I spent the first half of this book trying to decide if I
had read this book before. The conclusion I came to is that I had, in fact, not
read this book, but read ones pretty similar to it by King. I haven’t taken the
time, and don’t really have the inclination to look into this, but I’d say the
first dozen years of King’s career were books with pretty similar pacing, plot
devices, and writing style. It wasn’t until maybe the mid-80s that he started
to expand his toolbox.
That’s not to say it wasn’t entertaining. A possessed car. A
bit of sex. A bit of childhood friendship gone bad. A taste of 1950s culture.
Overall, pretty standard stuff and easily accessible to the reader.
I didn’t read this as fast as I should have, basically because
I’ve been overwhelmed by a side project I’ve been working on and have forfeited
one night a week to a return to journalism.
I think what King does best is tug on the average American’s
heart with nostalgia. In this one, it’s the snapshots of young friendships. We
can all relate to hanging out with the best friend, watching the tube, and
eating junk food. Heck, I spent part of the book with my mind jogging back in
time. This use of nostalgia puts us in the characters shoes. We understand
their experiences. It’s an effective writing device.
Overall, this is an easy read, has some fun parts, and
includes a song quote at the beginning of each chapter, which I know Snake
would love. For me, I am through a stack
of King books now, so it’ll be nice to check out some other writers.
Up next: American Gods by Neil Gaiman
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