Sunday, March 02, 2008

Duma Key

Duma Key: Stephen King: When I first read the premise of this book, about a man who is in a horrific, life-changing accident, I thought to myself, "No, Steve, please! Not another story that is really about your own accident -- get past it, write about something else!" I turned out to be very glad that King returned to that gold mine of his accident yet again to turn out Duma Key. The novel is set in Minnesota first, where our protagonist, Edgar Freemantle (if you're a fan of King's, Edgar is no relation, as far as I can tell, to Abigail Freemantle of The Stand), has his accident. It is one he is lucky to emerge from alive; he does lose his arm and his marriage though. Believing a change of scenery will help, Edgar moves to a Florida Gulf Coast barrier island, called Duma Key. There, after long hard work, many things blossom for him, including an artistic talent that's always been there but he's never worked with it much before. On Duma Key, this talent becomes so great that he is given a show in a local gallery; of course, this being a Stephen King novel, we've known all along that there's something sinister about his newly developed talent. Edgar begins to discover that he can make things happen with his art and the plot unfolds from there, revealing the unsettling past of one of the island's two other residents. This novel is part psychological thriller and part supernatural thriller, but very rarely is it straight up horror. It's also the best novel Stephen King has written in awhile. I can still hear the shells whispering underneath Big Pink.

Friday Shuffle -- the Sunday Edition
  1. ELT: Wilco from Summerteeth
  2. Your Heart is an Empty Room: Death Cab for Cutie from Plans
  3. Alright: Joan Armatrading from Into the Blues
  4. Unwritten: Natasha Bedingfield from 2007 Grammy Nominees
  5. Wrapped Around Her: Joan Armatrading from Square the Circle
  6. Taxi Ride: Tori Amos from Scarlet's Walk
  7. My Heart: Lizz Wright from The Orchard
  8. No More Walks in the Wood: Eagles from Long Road Out of Eden
  9. Rough and Rocky: Emmylou Harris from Blue Kentucky Girl
  10. What the Devil Wanted: Whiskeytown from Pneumonia

4 comments:

Marshamlow said...

The only novel I have read by Stephen King is Misery and I loved it so much I am surprised I haven't read more. I like the sound of this one. I will have to put it on my list. I hope you enjoyed all this fabulous weather over the weekend. I am getting a little bit tired of all the weather changes but the warm spells are so great I guess I should stop complaining. Any advice about the gnats, we are covered in bites.

Kristina said...

I am expecting a full report on your Wilco experience last night!!! :)

sari said...

I just got this book today! I'm so excited to read it.

Kathy said...

Kristina: it's been almost a week and I can't figure what to say!

Sari: I think you will like it better than Lisey's Story.