well I really love The Long Walk and have TWO copies of it on my bookshelf. The Long Walk is my absolute number one favorite book...ever. I even rank it above Harry Potter (which, if you know me, is saying a lot). When I was younger I was drawn to The Long Walk because it mentioned my hometown. But oh my God, this story is so great. You cringe, cry, laugh, and everything in between when you read it—or at least I do. It takes a lot for me to get emotionally invested in a book (or anything, really) but I feel so attached to this story. All of the characters and their lives are so real to me when I read this one. Also, Hunger Games-esque dystopia is my absolute favorite genre and The Long Walk is one of the best. I’m very much looking forward to re-reading this one, as I alway
2 comments
Read more