MARION HILL

Book Review 22: Stephen King’s Bag of Bones

by | Jul 5, 2012 | 2012 Book Reviews, Book Reviews, Marion's Favorite Books | 6 comments

What happens when you fulfill one of your bucket list items?

Do you feel a sense of achievement?  Satisfied?  Surprised?  Disappointed?

Well, I can write that after reading Bag of Bones, I felt all of those feelings except disappointed.

As you know, Stephen King was on my reading bucket list and Bag of Bones was the choice of my readers for the next novel that I would read and review. I got a double whammy and a 2-for-1 special with this book.

Bag of Bones is the story of Mike Noonan, a bestselling novelist with a great life until his wife dies in an accident near their Western Maine summer home. From that accident, Mike’s life is turned upside down and inside out.

Because of that event, Mike gets writers block, discovers their summer home is haunted and has a connection to the town’s lurid past, and is caught in the middle of a family custody battle with a woman half his age that has a beautiful three year old daughter and realizes that he deeply loves both of them.

This is a moody, atmospheric story and it felt like I was reading a John Irving or Richard Ford novel with a huge paint splattering of Stephen King over the top.  Bag of Bones qualifies for the first literary ghost love story I’ve ever read.

One of the things, I really enjoyed in this novel was King’s ability to show the pressures of a writer trying to produce the next bestselling book:

“Readers have a loyalty that cannot be matched anywhere else in the creative arts, which explains why so many writers who have run out of gas can keep coasting anyway, propelled onto the bestselller lists by the magic words AUTHOR OF on the covers of their books.

What the publisher wants in return, especially from an author who can be counted on to sell 500,000 or so copies of each novel in hardcover and a million more in paperback, is perfectly simple: a book a year.

Less than a book a year and you’re screwing up the publisher’s investment in you, hampering your business manager’s ability to continue floating all of your credit cards, and jeopardizing your agent’s ability to pay his shrink on time. Also, there’s always some fan attrition when you take too long.”

That section and the conversation with his agent was the most honest parts of the novel.  It felt like King wanted his readers to understand some of the burden he has being one of America’s bestselling novelists.

Moreover, I felt King wanted to show in this story the power of wealth and how it can control an entire small town. The good ol’ boy network and hate can make you do something that you will regret for the rest of your life and affect succeeding generations.

After reading Bag of Bones, I’ve learned that King is a gifted storyteller and I can see why he became one of our greatest bestselling novelists.  I know he is a polarizing author, but I believe he is a true talent and should be recognized as such.

I would recommend this novel an introduction to Stephen King’s work and also a good story to add to your reading bucket list.

6 Comments

  1. Michael Cargill

    The King is one of my favourite authors actually, but if there is one thing that annoys me about his books, it’s that he often struggles with the endings.

    Bag of Bones was no exception!

    Reply
    • kammbia1

      Thanks for your comment, Michael. I have heard that criticism about King. However, the ending in Bag of Bones didn’t seem awkward or out of place to me. I will admit it was a little longer than it needed to be. But, I didn’t think it took away from the story.

      Marion

      Reply
  2. Cecelia Dowdy

    I’ve never read a complete SK novel. I started The Dark Half several years ago but got to scared to finish. I’m not as squeamish as I used to be, so, I might give him another try. Have you ever read this book, On Writing? Great book. If you haven’t read it, you should give it a try.

    Reply
    • kammbia1

      Cecelia,

      I will admit there are some squeamish parts in Bag of Bones. However, I felt more weird that scared…even though they were ghosts throughout the story. LOL! Also, I will admit there is strong language and he deals with racial issues in the novel as well. Like I wrote in my review….it felt like I was reading a literary novel more than a horror novel most of the time.

      I heard that On Writing was really good. I will have to check it out. Thanks for the recommendation.

      Marion

      Reply
  3. Katharine

    Hi Marion,

    It’s Katharine from Lit Fiction Group.

    I’m so glad you enjoyed your first King novel. I’ve been a big fan of his from the beginning — despite all his faults.

    While you were reading Bag of Bones, I was reading his 11/22/63 in which someone went back in time to the Kennedy murder. It was, as they say, a great ride & I spent most of an entire day finishing it.
    It did not have a crummy ending — although I wonder what Michael (above) might think.

    I love a big huge complicated novel, and this one was. Let me know if you ever read it.

    Reply
    • kammbia1

      Hello Katharine,

      Thanks for your comments. I did really enjoy Bag of Bones. Much better than I expected.

      I have not read 11/22/63. I haven’t decided what my next King novel. I’ve told that Dead Zone or Misery are the next King novels I should read. But we will see.

      Marion

      Reply

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