My Stephen King Problem

[Bekah]

I had never been able to read King until this past year when I read 11/22/63 because I was curious what he would do with the subject of time travel.  King is usually too horrific for me .  In that way I think I'm similar to Dwight Allen, the author of the article - I don't like scary books (movies are okay).   So I thought 11/22/63 was pretty good,  interesting,  page-turning.  Got me thinking about how parallel universes might be used in time travel books.   ???    But it wasn't what I call well-written - it was schlock.  

Anyway,  also like the author of the article,   I went on to read another book by King, The Stand,  supposedly his really "great" one.   (Some of my friends are huge fans of King.) Bo-ring.  This is not for people who enjoy interesting literature.  This is for people who want a traditional structure with lots of action,  straightforward character development, comfortable (clichéd) metaphors and zero critical thinking.  Fine - for hospital reading when you're too sick or worried to think anyway.  Also, it can make for fairly good movies.   :-)   And this is the stuff of most popular Young Adult fiction on the market  - 15 - 20-year olds love it and many folks never outgrow that stage.  

All that said,  I do appreciate King for his work in publishing  (and that's what his award was for!),  using his clout to really support new authors and technologies.   

Bekah


On Jul 11, 2012, at 5:23 AM, Mark Kohut wrote:

> My problem:
> I would rather read Stephen King, whom I cannot read, than this guy any day. 
> 
> Horror as the subtext of life in these United States is why one might read him. (As well as for his 
> presentation of small town, mostly Maine, life.)
> 
> In another of those critical compendia that Bloom put his name to--he expresses his massive distaste in his intro---
> it is universal fears, myths involving death, that King has tapped into. Pet Semetary. (Doesn't the writer here
> wilfully miss King's meaning when King says it won't be published. King knew ANY publisher would publish
> anything he wrote; he meant he was too afraid to publish it.)
> 
> A better reader than this guy, Michael Wood, devoted a whole book to King. Tapping into US,
> with mythic power (at times). Although I think he finds him ultimately not good enough.(just
> browsed in the book once)
> 
> But, c'mon. "Carrie: is a powerful....story? Myth of adolescence, female and therefore rare? 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Dave Monroe <against.the.dave at gmail.com>
> To: pynchon -l <pynchon-l at waste.org>
> Cc: 
> Sent: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 10:07 PM
> Subject: My Stephen King Problem
> 
> http://www.salon.com/2012/07/06/my_stephen_king_problem_salpart/
>