cory1906's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
lucrezi's review against another edition
5.0
The Long Walk is the first Stephen King novel I read as a younger adolescent and, upon rereading, it's still the best. I'm not really a fan of his more supernatural stories, as I much prefer the horrors of reality.
I'm surprised that he started writing TLW as a college freshman. It's not as rough as you'd expect; I mean, yeah, King's prose is rough when he intentionally writes it so, specifically his trademark stream-of-consciousness writing that borders on ranty.
And he didn't overdo it here, thank goodness. His writing suited the setting and the events of the Long Walk and gave a good picture of what was going on in Garraty's head while he walked and walked. To be honest, TLW's third person POV and Garraty are far more expressive and real than that of many recent YA novels (and to think, those ones are written in first person).
I really hope The Long Walk gets a movie, with actors who can accurately portray the physical and psychological suffering these one hundred boys go through. And with the popularity of The Hunger Games, hopefully soon!
I'm surprised that he started writing TLW as a college freshman. It's not as rough as you'd expect; I mean, yeah, King's prose is rough when he intentionally writes it so, specifically his trademark stream-of-consciousness writing that borders on ranty.
And he didn't overdo it here, thank goodness. His writing suited the setting and the events of the Long Walk and gave a good picture of what was going on in Garraty's head while he walked and walked. To be honest, TLW's third person POV and Garraty are far more expressive and real than that of many recent YA novels (and to think, those ones are written in first person).
Spoiler
It suffers from a rushed ending, what with how he handled McVries' and Stebbins' (especially Stebbins) deaths. McVries is one of the more important secondary characters and his exit doesn't receive the same dramatic treatment as Art Baker's, and Stebbins just collapses without an explanation. I wish King hadn't blazed through those last few pages. The last line is pretty damn powerful though.I really hope The Long Walk gets a movie, with actors who can accurately portray the physical and psychological suffering these one hundred boys go through. And with the popularity of The Hunger Games, hopefully soon!
kepheus's review against another edition
2.0
Let me admit it up front...I didn't get it. It was a perfectly serviceable story, but it doesn't hold up over time. That's not to say there's anything in particular about King's writing that anchor it to a particular time. But, given the volume of dystopic fiction hitting shelves and screens over the past several years - as much as I love Fallout, I'm sick to death of all forms of zombies - The Long Walk just doesn't hold me the way it once might have.
None of the characters are likable in any form. The assertion that all the boys are, for some reason or another, looking to die seems all the more apropos given how generally flat they are. Garraty is a sad sack who's never quite sure even why he signed up, even though he felt he just had to do it. Other than Stebbins, none of the boys ever offers a good reason. Are they in it just for pure greed? Then why are so few of them seemingly prepared? Stebbins, Scramm, Mike and Joe seem likely contenders (and Vegas had good odds on them), but they seem to be the exceptions. And yet they all unsurprisingly fall by the wayside for the local boy who couldn't be bothered to take a 5 mile hike along parts of the course.
And why are they walking through Maine? Yes, I get it, it's King's stomping grounds. All well and good if The Walk was a state-run thing, but it's a national contest. Seems pretty unfair to always start in the northeast when most states won't even get to see it.
I think that's the thing that got me the most about this story. There's so much backstory here we don't know and aren't told. I can forgive the lack of background in a short story, but this was long enough that I want...I need that level of world-building. Garraty is not someone who will fight a system that is willing to cheer 99 boys to their death, but it'd be nice to have an idea of how it got to a point where that became the norm.
None of the characters are likable in any form. The assertion that all the boys are, for some reason or another, looking to die seems all the more apropos given how generally flat they are. Garraty is a sad sack who's never quite sure even why he signed up, even though he felt he just had to do it. Other than Stebbins, none of the boys ever offers a good reason. Are they in it just for pure greed? Then why are so few of them seemingly prepared? Stebbins, Scramm, Mike and Joe seem likely contenders (and Vegas had good odds on them), but they seem to be the exceptions. And yet they all unsurprisingly fall by the wayside for the local boy who couldn't be bothered to take a 5 mile hike along parts of the course.
And why are they walking through Maine? Yes, I get it, it's King's stomping grounds. All well and good if The Walk was a state-run thing, but it's a national contest. Seems pretty unfair to always start in the northeast when most states won't even get to see it.
I think that's the thing that got me the most about this story. There's so much backstory here we don't know and aren't told. I can forgive the lack of background in a short story, but this was long enough that I want...I need that level of world-building. Garraty is not someone who will fight a system that is willing to cheer 99 boys to their death, but it'd be nice to have an idea of how it got to a point where that became the norm.
durwood's review against another edition
3.0
Sadly, reading this book was a long slow walk as well. I so wanted to love this book because the concept grabbed me - but the plot was just too predictable and there wasn't enough breadth to the characters to endear any of them to the reader.
I teetered between two and three stars but ultimately gave it a three because even with its faults, it was interesting enough to finish; that's something.
I teetered between two and three stars but ultimately gave it a three because even with its faults, it was interesting enough to finish; that's something.
jiulia's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
wendigo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
3.0
shoggoth_roof's review against another edition
5.0
Esta es una de las novelas de Stephen King que me recomendaron en el pasado Celsius 232 y me dijeron que uno de los puntos fuertes eran las relaciones entre los personajes y sus pequeñas historias. Me parece un resumen muy acertado de lo más destacado de esta obra y, si alguien más tiene dudas, añadiría que esta es una novela que te provoca incertidumbre y cierta angustia por saber qué va a ser de los participantes más conocidos.
En cuanto al mundo, tenemos algunas pinceladas y sabemos que es parecido al nuestro en tecnología y lugares. Sin embargo, el Comandante, los Escuadrones y la Larga marcha son tres aspectos que destacan y de los que no se explica mucho, pero que han tenido un gran impacto en el EE. UU. de esta historia. Resulta interesante, añade detalles, pero está explicado en su justa medida para no eclipsar lo que sucede durante la marcha en sí.
Una de las cosillas que más he disfrutado durante la lectura es la gran cantidad de referencias que tiene esta novela, ya sean a la cultura popular, a la literatura o incluso a la mitología. Me encantan este tipo de detalles.
La longitud de la obra es adecuada, ya que te permite conocer mejor a algunos de los participantes y encariñarte con ellos como para sentir sus muertes, pero tampoco es tan largo como para pedir que te den el pasaporte como lector. La novela consigue mantener el interés y la atmósfera durante unas 350 páginas y el final no me decepcionó y tampoco me pareció previsible (tenía varios posibles finales en mente y no fue ninguno de ellos).
En conclusión: si buscas una novela para pasar un mal rato pero que no contenga terror "en plan susto" o "de vísceras", es una gran opción. ¡Ojo! Esto no quita que la novela sea bastante angustiosa y que te sientas obligado a seguir pasando las páginas para ver cómo salen de cada aprieto o quién va a ganar finalmente.
Spoiler
La premisa es sencilla: los participantes, llamados Marchadores, de esta singular carrera optan a un premio: aquello que más deseen. A cambio solo puede haber un ganador, ya que todos los demás participantes serán asesinados o rematados cuando reciban el cuarto aviso por caminar más despacio de la velocidad estipulada en el reglamento. Cien hombres adolescentes participarán por diferentes motivos en esta macabra carrera e iremos conociendo un poco más de las vidas y motivaciones de algunos de ellos. Y aquí está uno de los puntos importantes de la obra: sientes pena y angustia porque te importan los personajes, porque los vas conociendo y la mayoría son más que un número y porque tampoco comprendes por qué demonios pensaron que esto era una buena idea. También hay personajes que se dejan odiar, como el propio Comandante que celebra esta locura anual o Barkovitch siendo un imbécil con los demás, y tenemos hasta personajes que son una masa, como los espectadores en los diferentes puntos de la marcha.En cuanto al mundo, tenemos algunas pinceladas y sabemos que es parecido al nuestro en tecnología y lugares. Sin embargo, el Comandante, los Escuadrones y la Larga marcha son tres aspectos que destacan y de los que no se explica mucho, pero que han tenido un gran impacto en el EE. UU. de esta historia. Resulta interesante, añade detalles, pero está explicado en su justa medida para no eclipsar lo que sucede durante la marcha en sí.
Una de las cosillas que más he disfrutado durante la lectura es la gran cantidad de referencias que tiene esta novela, ya sean a la cultura popular, a la literatura o incluso a la mitología. Me encantan este tipo de detalles.
La longitud de la obra es adecuada, ya que te permite conocer mejor a algunos de los participantes y encariñarte con ellos como para sentir sus muertes, pero tampoco es tan largo como para pedir que te den el pasaporte como lector. La novela consigue mantener el interés y la atmósfera durante unas 350 páginas y el final no me decepcionó y tampoco me pareció previsible (tenía varios posibles finales en mente y no fue ninguno de ellos).
En conclusión: si buscas una novela para pasar un mal rato pero que no contenga terror "en plan susto" o "de vísceras", es una gran opción. ¡Ojo! Esto no quita que la novela sea bastante angustiosa y que te sientas obligado a seguir pasando las páginas para ver cómo salen de cada aprieto o quién va a ganar finalmente.