Telling Lisey's Story
Jamieson Villeneuve
June 30, 2007
I love Stephen King.
He has a way of writing that pulls you in and, before you know it, you’re deep into a story, caring for characters and waiting with anticipation to find out how everything will finish up. With a King novel though, things never go in the direction you think they will.
That’s part of what makes him a great writer. He always keeps the writer guessing and still manages to shock readers after writing for decades. Not every writer can stay fresh over such a long period of time. But King is constantly changing, developing and trying new things. It’s what sets him apart from everyone else.
His crowning achievement, in my opinion, is Lisey’s Story.
Now, I know that he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but Lisey’s Story will satisfy even the pickiest reader. Stephen King has really written a literary love story that has little horror but lots of emotion.
Lisey Landon is a grieving widow. Her husband, prize winning novelist Scott Landon, has died and Lisey is cleaning out his office. While she goes over the pieces of paper and old manuscript pages, she is assailed with memories long forgotten of a place Scott used to tell her bout: Boo’ya Moon. A place where shadows breathed and the impossible was possible.
Lisey has more to worry about than old papers and painful memories, however. There is a crazed fan, a man with no morals. He believes that there is a lost novel by Scott Landon and will do anything it takes to get his hands on it. Even if it means killing Lisey.
Trying to fight memories that are coming to the surface, Lisey must use these memories to remember everything she has forced herself to forget or she may die before her own story has finished its run.
This is without a doubt the best book that Stephen King has written. It’s got something for everyone: romance, suspense, a bit of horror, a dash of fantasy.
The book is the closest King has come to writing a literary work and it’s so different from his regular work here. There is depth here; depth of character and of plot. There is beauty here as well. Though some of the pages have sharp teeth, it’s an engaging story from the first word to the last.
The book clocks in at over five hundred pages (over six hundred in its new paperback form) but the entire novel is a masterpiece. Despite being so different from everything else he has written, I think this is actually one of the books strengths. There have been comparisons to Rose Madder and Gerald’s Game, but in my opinion, Lisey’s Story stands on its own as there is nothing to compare it to.
What makes Lisey’s Story so gorgeous is its beauty. Lisey is a woman we all know thrust into incredible circumstances. Instead of a story about the everyman, we are told the story of the every woman. It’s a story I want to read again and again. And you will too. All you have to do is turn to the first page.
And start reading.
He has a way of writing that pulls you in and, before you know it, you’re deep into a story, caring for characters and waiting with anticipation to find out how everything will finish up. With a King novel though, things never go in the direction you think they will.
That’s part of what makes him a great writer. He always keeps the writer guessing and still manages to shock readers after writing for decades. Not every writer can stay fresh over such a long period of time. But King is constantly changing, developing and trying new things. It’s what sets him apart from everyone else.
His crowning achievement, in my opinion, is Lisey’s Story.
Now, I know that he’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but Lisey’s Story will satisfy even the pickiest reader. Stephen King has really written a literary love story that has little horror but lots of emotion.
Lisey Landon is a grieving widow. Her husband, prize winning novelist Scott Landon, has died and Lisey is cleaning out his office. While she goes over the pieces of paper and old manuscript pages, she is assailed with memories long forgotten of a place Scott used to tell her bout: Boo’ya Moon. A place where shadows breathed and the impossible was possible.
Lisey has more to worry about than old papers and painful memories, however. There is a crazed fan, a man with no morals. He believes that there is a lost novel by Scott Landon and will do anything it takes to get his hands on it. Even if it means killing Lisey.
Trying to fight memories that are coming to the surface, Lisey must use these memories to remember everything she has forced herself to forget or she may die before her own story has finished its run.
This is without a doubt the best book that Stephen King has written. It’s got something for everyone: romance, suspense, a bit of horror, a dash of fantasy.
The book is the closest King has come to writing a literary work and it’s so different from his regular work here. There is depth here; depth of character and of plot. There is beauty here as well. Though some of the pages have sharp teeth, it’s an engaging story from the first word to the last.
The book clocks in at over five hundred pages (over six hundred in its new paperback form) but the entire novel is a masterpiece. Despite being so different from everything else he has written, I think this is actually one of the books strengths. There have been comparisons to Rose Madder and Gerald’s Game, but in my opinion, Lisey’s Story stands on its own as there is nothing to compare it to.
What makes Lisey’s Story so gorgeous is its beauty. Lisey is a woman we all know thrust into incredible circumstances. Instead of a story about the everyman, we are told the story of the every woman. It’s a story I want to read again and again. And you will too. All you have to do is turn to the first page.
And start reading.