Duma Key: A Novel
by Stephen King
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Book Reviews of Duma Key: A Novel
Book Review: "Duma Key" By Stephen King
Summary: 5 Stars
If you want my thought on my Duma Key, I Think that it is a great book, i wouldn't go as far as saying that it's King's best but to me at least it's one of his best.
Duma Key tells the story of a man named Edgar Freemantle, Edgar is well I guess you might call him a billionare maybe si mabey no although he dose have a lot of money, the reason well Edgar runs his own construction company. One day while geting ready to go home Edgar gets into an accident it really is a horrible one, one that cripples him the accident causes Edgar to lose his right arm and badley hurt his right leg and if that wasent bad enough it also crushes his skull.
This whole thing puts Edgar in the hospital, Edgar who dosent really know who he is, who his wife is or what things around him are called. you might imange that this causes Edgar to do things he can't quite remember even when he's outside of the hospital back in his house. during one of his rehab/workout sessions Edgar's wife (Pam) comes in and anounces that she wants a divorce, the reasoning behind this Edgar hasent been the same since the accident and he strangeld her even though he dosent remember doing this.
during the process of the divorce Edgar goes to his tharpist Doctor Xander Kamen, Kamen asks Edgar if there was anything that he did before the accident. Edgar says that he used to sketch, Dr Kamen tells him to start doing this again soemthing he calls hedges in the night, he also tells Edgar to get a change of enviorment maybe move somewere for the next year or so. Edgar comes up with a few places and finnaly dedides on a place called Duma Key, Florida.
Edgar takes up his sketching and drawing again and finds out he's pretty good at it, an inner voice tells him that he should take up painting and well he dose, painting things that are Sereal basing his paintings on the work of Slavador Dali.
While in Duma Key Edgar Meets some people including the people next door to him on the key Jermone Wiremen and Elizabeth Eastlake.
No doubt Duma key will keep you up reading well into the night, one of my favorite King stories so far and a higlhly recomended one 5/5
Book Review: Not Perfect, but a Return to Form
Summary: 4 Stars
I'm a big fan of Stephen King, but I'm not a huge fan of most of his output since 1990 (with the huge exception of THE GREEN MILE). I think DUMA KEY is a big step in the right direction, however.
DUMA KEY begins very well. There's a very lengthy set-up that I found quite fascinating, about a wealthy man named Edgar Freemantle who lost his right arm in a tragic accident. Depressed about his situation, Freemantle decides to move to Duma Key, Florida for a change of scenery. He decides to pursue his early love of painting, and discovers an inner talent that may be due to a supernatural source.
The best part of DUMA KEY is undoubtedly the characterization. King spends a lot of time developing the character of Edgar Freemantle, and I found myself growing to like him quite a bit. His struggles with his injuries, his relationships with his ex-wife and two daughters, his discovery of the art world -- all of this is done in a first-rate manner.
Unfortunately, I didn't enjoy the last third of DUMA KEY very much at all. After setting up the characters, King constructs a rather unbelievable explanation for Edgar's new-found abilities. People start dying en masse, and Edgar starts running around Duma Key with two sidekicks like an action hero (with a lot of "humorous" dialogue that I really didn't find very funny). This part of the book doesn't flow very well at all. There's a flurry of activity, but very little true suspense.
I would have loved this book if King just stuck with Edgar's psychological and family struggles. Unfortunately, King decided not to pursue this path, and I found all the supernatural elements of the plot to be quite silly and flat.
Still, despite these problems, this is probably the most enjoyable book I've read by King in a while. Of all his most recent books, this is the one that reminds me the most of his tightly plotted horror books from the 1970s and 1980s. In my opinion, it's a hundred times better than books like LISEY'S STORY or FROM A BUICK 8. So I think it's definitely worth reading if you're a King fan.
Three and a half stars.
Book Review: A Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
Duma Key isn't a single story. It's a combination of two intermingled (and inseparable) tales, each drastically different from the other.
The first story is a typical King concept; a sinister, far-reaching force and its effects on the protagonists. This tale, while impressive in execution and extremely interesting, isn't so great compared to King's pure-horror works (Pet Sematary, The Shinning, Gerald's Game, Misery, Bag of Bones, etc.).
The other story isn't supernatural at all. Instead, it focuses on the everyday life of Edgar Freemantle, a man who has lost his arm and suffered brain damage in a crippling accident. His family life is in shambles, he's no longer interested in his work, and he contemplates suicide. At the urging of his doctor, Edgar moves to Florida, hoping the change would help him get on with his life.
Day by day, we watch as Edgar extends his long and painful beach walks, meets new people, and communicates with his family and the folks from his "previous life". The recurring theme of King's books (that art and creativity can have a healing effect) mingles with the horror story, creating a disturbing mix in which art can both mend and kill.
The book truly comes alive during dialogue. Edgar's friendship with Wireman, his dealings with his ex-wife, his interaction with his daughters, and the conversations he has with miss Eastlake, all feel like they were taken straight out of real life. As always, there is a small caste of main characters and a large number of supporting characters, and each and every one of them leaves an impression in the reader's mind. For example, even a passing comment that Bozeman would hate knowing Edgar calls him "Bozie" gives us great insight into the personality of an unimportant character - King effectively makes us believe that, even though he's irrelevant to the story, Bozie is still an actual human being with a real life.
I could go on writing praise for Duma Key, but I think you get the picture. Honest advice: buy this book. It doesn't matter if you love King or if you hate him, this book is a masterpiece that will appeal to most book lovers.
Book Review: not quite
Summary: 3 Stars
I started reading Stephen King back in 1980. Started with Carrie, I think. Back then he was one of those authors whose works I'd read long into the night and then pick up first thing in the morning. The guy had serious chops. Great work. Work that talked to me like a friend would talk to me. Work I could relate to.
In the ensuing years my affection for King diminished. He started writing a bit too much for the everyman. His work grew longer, more tiresome, stale.
I picked up DUMA KEY because I wanted to see if the old master could hook me once again. I'd read CELL (terrible), then BLAZE (excellent), and it was on the strength of the latter book that I'd planted my hopes for something even better.
It wasn't to be. DUMA is fine up until the last two-thirds, with King in fine form describing Edgar's struggles as he tries to recover from horrific injuries, how he makes interesting friends while recuperating at a Florida beach house, how he relates to his family, how he discovers his own incredible artistic talent, etc. But then comes a protracted battle with malevolent evil that is nothing if not stale...stale like the big fight scene at the end of most very average movies is stale. You know, the movie where the little guy overcomes great hardship and knocks the tar out of the much more powerful foe, and in the end everyone joins hands and walks into the sunset? Yeah. Been there, done that, don't need to see it again (the ending of DUMA isn't quite so sunset happy, but you catch my drift).
So my advice is this: enjoy the hell out of the first 400 pages of DUMA, 'cause there's some fine work in there. Skim the rest, unless doing so will cause you to feel some sense of failure from knowing that you've not read EVERY SINGLE WORD. After that, put the book away and forget about it. Then wait for King's next collection of short stories, which should be better (King usually excels at the short stuff). Oh, and hope that King's next novel will be less of a door stop and more of an unforgettable late night page-turner.
Book Review: Excellent
Summary: 5 Stars
Edgar Freemantle had proven the American dream works. As a building contractor in the Twin Cities he made millions and received plenty of acclaim. As the Freemantle Company continued to grow by the time he turned fifty, he and his beloved wife Pam were worth at least forty million. They had two children, who at the time his "Golden Age" abruptly ended, were attending Brown University or teaching in France respectively.
The end of the Golden Era began when he experienced a basic law of physics that a pickup truck has no chance against a twelve-story crane. He came out of that crash with a cracked right side of his skull, and a thrice fractured left side; his ribs were broken; his right hip was shattered; thirty per cent of his vision in his right eye was gone; and finally his right arm was lost. He was fortunate to have survived. Twenty-five years marriage ended when a constantly raging Edgar became verbally abusive towards Pam who visited everyday as he recuperated; threatening to physically hurt and kill her; she left him believing he meant it. He also suddenly displayed a talent as an artist. Needing to leave behind people, he flees to hermit territory, Duma Key, Florida where only two other trauma survivors reside. Edgar finds out his new artistic skills enables him to see and change the future life and death of others even as he investigates the tragic history of his new island home.
The angry Edgar is an incredible three dimensional character even when he begins to display paranormal skills. Readers will sense the rage inside him even as he calmly tells his tale; his double edged demeanor shows Stephen King at his best as he uses the theme of a person feeling isolated (The Stand and Carrie, etc) ready to strike out at others even loved ones. In fact Edgar is so fascinating; the well written Duma Key historical subplot feels like an intrusive segue as the audience only wants to know more about this angry isolationist.
Harriet Klausner