(no subject)

[some_stars]

145 more pages! I CAN MAKE IT. Man, this book, I just can't even. All King's flaws are on display, about as bad as they ever got prior to about the early 2000s (which is when the books started being all flaw, and have remained so to this day). And so is almost all of his best--everything. I keep thinking, "okay, I'll just skip this part which is about some bullshit tertiary character and/or blindingly offensive and/or creepy in the wrong way." But I don't. My eye lands on the first line and I read the whole thing, because I am helpless before King's evil storytelling powers.

Comments

[thingswithwings]

He DOES have evil storytelling powers, that's so true. Man, that's how I am whenever I reread The Stand - I think that book is for me what IT is for you - I always tell myself I'll skim bits, and then I read EVERY DAMN WORD, including the description of Frannie's mother's parlour and the magical negro bits and everything.

(I would like to say that I intend to skip over the gunfucking noncon, but the truth is that I don't. #weirdformativeexperiences)

[some_stars]

The Stand did have some extremely special moments for me, mostly involving Nick--I remember I was reading it in the backseat on a car trip, the first time, and I squealed out loud in horrified outrage when he died and freaked my parents out--but also the gunfucking noncon, and many of the turns of phrase. But yeah, the first handful of King books I read settled in the deepest.

I just wish I could somehow absorb his (former) pageturning abilities. It's so damn eerie how even books I've read a million times, I just cannot put them DOWN.

[onyxlynx]

Huh. I gave up new King after Dreamcatcher, but I've had to exile IT and Insomnia from the bedroom, because I'll (still) open them expecting to sleep and there I am at 4 am...

(And yes, I'm aware of the flaws. But you've gotta love somebody who can a) spike conservatives' guns and b) describe a character going to a barbershop to have his bristles sharpened.)