Lisey’s Story

I just finished Lisey\’s Story today, and I have to say that if this book and Cell signal a new turn for Stephen King, I\’m happy about it. As with Cell, King is talking about bigger things within the context of horror, but with this book he\’s also talking about them within the context of a long marriage. This time they\’re the presence of love, and language and myth. Lisey\’s Story doesn\’t follow the standard King map many may expect. Nobody\’s holed up in a cellar or a car or an abandoned building with a monster at the door. There are horrific parts and suspenseful parts, but those looking for a gorefest will probably be disappointed. That may be the reason why some reviewers complained about a slow start. I didn\’t find it slow, however; the seed of the plot is planted when the \”incuncs\” are introduced. \”Incunc\” is Lisey\’s malapropism for \”incunabula,\” or rare, unpublished manuscripts that are often in the author\’s own hand. Scholars expect that Lisey\’s departed husband, a writer, has left some behind and they want to get their hands on them. The scholars are what Lisey calls the \”incuncs,\” and the book goes back and forth between their presence in the present time, and Lisey\’s memories of her marriage. I\’m not a big love story person, so I almost didn\’t get this book. But I\’m glad I did. This isn\’t Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennett; this is two messed-up people, both with problems, who managed to stay together and like it in spite of everything. I found that inspiring and touching. Moreover, King\’s prose style has improved a lot over the last three decades (as we might hope!), but he still knows how to tell a good story. Mare Winningham does a great job on the narration as well. Highly recommended.

We should just quit reviewing King. The words have all been said. I hope he\’s exercising and eating right, because it\’s going to be one sad day when he\’s gone. I passed this novel by for several years, and I don\’t know why. It\’s excellent and his storyline blows in a different direction..more driven by character development than by horror and suspense. Although there is plenty of that also. If you haven\’t read it, you might as well put it in your cart. You\’re going to soon or later anyway.

Lisey\’s story was a superb reflection of how this writer\’s mind works minus unnecessary gore. Story was spellbinding, building slowly to an incredible finish. The reader was one of the finest I\’ve heard and she made the story come to life.

I am a fan of Mr. King\’s earlier works, I wasn\’t much in love with The Cell; but this one. Oh this one…. Some people have said they\’ve gotten lost in the language. I, too, have gotten lost. But in that magical way that happens when charaters come to life. Every family has an \”inner language\”. It\’s just a question of listening long enough to understand what they\’re saying. This tale was beautiful, intelligent, heartbreaking, and an absolute anthem to love. But let\’s not forget, this is still the talented Mr. King, and he does not disappoint. That essential feeling of something lurking just out of sight or beyond the grasp of our Everyday Senses is right there; a thread running continuously throughout this magnificent tale. And then there\’s the reader. Mare Winningham did an amazing job of characterizing the voices; even her breath and whispers were impeccably timed. Ms. Winningham\’s voice picked me up, envelopped me and surrounded me with the lives of people who seemed so real. Well done! to both Mr. King for the creation of this superbly written work and to Ms. Winningham for her telling of same.

This one shook and rattled me throughout. There are two Stephen Kings, apparently. There is the superficial monster-story writer who creates fascinating and creepy tales of humans fighting for survival amongst supernatural carnage, and there is the keen observer of the human condition who tells stories of human exploration of grief and joy, happiness and bitterness, love, death, and the whole range of questions surrounding human existence. This book has both, but it concentrates on the latter. Told through the eyes of a middle-aged widow haunted by her famous husband\’s legacy, this is maybe the most sober story King has told. The heroine is not super-human, is not exceptional in the way most heroes are, yet she struggles through emotional turmoil, real life catastrophes, and a supernatural force she cannot fully grasp. The writing is powerful and touching, with vivid scenes of mystery and horror, as well as tender scenes of loss, grief, redemption, and understanding. And through it all is a thinly-veiled timeless metaphor which is easier to recognize than identify. Read this one, \”Bag of Bones,\” and \”Duma Key,\” and you might just find yourself comparing King not unfavorably to Charles Dickens, for his observation of the everyday world and his introspective identification of human motives. True, whereas Dickens often had a light, humorous prose, King\’s is nostalgic bordering on morose, but both reach beyond the story they are telling to touch on truths just out of your reach. Yeah, I liked it. And the reading by Mare Winningham is as impressive as King\’s writing in this. Maybe moreso, at times. She puts a delicate interpretation on lines, even words, that draw out elements you don\’t notice otherwise. Good story, good read. Highly recommended.

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