Duma Key: A Novel
by Stephen King
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Book Reviews of Duma Key: A Novel
Book Review: Constant Readers Anonymous
Summary: 4 Stars
Hi. My name is Stranger Smith and I am a Constant Reader.
It started back in 1990 when I picked up a copy of Carrie at the K&S newsstand. A few weeks later I was back for more - `Salem's Lot, The Shining, The Stand. I was hooked and I loved it. Still do. I always read `em cover to cover even when it hurts, (Gerald's Game, Rose Madder) because I know that if I stick around I'll be rewarded. (It, The Green Mile, DT...)
So, here I am eighteen years later. A Constant Reader. An SK junkie. Here to talk about my last fix: Duma Key.
I've been sitting here listening to everyone speak on it and I must admit that I'm a little surprised that some of you say this is your favorite SK ever. Wow... but hey, to each his own, right? I'm also surprised at the utter contempt that some of you have. You'd think SK had raped your cat or something.
Some people say that 600 pages is too long. I'd say that's about average for SK.
Some say that there's too much product placement. If that bothers you, then you probably shouldn't read any more SK.
Oh, and the repetitive phrases. I believe that this is part of the character development that everyone praises. Haven't you ever known anyone that uses a certain word or phrase a lot? I once worked with a guy that called everyone "Hamma". I never knew what that meant. I think he was saying "hammer". One time he said to me: "Hand me that hamma, Hamma." I swear. So many people are up in arms because Wireman says some words in Spanish. One lady even referred to his use of "obnoxious Mexican-isms". (somebody call the pc police) I don't understand why this is so bothersome. Is it because you don't speak Spanish? I don't speak Spanish, but the two words that are used the most by far are "si" and "muchacho" and I know what they mean. On the rare occasion that a word or phrase was used that I didn't know the meaning of a translation was offered. This didn't bother me in the slightest.
On the whole I would have to say that Duma Key is really good, but it wouldn't make my top ten King books even if I counted DT as just one. I think that people who don't typically like the horror genre may like this book. At the same time, it does have its scary parts. The very first supernatural element in the book was really creepy as well as the ending. I would agree with most in that the character development was excellent as well as the pacing. I also agree that if you really liked Bag of Bones then you'll like this one as well, although I wouldn't call these creatures ghosts like some. They were something else.
One more thing and I'll sit down.
I googled SK and went read about 20 pages of interviews, fansites and reviews and I came across one site that was really weird. Some of you may have heard about it, but for those that haven't you may find it interesting. Google "stephen king john lennon", click on the first option and prepare yourself for the absurd.
Book Review: Not perfect, but one of his better recent books
Summary: 4 Stars
After a horrible construction site accident, Edgar Freemantle loses not only his right arm, but his wife. He is prone to fits of rage and his wife, Pam, claims he tried to kill her. Frustrated by his slow recovery, memory lapses, and the loss of his marriage, Edgar leaves his house in Minnesota and rents a house in Duma Key, Florida. Right from the beginning he knows there is something unique about the house (which he nicknames Big Pink) - the shells under the house seem to talk to him. Soon Edgar discovers that he has a previously undiscovered talent as an artist. He makes friends in Duma Key - Wireman, Elizabeth Eastlake (the woman Wireman works for), and Jack Cantori, but it is his painting he always goes back to. Soon Edgar discovers that his paintings have power, power that threatens to hurt the very people he cares the most about.
For the most part "Duma Key" is very good - one of the better recent Stephen King books. As always, one of King's strengths is his characters and he does a good job with Edgar's character. The book is written in the first person, narrated by Edgar, and readers will truly know him as a character by the end of the book. His struggle to recover after the accident is very well written - not surprising since King knows first hand what it is like. The other characters, especially Wireman, are also well written. Even characters that aren't in the book a lot, especially his daughter Ilse and his ex-wife Pam, are well done. Unfortunately King telegraphs the death of one character to the extent that when the death does happen, it doesn't have the shock value it should have. King also does a good job of making Duma Key and the houses there come alive (almost literally).
King's other big strength is his storytelling ability and that works for about 80% of the book. King takes his time setting up the story, but by the time he's done, you really will believe that Edgar can use his paintings to change things for the good or that they can even be deadly and that they have caused an evil spirit called Perse to rise from the dead. King walks a fine line with this plot and almost fails in a couple of spots (notably with the doll Noveen) but manages to pull it off. However, one of King's weakest points at times is his endings and that's true at the end of "Duma Key". The final confrontation involving an old house, a ghost ship, and Perse falls flat once Perse is revealed. It's so anticlimactic that you can't help but think - "that thing is what's killing people?" In the hands of another author it would almost be laughable, but King pulls it off - just barely.
Despite its flaws, "Duma Key" is one of the best of King's most recent works and Duma Key, Big Pink, and Edgar stayed with me long after I finished reading it.
Book Review: Five on the King Scale
Summary: 5 Stars
This was the first Stephen King I'd read in quite some time and for awhile I couldn't put it down. It's definitely a King novel-but still it's different in other ways. I have always noticed common plot elements or mechanisms throughout some of King's novels having read stacks of them as a kid-I'll number them as I go. There is quite often a(1.) car crash which in this case is in the form of a construction accident. Millionaire construction company owner Edgar Freemantle, the book's main character, goes through a grueling rehabilitation program with a severed arm and bum hip. In the process he loses his former life, gets a divorce, and suffers through uncontrollable fits of temper and excruciating pain. At the end of the first section, Freemantle's shrink suggests he do a "geographic" and he relocates down to Florida to recuperate and rediscover his talent for painting.
So goes the first section and I was hooked in. King has a quick pace and his prose writing is superb. The horror doesn't start until well into the last section of the book when Freemantle suddenly becomes a regional phenomenon through his paintings which manifest a supernatural power. Along the way, there's a (2.) spooky old lady and Freemantle has a (3.)drinking buddy. The story slowly builds up from a psychological novel into a horror story which is different than his early works. Still, there are some scary moments throughout the book. (4.)In the end he lines 'em all up and kills everybody like he always does but it seems to work. There is also the obligatory(5.)monster that suddenly appears on the scene when things fall apart. The fight with the alligator in the end shows King's strayed a long way from Maine. The ending is somewhat anti-climatic but it slowly grows on you.
I was actually a little put off by the horror sections because for 2/3's of the way through this book, it was the best written novel I've read in some time. This novel is somewhat autobiographic in nature, obviously considering King's recent history. The way he describes the day to day life of someone who has been seriously injured is, perhaps, masterful. The relationship with his youngest daughter, a central part of the story, is also well portrayed and realistic. King can make you believe what is happening is real and than everything goes to pieces when the horror sections start. That for me is one of the best parts of his talent.
I also like the way he uses the paintings that Freemantle creates to scare the living daylights out of you.
This is a quick read, pick it up and you can blast through a forest of pages in no time. I recommend it for non-King fans to.Duma Key: A Novel
Book Review: Expected more
Summary: 3 Stars
'Duma Key' is my first Stephen King book. Hailed as one of the greatest living American writers, King is primarily known to pen novels in the horror genre and that kept me from picking up his books earlier. I've recently been trying to expand my reading beyond the thriller genre and thought I'd give 'Duma Key' a shot. The strong characterization and vivid imagery made it clear why King is so popular but the supernatural elements didn't do much for me and so I finished the book with mixed feelings.
Egdar Freemantle, a building contractor, loses his right hand in a construction accident. He is considerably banged up and his wife, after experiencing a few of his bouts of uncontrollable rage, divorces him. Edgar's psychiatrist advices him that a change of location would do him good and asks him to once again take up sketching as a part of rehabilitation. So Edgar moves to Duma Key, an undeveloped strip of the Florida coast. Once there, he meets Elizabeth Eastlake, a woman whose history is tightly bound with that of the area, and her helper Wireman, who seems to have a mysterious past. Edgar himself discovers a talent for painting and soon learns that his paintings have more power than he ever imagined.
King has an uncanny knack of conveying the characters' innermost thoughts and this comes in handy since the novel is a first-person narrative. We understand exactly how Edgar feels and his thoughts(about his lost hand), fears(about the house and the strange happenings) and feelings(for his ex-wife and daughters) are wonderfully conveyed. This helps, especially when the novel begins to move into the supernatural realm, since it makes things more believable. As Edgar begins painting masterpieces and slowly comes to terms with the fact that Duma Key is special, we accept it more easily since we've been with him as he discovered things. And though we meet the important characters only through Edgar, they feel well-fleshed out too since we've been privy to Edgar's thoughts about them.
As Edgar comes to grips with his talent and ponders over his relationships, the story leans towards the psychological. The suspense is also built up very well as we learn bits and pieces of Elizabeth's history and understand exactly how it ties in to all the strange things Edgar's been experiencing.
This book has made me realise that horror in written form doesn't have much of an effect of me. The pshychological aspect of the book gradually gives way to the supernatural but the supernatural elements are never scary. King is very imaginative and his imagery does create some vivid images, especially on that last action-packed mission that Edgar and Wireman go on, but since they are not scary, the book isn't intense or gripping.
Book Review: One of Stephen King's best
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, it's scary. Yes, it's long. But this new novel is more than just another Stephen King book. With a streamlined style and a plot that's never predictable, it's King at his crisp, clear, page-turning best. Before you read further, let me acknowledge I'm incredibly biased here. Not only have I been a Stephen King fan ever since 1975's 'Salem's Lot, I live on a small island off the west coast of Florida, exactly where this story takes place. Great sunsets, a beach lined with huge rental homes, a populace of "the newly wed and the living dead".... they're all part and parcel to this story, and all around me as I sit here typing on my little porch.
Beyond the colorful setting, "Duma Key" combines the concepts of bodies gone bad and creativity gone wild -- typical King material -- with the everlasting powers of friendship and love. It's a great beach read, an outstanding character study, a terrific horror story and, eventually, an uplifting tale of moral redemption.
Obviously that's plenty of raw material, but King masters it all, with a writing style that's better than ever. As always his imagery is simply stated yet memorably vivid -- waves, for example, crash on the beach with the sound of "the breath of some large sleeping creature" -- and even the most basic sentences and paragraphs have a perfect mix of energy, grace and wit. This time, however, King really takes his time, with a slow pace that allows for plenty of character development and story detail. Lead character Edgar Freemantle is a bit edgier than the standard King protagonist (he loses his arm in a freak accident, and has trouble controlling his rage) and I was especially riveted by the portrayal of the old woman Elizabeth Eastlake, a lifelong islander with Alzheimer's disease. Some of the best moments occur when nothing much is happening, such as when Edgar argues with his wife or the many times he struggles with his sanity.
Eventually, of course, the plot takes off with a vengeance, and soon the pace winds so tight that by the time terror knocks at the door, you just know it's coming in.
I don't know if I've ever pored through so many pages so fast.
My other favorite Stephen King books are:
The Shining
The Stand
On Writing