Insomnia
by Stephen King

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Book Reviews of Insomnia

Book Review: An Abstract Piece of Literature
Summary: 2 Stars

The book is mainly divided in three parts. PART I: Little Bald Doctors, PART II: The Secret City, and PART III: The Crimson King. The first part is in my opinion the best part of the novel. It covers most of the synopsis described on the book's back cover. Like most Stephen King novels, this part deals with the build-up of the plot and the development of the characters who often deal with every day life situations which most readers can relate to. One of King's strengths is his ability to make the reader feel nice and comfortable in the first 200+ pages and then he trows us a curveball often dealing with the supernatural. Stephen King is one of the few authors who can write about supernatural phenomenons and somehow keep it realistic even to the point of having the reader relate to it. However, here, King fails miserably. From the page 270 and up, the whole story just falls apart. By then the reader falls into the trap where it is difficult to put the book down since he or she has invested so much time into it.

Even though the book is called 'Insomnia', the core of the story has nothing to do with sleep deprivation. This is just used as a build-up to the story. I'm not going to even attempt and try to explain the plot because, quite frankly, I wouldn't know where to start. This book is just plain weird and sometimes quite laughable. The main characters are two senior citizens (Ralph & Lois) who see auras around living beings and sometimes possess JEDI-like powers. There are also these out of this world little bald doctors which I believe the author tries to portray as Gollum from Tolkien's 'Lord of the Ring'. There are numerous references to this classic piece of literature including an appearance of a ring that 'rules them all'. The little bald doctors however, remind me more of Elmor Fudd rather than Gollum. After a while, you realize the development and dialogue of the characters become strained. Somehow, they seem a bit too 'Stephen King-esque' for Stephen King himself. Other than the frequent LOTR references, it seems like the author tries to somewhat imitate or parallel certain scenes with other pieces of classic stories. For example, there is a final scene where a god like being called 'The Crimson King' hides behind a huge catfish that disguises itself as the main character's long since deceased mother. The image of the Crimson King hiding behind a facade makes me think of a certain scene from 'The Wizard of Oz' where the wizard hides behind the curtain. Strangely enough, soon after this scene from 'Insomnia', there is a unrelated reference to 'The Wizard of Oz'.

The author also tries to throw in some serious real life issues and questions into the mix sush as; pro-life / pro-choice, spousal abuse, freedom of speech, pains of growing old, and Man's old question whether life and death is an act of RANDOM or does it all have a PURPOSE. Most of this just gets lost into the story's 'far-out' scope. I haven't read King's Dark Tower series yet but I believe a lot of the elements of this book relates to this series. There are numerous hints and glimpses of further phenomenons that I believe might appear in future King books. Possibly within King's upcoming final installments of the Dark Tower series.

Even if you dislike this book, you have to admit that Stephen King does have quite an imagination and can sometimes make you wonder about his own sanity. One good thing about this book is that it certainly gives us something to write about. Although this book is a total miss, it is not representative of King's writing abilities. I believe King is one of the best novelist of our time and has often been disregarded because of his falsely labelled image as a horror writer. If you want to read good Stephen King fiction, pick up 'The Green Mile', 'The Stand', 'Desperation' or even his latest 'From a Buick 8'. Stay clear of this one unless you're looking for a cure for 'insomnia'.

Summary of Insomnia

Horror Books

• Subjects > Literature & Fiction > Genre Fiction > Horror