The Stand
Been reading The Stand. It is one hell of a long story – 1421 pages. At first, I thought I would throw it on the heap, like I do to most imposing tomes by Stephen King. I have not found a really tight read from Stephen King since The Dark Half, Pet Sematary and Christine. Furthermore, when I discovered Shaun Hutson, Mr. King lost some of his pull on me.
But The Stand is believable. The way this guy keeps the fire burning even after all those pages is what kept me reading I guess. I am about to finish. The books that can keep me from everything else, forgetting about food and TV are what I call good books. Reminds me of those days in school when I would stay in bed for the whole weekend reading.
Someone said King was thrown out of hell and he is moving around here trying to find a hole in the wall so he can slip back to where he belongs. Meanwhile, while he looks, he writes those cold-blooded tales. But anyone who read The Green Mile will agree with me that this dude is a student of psychology (or sociology or whatever ology) who is probably wrongly accused of being always morbid. For me, John Coffey is everything Jesus Christ is (was). He probably just went to Isaiah and used the idea that the saviour would be rejected because of his looks and his strange habits, that he would be sacrificed for our transgressions…
King says The Stand is “a dark tale of Christianity,” The story, first published in 1978, is a simple tale of Good vs. Evil. So it is not a new tale. But he goes beyond that and creates all these characters that will stay with me for a long time. It is like Hansell and Gretell, he says. The story is simple; there is this woodcutter who has two kids whose mum dies so he marries another woman who turns out to be a bitch. He’s a little soft in the head so she convinces him to kill the kids coz there will be more food to go around. He says yes but he can’t do it so he leaves them in the forest to die.
Hansell and Gretell find a house made of cake but it is the home of some old crock. She wants to eat them but in the end, they get the better of her and they break free. The story is pure and simple but there are many small parts that make it a classic. The breadcrumb trail…the house of cake…the hearts of two rabbits…
The Stand has all these little aspects that make you look at the issues from a thousand new angles. After reading, imma get myself the movie (seen it at the lib). And I am enjoying it immensely. I got Virgin King, the autobiography of Richard Branson but for the moment, I am letting it sit on the table as I complete this.
But The Stand is believable. The way this guy keeps the fire burning even after all those pages is what kept me reading I guess. I am about to finish. The books that can keep me from everything else, forgetting about food and TV are what I call good books. Reminds me of those days in school when I would stay in bed for the whole weekend reading.
Someone said King was thrown out of hell and he is moving around here trying to find a hole in the wall so he can slip back to where he belongs. Meanwhile, while he looks, he writes those cold-blooded tales. But anyone who read The Green Mile will agree with me that this dude is a student of psychology (or sociology or whatever ology) who is probably wrongly accused of being always morbid. For me, John Coffey is everything Jesus Christ is (was). He probably just went to Isaiah and used the idea that the saviour would be rejected because of his looks and his strange habits, that he would be sacrificed for our transgressions…
King says The Stand is “a dark tale of Christianity,” The story, first published in 1978, is a simple tale of Good vs. Evil. So it is not a new tale. But he goes beyond that and creates all these characters that will stay with me for a long time. It is like Hansell and Gretell, he says. The story is simple; there is this woodcutter who has two kids whose mum dies so he marries another woman who turns out to be a bitch. He’s a little soft in the head so she convinces him to kill the kids coz there will be more food to go around. He says yes but he can’t do it so he leaves them in the forest to die.
Hansell and Gretell find a house made of cake but it is the home of some old crock. She wants to eat them but in the end, they get the better of her and they break free. The story is pure and simple but there are many small parts that make it a classic. The breadcrumb trail…the house of cake…the hearts of two rabbits…
The Stand has all these little aspects that make you look at the issues from a thousand new angles. After reading, imma get myself the movie (seen it at the lib). And I am enjoying it immensely. I got Virgin King, the autobiography of Richard Branson but for the moment, I am letting it sit on the table as I complete this.
posted by Uganda Tourism Press Journalists at 6:56 AM
3 Comments:
@Deg: Ha! what a laugh.i'm breaking a rib bone here.
Kings non-horror books are just as interesting, Shawshank Redemption for example.
funny, i'm readin a King novel this week too. Rose Madder. bout a woman who leaves her abusive husband, read it for inspiration. but the character of the abusive husband is so much more real to me than the woman's, yet it's about the woman. the plot is weak too, compared to what i'm used to from King, so i'm being disappointed and doubt i'm gonna finish it, will probly flip to the last chapter to see how it all ends (tho i can already kinda guess, and i HATE predictable stories!) nwayz, i'm still a hard core KIng fan. since i read It when i was 11 and it gave me nightmares. then I read Firestarter and it gave me dreams. (there's a huge diff btn nightmares and dreams, btw) one of my best friend's dad was King's physiotherapist btw... makes me feel this much closer to the guy...
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