Insomnia
by Stephen King
|
List Price: Our Price: $4.74 You Save: $3.25 (41%) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $0.01 (click here) Category: Book See more book details and other editions |
|---|
Book Reviews of Insomnia
Book Review: Another suspenseful winner
Summary: 5 Stars
This book was up to King's usual standards: creepy, twisted, and occasionally confusing...in a good way, of course. The book sported one major flaw, though: it was a very slow starter. It was a typical roller-coaster ride; the only problem was that the first third of the ride was buckling up, signing waivers, and writing living wills. The second is that first big hill: climbing slowly up, the suspense building inch by inch. And the final third, which was all too short, features the twists, turns, and loops that are so undeniably Stephen King.The story is one of Ralph Roberts, a 70-something widower who waits as insomnia whittles away his sleep, minutes at a time. This takes up quite a while, as we are with him through it all. Then, apparently as a result of sleep-deprivation, he is introduced into "hyper-reality," what he calls the world of auras. Then he starts to see little men, who are none other than the three Fates of Greek mythology (the gender issue is conveniently thrust aside). But he can't be crazy, because what he sees really happens...and someone else is seeing it too. Seeing as the people of Derry are recruited for a Purpose that no "Short-Timer" can fathom.
King mentions random works of literature in Insomnia: Lord of the Rings, The Lady or the Tiger, etc. But what he most enjoys is tying the novel to his own works, creating a web of storylines that, I only hope, will one day be resolved through another current series, called Gunslinger. I recommend this series as a companion to Insomnia, because not only is Roland mentioned briefly in the reviewed work, but the Tower itself comes into play...and to understand that (to a point), one must read the Gunslinger books. Insomnia is not a quick read, but a rewarding one all the same.
Book Review: Insomnia - Proof that King is Human
Summary: 2 Stars
I think when Stephen King is at his best (Misery, The Green Mile, "Secret Window, Secret Garden," "The Last Rung on the Ladder," "The Man in the Black Suit"), he's very, very good. No need for apologies or qualifications -- when King is hitting on all cylinders, he's not just one of our best horror writers, he's one of our best living writers.
Having said that, I think Insomnia is the strongest evidence yet that King is also one of our most inconsistent writers. If I didn't know King has all the money in the world, I'd think he wrote this one for the paycheck; Insomnia reads like it was written entirely on autopilot.
That might've been okay; King on autopilot can still be quite good (The Dark Half, Pet Sematary, "The Langoliers"). But this is 800-plus pages of King on autopilot, and there's not an author alive today who can coast through that many pages.
Insomnia isn't boring, precisely. It's just terribly meandering and repetitive, with far too many characters and situations -- it has the same problems that plagued The Tommyknockers.
An editor with the nerve to tell Stephen King his manuscript needs to be cut could've made Insomnia a good book. Not a great book -- there's too much wrong at the heart of Insomnia to be fixed by simply reining in the verbiage -- but a good one, at least. As it is, it's the worst King novel I've read.
Fortunately, Insomnia seems to represent the calm before the storm of really good books that have recently blown in from the King factory. The Green Mile was terrific, and from most accounts, Desperation and The Regulators are both very good, too. But if you're like me, and you've noticed how wildly the quality of King's writing can vary, you'll give Insomnia a miss and go for those later novelsBook Review: A different type of Stephen King novel
Summary: 4 Stars
I have seen a lot of reviews that have deeply criticized Insomnia. This book is definitely a moderately difficuly book, but nonetheless I love it. You must be very patient with it. This book is like a snowball going down a hill. It gets faster paced and more exciting as it goes on. The last 300 pages of this novel are probably the best last pages he has written, and that is saying a lot when I've read The Shining, The Stand, and most other popular King novels. This book really enables us to see what Mr. King is like. We can see his positions on many political issues such as abortion. The book is very touching and I think everyone cried when Ralph dies at the end. My favorite part is probably when they are in the lair of Atropos and Ralph is cutting poor Atropos in pieces. Another weird scene is when the Crimson King poses as Ralph's mother. If you can get by the first 300 pages this is a tremendous book. The first 300 pages were totally sparse of action, but I found it bearable because Stephen King does a great job of letting us see what it is like having just lost an important family member like a wife, and suffering Insomnia. This novel turns from a dull book to an extreme page turner at around page 400(soft cover) when Ralph and Lois go into the Derry Home hospital to see Jimmy Vandermeer and see for the second time the little bald doctors, Clotho and Lachesis. When the quartet went to the 'upper levels' so many of my questions were answered about why Ralph was suffering Insomnia and also I learned a great deal about the Dark Tower series. The only Dark Tower book I have read was The Gunslinger. Insomnia cleared up a lot for me. I will say this again, Insomnia is a great book ,but you must get by the first 300 or 400 pages first, then the action comes.Book Review: Lost for words
Summary: 5 Stars
The easiest thing in the world to do, is to read a Stephen King novel. The toughest thing in the world to do, is to review a Stephen King novel. What can I say that several hundred other reviewers have not said before me? This is one of King's richest novels, both in storyline and in characterization. The main player is an older guy called Ralph, who begins to suffer from insomnia (no plot spoilers so far!). During a particularly sleepless night he sees a... (plot spoiler alert!) ... a thing! (Told you it was tough reviewing King). Well, anyway, he gets involved in stuff that you and I don't, and discovers that he is about to change the course of history... at a price to himself.You only have to read one of his novels (Insomnia included) to understand why Stephen King is the true Master of commercial fiction. Sure, it's no highfalutin literary endeavour, but then us King fans know that. We read his books for the entertainment and for the sheer joy of being carried away into a different world. If there are two types of book - those which urge you to read on for the resolution of the plot, and those which tempt you to stay on each page because of the beauty and power of what's there - then Insomnia falls firmly into the former category. It's what Graham Greene would have termed an "entertainment," and its swift readability is the book's greatest strength. Yet there's more to King than simple readability. There's an effortless quality to his prose (actually it's downright criminal how easy he makes it seem). And isn't that the sign of a true professional? Ever watched Tiger Woods regularly holing out under par? Ever wondered how golf can be that easy? King is the Tiger Woods of fiction, and with Insomnia he's just sunk another hole in one.
Book Review: Dark Tower fans will enjoy it better
Summary: 4 Stars
Stephen King is an author gifted with a great power of development: his characters are, almost always, believable, even if the situations they are involved in are completely fantastic. Among SK's greatest characters we will notice many children. In "It", "The eyes of the dragon", "The talisman", "The shinning", the most interesting character are always children or young people. "Insomnia" is completely different in this aspect.The main character in "Insomnia" is Ralph Roberts, a man pushing seventy, and not in a very good health. After the death of his wife, he starts having sleeping problems, and, stragest thing of all, his perception rises to fantastic level: he starts to see colored auras around people, little bald doctors with scissors and scalpels, and other unbelievable manifestations. Soon Ralph finds that all this has a specific purpose, and the fate of many worlds may lie in his old hands.
The beginning of the book is a little slow, very strange, but when the pace increases, it's hard to put it down. I don't think "Insomnia" has any political conotation whatsoever, even with the abortion issue. Serious as the matter surely is, I think it's there only to provide a thrilling background to the story.
I don't consider "Insomnia" my favorite Stephen King book, but nevertheless I was never bored while reading it. I think it's very good, but a little confusing at some parts. The confusion and the sense of pointlessness will be greater if the reader is not acquainted with the Dark Tower series. For that, "Insomnia" can be considered a standalone, but more like a complement to the Dark Tower books.
I would not recommend reading "Insomnia" without reading the Dark Tower first.
Grade 8.2/10