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hyperashley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Car accident, and Death of parent
crystal689's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, and Physical abuse
lay_kone's review
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
ryleezittlau's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Grief, and Medical trauma
Minor: Death of parent
zakcebulski's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really enjoyed this book.
I have a thing for a story where one of the characters is a man of the cloth who ends up losing his faith, and this one does that in absolute spades.
The story follows a young boy named Jamie who lives in a small town of Harlow, Maine. Jamie meets the new pastor- Charles Jacobs (a revivalist preacher name if ever there was one) who has recently moved in to town with his wife and son. Something that immediately sets Chuck apart is that he has a fascination, bordering on pathological obsession, with electricity which he believes to have healing properties. He actually demonstrates this with some success when he heals Jamie's brothers voice after he loses it.
Tragedy strikes when Jacobs's wife and son are killed in an car accident.
The standard King fare takes place afterword with Jamie growing up and going through the motions of some form of addiction (heroin, in this case), and having bump ins with Jacobs. Jacobs becomes a snake oil salesman, selling his "secret electricity" and healing folks with issues going all the way from COPD to full out cancer. Note: The use of chicken innards as a stand-in for tumors has to be a reference to Jim Jones who did the same thing to show his "amazing" healing- right?
Now, the writing on the wall is clearly there and becomes evident that a man so sure of his powers is able to control nature. Which is exactly what the hubristic Jacobs does. With the coerced help of Jamie tries to become a regular Victor Frankenstein and revive the dead. This goes about as fantastically terrible as you'd expect- if there is something that King excels at, it is punishing hubris.
Here King channels Lovecraftian sentiments and discusses the Great Ones and the area beyond death. It is a truly terrifying scene when the corpse of a woman becomes a visage and amalgamation of Jacobs's dead wife and son.
I think that my main gripe with this book is that it feels very run of the mill King. That is not to say that it is unenjoyable- I quite liked this book. I think that he, as always, strikes a fantastic spot of coming of age, and the small town life sensibilities that we have all come to expect from his works. But, I just didn't find things like a majority of the characters to be super engaging. I thought that Jacobs was far and away the most compelling character and it isn't even close. He is a man of God who turns his back on God after he feels God did the same to him. I loved the complexity of his character, where he becomes more and more arrogant and cocksure as the story progresses, ultimately paying for his transgressions to nature. I loved reading him as you get the feeling that he does love the smell of his own shit, and I loved to hate him. At the beginning of the story you feel like you like Jacobs, and by the end that feeling of admiration is perverted as you come to realize that his miracle cures are closely linked to suicides. Even knowing this, he refuses to stop, because, in my estimation, he feels that he is God. A very interesting and complex character. Unfortunately, the rest of the cast, including Jamie, I didn't really care for. I thought that Jamie was as interesting as a standard side character in other books, and the only reason that I rooted for him was because he is the main character of this book.
Definitely not my favorite King, but a fucking insane story with a sympathetic villain who starts off as a good man. I think that Jacobs will be looked at as a cult favorite antihero in King's works in the future.
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child death, Death, Drug use, and Death of parent
imstephtacular's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: War and Classism