Stephen King--more than meets the eye?

[vixengrl]

Reacquainted myself with Stephen King's writing recently, and am damn glad I did. Haven't finished "The Dark Tower Series" and am avoiding spoilers, but the four books I've read are much more than your average paperback book. But reading the more recent novels, I've seen a definite trend towards what I'd call "Trusting the Reader More"--the stories are more multilayered, touch more on politics and morality. The last one I read was "Needful Things"--impressed the heck out of me--because of the themes of being "owned by one's possessions", "being sold a false bill of goods", and how there's an angry beast under the surface of the most ordinary, law-abiding, even church-going (maybe especially church-going) citizen of Anytown, USA. And how dreams are more important than reality to those who aren't awake.

Any other King fans who read him for pleasure--but come away with more?

[Downtown Hound]

1. Always been a big fan

Although I do have mixed feelings with how the Dark Tower series eventually ended. Don't let that discourage you, some people really love it and some really hate it. I myself can see both viewpoints. But I still love King and always will. He has his pulse on the dark side of America better than any other contemporary author I think. And he gave a lot of money to Howard Dean and has always been a big Dem. Gotta love him.

[graywarrior]

2. I've met Stephen a few times while living on the Maine/NH line

He's extremely intelligent, very down to earth and easy to approach. I love his writing.

[Patiod]

3. I'm an unapologetic King fan

My only complaint is the "big band" endings he sometimes favors (which ruined my enjoyment of "Needful Things")

"The Stand" terrified me, as did "Pet Sematery" and "Carrie".

My SO believes that it's his non-paranormal short stories that may be remembered by posterity.

[Frogtutor]

4. My favorite author of all time...

I've read everything he's written, except his nonfiction books (there are 2, I think: "On Writing", and "Danse Macabre"). My favorites are "The Green Mile", "The Dark Tower" series, and "The Stand".

Did you know that the screenplays for "Stand By Me", "Shawshank Redemption", and "The Sandlot" are all based on short stories he's written? They also happen to be some of my favorite movies of all time!

[vixengrl]

5. "Shawshank Redemption" has to be one of my favorite movies--

(It's got Tim Robbins, which doesn't hurt in my book, either!) The adaptation really worked well. Actually, two of those, "Stand by Me" and "Shawshank", are joined by "Apt Pupil" as three of the novellas from "Different Seasons" which have been made into movies, although I never did see the "Apt Pupil" one. I either *love* what Hollywood does with King (I reread "The Stand" and found that I saw all the characters as they were cast in the t.v. miniseries--which I liked a lot, and "The Green Mile" made me cry!) or I find them dull--the Movie "Cujo" didn't do much for me--I think the novel had a whole psychological thing that was just missing.

[Frogtutor]

6. I agree

It's rare for me to really like a movie adaptation of a book I've read...there's just so much more to reading the book. You're right about Cujo; I think the biggest part of the story took place inside the dog's head, and it's almost impossible to duplicate that in a movie.

I've never seen Apt Pupil, either...I'll have to check that out!

[RebelOne]

20. I saw Apt Pupil.

Excellent movie.

[jobycom]

32. Second on Apt Pupil. Gandalf was great!

Very Peter O'Toole-ish!

[Worst Username Ever]

14. Anything made for TV from King I refuse to watch.

Hollywood adaptations, however, generally do better.

[TOhioLiberal]

19. I thought the mini-series...

...'the Stand' was pretty decent.

[terryg11]

21. i agree

there's no way the stand gets made for the big screen and does even half as well due to sheer length of novel. that's a major problem with hollywood-King, they like his stuff but it's hard to condense two hundred pages of character and plot development into two hours while still trying to fit the rest of the stry in too.

[Worst Username Ever]

22. No way. Ditto for "It." Anything that is made for TV does not come

close to the vivid descriptions of his book.

[terryg11]

25. you realize IT and the Stand would have been even worse in theatres

right? Unless they got the ok to make them as two movies or even worse make them four hours long they would have sucked horribly if done for the big screen. Books of that scope cannot be cut down to a trwo hour movie. Books such as the green mile or shawshank went great in the cinema format because they were from shorter stories and books.

[robbedvoter]

23. The Perfect Storm should be an exception. It was written for TV

King is quite proud of it - and it was very good indeed.

[jayctravis]

42. You mean "Storm of the Century"? (n/t)

[Mad_Dem_X]

45. I'm a HUGE fan

I think he's a hell of a storyteller. The Dark Tower series is a true epic. The ending of it blew my mind (that's all I will say about it). I also love It, Misery, and The Green Mile, as well as a lot of his short stories (like Shawshank).

[Pied Piper]

7. I've always like King's novels

but he should let Hollywood make the movies. He has remade "The Shining," "Carrie," plus a few others. Each and every one a dog of a film. "The Shining," for example, was closer to the book that Kubrick"s version, but it simply sucked.

[Mist]

9. I loved the remake of The Shining

I thought it was closer to the book, and it had all that alcoholic-father material that was left out of Kubrik's version. The characters just seemed more realistic in the second version, plus a higher "scare" factor!

[sakabatou]

8. I like King as well. Gives me some ideas for my writings

But let me say one thing... TRANSFORMERS!

Had to do it.

[sophie996]

10. oh yeah

i've admired him for years, for his ability to tap in the dark side we all have, and to express it. and because he's always written excellent female characters, including little girls, even when he was deep in his addictions. see "on writing" for a great, moving, description of that.
and for overt feminism, "dolores claiborne," "gerald's game,""rose madder."

my book club pals, some of whom favor navel-gazing emptiness by jonathan franzen and lynn freed, give me a lot of static about championing king--i tell them when an author's that popular you simply must pay attention.

[DivinBreuvage]

11. An extremely talented storyteller with excellent characterizations!

He does a better job of creating living, breathing characters than almost any author I know, including some "classics". I also agree with Sophie996 that his female characters are drawn with remarkable truth and sensitivity. And he keeps you on the edge of your seat right to the end.

As for the flack he gets from "literary" people -- they've probably never even read him. Since he's an extremely popular and successful writer it's sufficient simply to dismiss him with a sneer. If their own favorite author wrote a book that sold 10 million copies they'd damn him for eternity and never read another word he wrote.

I'm 36 years old and haven't been scared by a book for a long time, including Stephen King's; but I have to say, I read "Bag of Bones" last summer and the chapters where the hero learns that his summer home is haunted scared the bejaysus out of me!

[redqueen]

12. King won't get the respect he deserves till he's gone.

He's my favorite author. Hell, he's my idol.

[jayctravis]

43. I'm sure he's quite well off...

He does get respect. In fact, he's in a position where he doesn't *have* to pander to his fanbase. That's why he originally assumed the Bachman nom de plume so he could write something different and see how it did not attached to his name.

Dolores Claiborne and Gerald's Game are almost experimental in their forms (Claiborne almost invents a new perspective; "second person" in a work that is all in monologue.) King's best work occurs when he writes within a limiting framework. His "mega novels" are the least interesting to me ("It" "The Tommyknockers") because they seem like frameworks to weave together unused story ideas that wouldn't make a whole novel themselves. It's a spider? (rolls eyes)

[Worst Username Ever]

13. I own, literally, every one of his books.

Even "cycle of the werewolf," hard to find. I have been reading him since I was in 8th grade. I appreciate his earlier works more, as they were actaully in the "horror" genre, where I see his newer works as maybe "thrillers."

His character development is superior to most authors I have read. There was a time when I could name the main characters from every single book. Not because of memorization, but because I felt like I "knew" them by the time I was finished reading the book.

[Worst Username Ever]

15. I AM THE MASTER THREAD KILLER!!!

[Frogtutor]

16. I bet I could give you a run for your money...

I've killed LOTS of threads; I kind of take it personally sometimes!

It's a little early to declare this one dead, though! People come back to the posts in this forum often...

Nice try, though! ;)

[terryg11]

17. about time someone posted in favor of this guy

I tried to get a few discussions going last year when I finished reading Wolves of the Calla but got minimal response.
I totally agree with those who have already noted his character develpment skills. By the time of the climax in the story you really give a shit about the characters that's one reason I'm putting off the last book of the Tower series.

As far as TV, did anyone watch Kingdom hospital? My nine year old daughter and myself were pissed when it was cancelled. It was getting good, and all the weird shit going on, too good for tv

[Frogtutor]

18. Yes, I watched most of it....

with my 12-year-old son. At the time, my husband's nephew was going through his own real-life hospital nightmare. In fact, he had started watching the series before finding out he was ill and having to have surgery (he passed away 5 weeks later as a result; he was only 24). My husband firmly believes that watching it probably made his experience even more terrifying. At the time, my husband couldn't watch the series with me because of the parallels, and I'm sure he will never be able to watch it. I was somehow able to separate the two, or I was in complete denial about the gravity of our nephew's situation. Anyway, I'm sure that's more info than you wanted to know!

I managed to miss an episode or two, but I thought it would be available at some time or another on DVD; then I'll watch the whole thing.

I was under the impression that it was more along the lines of a mini-series, anyway, and that it was supposed to only run so many episodes. I didn't think that it had been canceled.

[robbedvoter]

24. Always loved ans appreciated him. I am stuck though in the Dark Towers

at book two. All that drug dealer stuff is keeping me away from the book. The first was rather stony cold for my taste as well.
But I loved less talked about books such as Insomnia (minus the ending), or the collection of early short stories which i read.
A lot of movie adaptations were very good: Stand by me, Misery.
he wrote a script for TV - was well done by sci-fi channel I think: The perfect Storm. get it if you missed it.

[MamaBear]

26. Lots more

At this point, I appreciate his non-critter books more. I loved Hearts in Atlantis, especially, and Dolores Claiborne. I read each of his books as they were published, Carrie through either Christine or Pet Sematary. At that point, I was maxed out and didn't go back for a while.

I thought the miniseries of The Stand did as good a job as a film could probably do of that book; it's hard to "show" the interior workings of the characters. I have spent a few wonderful evenings through the years with different groups of people discussing which King novel scared them the most. I think the answer is somewhat indicative of one's own personal demons. My friend Patty freaked over Salem's Lot. Mine was The Shining. Somebody above mentioned The Stand, which I found troubling but not so terrifying.

I also agree that King will not be truly appreciated until his work can be viewed as a whole. And I certainly don't like all of it; Dreamcatcher didn't do much for me.

The Green Mile, on the other hand, made a great book and a good film.

Nice to find some other unapologetic King fans. I have long considered him a guilty pleasure.

[AngryOldDem]

27. "The Body"

My nomination for one of the best short stories ever written, Fitzgerald and Hemingway included. (Actually, I guess you would call "The Body" a novella, but what the heck.) Nothing captures the essence of childhood friendship, its importance, and how it changes better than how King expressed it in that story. I think all of us in some way can relate.

[Frogtutor]

28. Yes, the movie, Stand By Me was based on it

I LOVED the movie, too. The Sandlot is similar in many ways and also an awesome movie.

[AngryOldDem]

29. I LOVED Stand By Me, too

It was so faithful to the heart and soul of the story -- not so much the trek to see the dead body, but the all the nuances of friendship and how only have ONE "best" friend (even if you lose touch), and being young when the summer seems endless. Richard Dreyfuss could not have been a better choice for the narrator. I think my favorite scene is when Gordie sees the deer early in the morning. Not pivotal to the story, but a beautiful moment nevertheless.

(And then there's the pie-eating contest, which is just as hilarious in print as it is on screen.)

I think "The Body" really shows King's depth and talent as a writer. My favorite short story.

[PinkTiger]

30. I love King, and I have an interesting theory about his work.

In one of his books, "Bag of Bones," he writes about an author who is unable to write for several years because of writer's block; however, he has written so many books, he has many that have never been published. These aren't his BEST works, but they are printable, so he supplies his publisher with those.

This is an important part of the story.

I think King wrote about this because he did this.

His earlier stuff is different than his later stuff, and yet some of his later stuff is almost identical to his earlier stuff.

I think he did what the guy did in Bag of Bones.

[Mist]

31. That makes sense. King had drinking/drug problems for a few

years, and probably wasn't at the top of his form during that time! He's still a great read though! I think he's one of those writers who HAS to write, no "waiting to get in the mood," he just has to sit down and write most days.

[Lilith Velkor]

37. Coulda been when he sobered up.

Writing without the drugs/booze must have been hard at first.

[latebloomer]

38. I loved "Bag of Bones"

though most of his other work, besides "The Stand" and "The Shining", left me cold.

[Momgonepostal]

50. I thought that, too, when I read it

I could just imagine him laugher at the reviews too, just like his character did.

[jobycom]

33. He's a tweener

He writes somewhere between high-brow literature and pulp fiction, somewhere between John Fowles and Michael Crichton. His stories don't have the earth-shaking (and self-indulgent) introspection people require of their "serious" literature, so he can't get in that club. But his writing, his plots, his characterization, and most importantly, his incredible sense of setting, are far beyond most popular mainstream fiction (Patterson, Brown, etc). So I think some snobs see him as a literary writer who falls way short, and some mainstream readers see him as a pretentious pulp-fiction writer (the sheer volume of his works adds to that image). And he's written so much, you can always find some story to point at that sucked.

Edgar Allen Poe and Charles Dickens fit into this category, too, and both are still read as masters. They, too, wrote way too many stories, had vivid settings, and interesting tales. Over the decades, their dregs settled and were forgotten, and people mainly remember their best. i think King will go that route. I think it's already started-- he's starting to get some respect, quietly mouthed, in the more "serious" literary circles, it seems to me.

[Pepperbelly]

35. King does characters better than anyone ever has.

IMO, of course.

I write and I recognize his talent for that. I have attempted on many occasions to read his books technically and figure out how he does them so vibrantly. Every time, I failed because he drew me right the fuck into the story and there I was wondering what would become of Mother Abigal.

:shrug:

[LissaM]

46. I completely agree with you.

I love the depth he gives almost all of his characters. When I read The Shining, I was amazed at how in depth he went not only on the Torrence family, but from Holluran (it's been a while, dont know the spelling) to Jack's drinking buddy.

[eleny]

34. Kujo always comes back to me

A strong moral lesson about responsibility and how the little things can have the most devastating affect on lives. One little act of irresponsibility building upon another until in the end, the little ones are as dangerous as the big acts of irresponsibility. It was always so poignant to me how the central figure is one of western cultures most faithful symbols - the dog.

[Pepperbelly]

36. Insomnia ...

a very good book, takes on the whole pro-life movement as part of the books circumstances. Of course, it is in King's own perverse and eccentric fashion.

[justgamma]

39. Love the way he

sneaks charactors from his other books into the story lines. Usually a passing reference or a cameo. That's one of the things I hunt for now when I read his books.

[Pepperbelly]

40. not just characters ... history as well ...

In Insomnia, set in Derry, there are many allusions to the flood that occurred in It. He did the same thing in Dreamcatcher.

On edit: Jerusalem Lot history shows up quite a bit, too. A whole LOT!

:D

[jayctravis]

44. There's a whole set of stories that take place during the same eclipse:

Dolores Claiborne, Geralds Game, Rose Madder...I think.

[Zorra]

41. He's a genius, I really like most of his work, some of it I absolutely

love, but there were 2 novels, "Gerald's Game", and "The Girl That Loved Tom Gordon" that bored me to tears, and I actually suspected that they were written by someone else while I was reading them.

[pitohui]

47. yes there is more

i just read the sot-weed factor by john barth recently and i now understand that king is clearly heavily influenced by barth

especially the dark tower series

needful things wasn't for me but king is not just popcorn

"What a shameless, marvelous dramatist is Life, that daily plots coincidences e'en Chaucer would not dare, and ventures complications too knotty for Boccacce!"

that is not king, tho we read this sentiment in king again and again - that is john barth

a sharp cookie this stephen king

[Nevernose]

48. Widely considered to be "The Last Master of the Short Story" n/t

[LWolf]

49. I'm glad to see that some think he is worthwhile.

I've never been a big fan; I read a couple of his books back in the late 80s or early 90s, and thought they were ok, but didn't rush out to buy more.

I've resented him mightily over the years, a little unfairly. My oldest son was a voracious reader until high school, when he started reading steven king novels. From that point forward, he read nothing but King. Even today, pushing 28 years old, he still doesn't read anything but steven king.

I'm a former librarian, and lifelong bibliophile. And the son I raised to be a reader no longer reads...except for King. I hope there is something worthwhile about his writing.

[BedRock]

51. Oh, indeed!

There are always hidden nuggets in his books. Something that makes you pause and think about....and other things that give you a chuckle. I think The Stand is one of his strongest statements. Then there is The Greenmile...shed more than a few tears over that one.

[stevans_41902]

52. I love Stephen King - definately my favorite author EVER. Although

there are a few of his books I did not care for at all, I have never been bored while reading one of his novels and I find most of his work to be fantastic. I agree that he is does the best character descriptions of any author I have read in my life. There are a lot of people who dismiss his work without ever reading it, and I think those who think its just cheesy horror are missing out on some great stuff. I love how he creates strong woman characters (Delores Claiborne, one of my 3 favorite books of all time btw).
Maybe it was just me but when I was reading The Dead Zone, the politician reminded me a lot of Bush (yes, I know this book was written long before Bush was nominated...) Here is a guy who appears to be salt of the earth people-person, but is really evil inside and has horrible intentions. I think King was warning against trusting the right wing especially- they may appear like they have good intentions, but hidden motives lie underneath.

Some of my favorite Stephen King quotes:
"Fiction is the truth inside the lie."

"The most important things are the hardest things to say. They are the things you get ashamed of because words diminish your feelings - words shrink things that seem timeless when they are in your head to no more than living size when they are brought out."

[pitohui]

53. i believe he was actually meant to be reagan

they are very similar, reagan had early onset alzheimer's, bush probably has korsikoff syndrome from substance abuse, but they are stupid sloganeers who pretend to lean on a bible they've never read...that's yr resemblence, in the dead zone era, we were just getting the rise of the moral majority & the other fundy effwits getting major media attention, previous to that time religious extremists were just worthy of a chuckle as decent people were not extremists, it's weird to see how the world has changed, i suppose all older people say that...

[salamander8]

54. His endings suck

I don’t read a lot of his books, but about half the movies I’ve seen of him have really sucky endings. It’s like he just gets tired of the story and quits. It was a good example. Great film, suck, wimp-out ending.

[raccoon]

56. It wasn't just you, the politician reminded me of Bush also. A lot. nt

[NMMNG]

55. I've been a SK fan since childhood

As the years progressed though, I found that I still liked some of his works while others didn't appeal to me quite as much. None of the Dark Tower series struck a chord in me. I've read his short story collections and found that maybe half of the stories I like and half I don't. Nonetheless, he is still someone I'd rank as one of my favorite authors of all time and definitely my favorite horror author.

[melody]

57. King is one of the best prose stylists in the English language

And no one knows how to drive a plot like he does. He is one of the authors the future will speak of in terms of his pervasive impact on writing. I doubt there's a writer under 50 who hasn't been influenced by King.

[MaineDem]

58. Not only a good writer but a great person!

Very philanthropic...and a good liberal.

It's funny, though. His work isn't read much at our library. Hardly anyone takes out his books.

[EmmaP]

59. On Writing

Anyone who is a big Stephen King fan really should read his book On Writing - A Memoir of the Craft. Even if you're not interested in the writing tips, the autobiographical portions very interesting.