12 Dec 2019, 7:05am
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Kate’s 2¢: “The Stand” by Stephen King

“The Stand” by Stephen King

 

Kate’s 2¢: There is a plethora of in-depth biographies of authors and reviews of their books, that state the title, author, published date, and genre; as well as,     describing what the book is about, setting, and character(s), so, Kate’s 2¢ merely shares my thoughts about what I read.  I’m just saying…

 

Cornucopia

08/07/2003 Wayne County STAR Newspaper

 

Men’s Dangerous Toys

 

As the mother of a teenager in turmoil, I felt I should read every book she was reading.  That meant reading many Stephen King books as well as other authors of that genre, ilk and flavor.  It really bothered me that my youngin’ was reading such graphic descriptions of the darker side of life.

When I asked the librarian to guide her to what I thought were other, healthier gooks, I was told that would be censorship and they could/would not do that.  Well, I’ll save that topic for another day!

Recently, the NLS (National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped) sent “the Stand” by Stephen King to me on flexible recording.   They say that to be a writer, you must not only write, but read, read, read.     It is my policy to read one side of every story NLS sends me.  Then I’ll continue reading the story or send it back.

King is rather successful, so, I put on my author-doing-research hat and read King’s “The Stand”.  I found it picqued my personal and professional curiosity.

 

Personally, as a writer of short, light and lively pieces, I’m amazed that anyone can write for more than 800 pages and still hold your attention!  He does this very well, although, I suspect youngsters reading this long a book, would get bogged down in the details of the gory and gruesome aspects of the theme, which is the conflict of good vs evil; the spiritual vs the physical; and that it is a conflict that is within each of us.  There will come a time in our life when we must make our stand.

Professionally, I was intrigued by how King was able to introduce so many characters.  It was like a cast of thousands right in the beginning.  It was hard to keep them all straight, only to have them die in the pandemic super flu.  Eventually, the main characters emerged to advance the plot;   converge into a struggling new community ; and then diverge after the conflagration to carry the story to its conclusion.  Or was it a beginning?

There were several passages in the 823-pages (33-sides on the flexible recording( where I thought: Cut! Rewrite!; only to realize that it was through the skillful manipulation of words did he build the scene, emotion and impact.  I have such a vivid mental image of the events, that I don’t ever want to see the movie — if it is a movie.

 

The dialogue was fitting to each of the characters.  Stu Reddman (my spelling of names may be different than the print) had the right amount of Tex-Arkana drawl; Glenn, the Sociologist, had the right vocabulary; and Tom Cullens, the mentally challenged man who saved the whole plot, had the correct repetition of phrases.

With the author’s omniscient voice, even CoJack, the faithful dog, added his thoughts, well within the limits of his super dog character. My first guide dog, Future Grace, was a bit of a super dog, too, so I found CoJack very believable.

I suspect Stu stated the moral of the story when he told Fran: We need a season of rest…Peter will tell his own children, warn them, that those toys are death. Flash burns and radiation sickness, and black, choking plague: these toys are dangerous.  The devil was in those brains   guided them hands when they were made. Don’t play with these toys, dear children.  Please.  Not ever again.  Please, let this empty world be your copy book.

Would I like to meet the creative giant behind this literary phenominom?  Oh, Dear Gussie, let’s just say that I’d be more comfortable in a convention of  823 elementary children and one guide dog!

Source: “The Stand” by Stephen King.  Published by Double Day and Company, Inc.  Copyright 1978.  823 pages. (Narrated by Diane Islanderg for the NLS, April, 1979.).

 

The stand DB12942

King, Stephen. Reading time: 32 hours, 11 minutes.

Read by Diane Eilenberg.

 

Supernatural and Horror Fiction

 

‘Superflu,’ an experimental virus that can kill every conceivable type of antibody the human organism can muster against it, hits the United States and the world, rapidly wiping out the whole of civilization–except for the one-half of one percent who are immune. Spine-chilling moral fantasy. Some strong language and some explicit descriptions of sex.

 
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