|
|
Average Customer Rating: 
Bag of Bones >
Customer Review #1:
 A tour de force
Bag of Bones is Stephen Kings most gripping, unnerving, and masterfully written novel Ive ever read. Ive read many of his works in the past and this has to be my favorite (though its not easy to choose). Now, I rarely opt for the gothic romance sort of thing; but what really hooks me is Stephen Kings marvelous way of introducing imagery that the audience associates with the norm- everyday things we can trust to be predictable- and twisting it into terrifying new heights. Bag of Bones follows novelist Mike Noonan, whos wifes death is a wound that time will not heal, leaving him weak and stricken with an extremely violent case of writers block. He is haunted with feverish nightmares of his summer home which he calls Sara Laughs, a place practically soaked with lives long since past. After four years, he reluctantly returns, seeking inspiration and relief from his crumbling fortitude and is immediately pulled into the custody battle of a 21 year old trailer dwelling woman named Mattie Devore, who is trying to save her child, Kyra, from the clutches of her horrid millionaire father in law Max Devore; a man that the reader will be ashamed to share a species with. Noonan falls in love with Mattie and Kyra and defends them from Max Devore, the rumor mill, and Stephen Kings trademark evils of small town America, while the forces of Sara Laughs unfold a century old mystery of the early 1900s black singer Sara Tidwell and the grisly circumstances surrounding her. While certainly discursive, it never drags. The story is mesmerizing, gripping, and unique; while Stephen King has moved on from horror fiction, his work remains thought provoking, witty, shocking, and overall very powerful.
Bag of Bones >
Customer Review #2:
King-Revisited....
Bag of Bones was my first Stephen King read in a number of years. About halfway through The Tommyknockers, I felt like I had been there, done that time and again with him. I was fed up.....Jump forward, 11 years, to the publication of Bag of Bones. The dust jacket makes it look like typical King territory, but inside, there is a wonder to behold. Mike Noonan, author, widower, and grief-stricken man leaves his home for the cabin he and his wife shared, Sara Laughs. There he is not only haunted by her memory, but seemingly by her voice as well. He laments that there is nowhere to escape the loss he feels, even here, and finds it impossible to resume his writing career, with deadlines looming, and his stockpile of backup stories dwindling fast. Mike is drawn into a local power-play courtesy of Max Devore, the towns resident wealthy control freak, against the mother of his three year-old granddaughter and the child herself. Mike instantly feels sympathetic and protective to them both, and finds himself biting off more than he thought in extending his friendship to them. Suddenly, his ability to write returns, but the voices do not cease to come. And the more time Mike spends at Sara Laughs, the further he is drawn into the realm of ghosts there that extend far beyond that of his deceased wife. Bag of Bones is not a horror novel. Do not read it expecting gremlins, ghouls, or gore...what made King famous in the first place. Do expect a tale of loss, despair, frustration, and chance to begin again after suffering a terrible loss. As I have stated in other King book reviews, the man writes best when he leaves behind the demons that lurk in shadows and under beds, and probes the demons that lie in peoples minds instead. This has to be my favorite of all Stephen King novels I have read, and was sufficient enough to make me take a look at some of his more recent, pre-Bones works, such as Rose Madder, and the Long Walk. For anyone who felt as I did all those years ago, that you had read it all before, pick this book up and give King another shot to entertain you.
Bag of Bones >
Customer Review #3:
Moving, Gripping, Satisfying.
In true King fashion, Bag of Bones is a literary masterpiece and a tale to scare you out of your wits. The cover jacket gives this description in the opening paragraph: "Stephen Kings most gripping and unforgettable novel, Bag of Bones, is a story of grief and a lost loves enduring bonds, of a new love haunted by the secrets of the past, of an innocent child caught in a terrible crossfire." This book mixes the supernatural with reality and fate with coincidence, giving you a terrific ride and bringing you to a startling conclusion.I am continually impressed with the way Kings mind seems to work. Every page in each of his books is carefully and strategically planned out. It doesnt take much to write a book, but it takes a lot to write a good book. Without fail, King continually provides his audience with good books that are entertaining, moving, and fulfilling.
|
|
