The Little Room

The Book Pile: Duma Key

nobody@vox.com(Kyle) — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 09:26:15 -0500

Stephen King

Stephen King said that if Lisey's Story is his story of marriage, then Duma Key is his story of divorce. Divorce is a factor of Duma's story, but doesn't come across nearly as powerfully as Scott and Lisey's marriage in the other book. Perhaps because King is writing about what he doesn't know.

What he does know about is crippling accidents, and that plays a very large role in Duma Key. Edgar Freemantle was a successful builder before a crane accident crushed his body, took his right arm, and resulted in his divorce. Edgar moves to the Florida Keys for some geographical therapy, and discovers a formerly hidden artistic ability.

Duma is about the power of art to uncover truth. Because this is a Stephen King story, that truth concerns dead twins, giant frogs, and a Florida Island's dark history.

While I enjoyed Lisey's Story a lot more than Duma Key the new book does speak to King's further development as a writer. He no longer writes pure "horror" in my opinion, but instead uses horror as the backdrop against which his characters live their lives.

No King's not writing literary fiction, but with the exception of the horrible Cell, King is writing deeper, fully realized works.

For me it was a compelling read, though I usually devour King at a rapid pace anyway. The story unfolds perfectly, ramping up the creepy factor with each new chapter. The ending fell a little flat, almost too easy, but other than that it's a new spin on classic King that's worth reading.

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What Ails the Short Story

nobody@vox.com(Kyle) — Sun, 30 Sep 2007 11:54:48 -0400

Stephen King edited this year's edition of The Best American Short Stories, and came away with an interesting take on writers of short fiction and their audience.

What’s not so good is that writers write for whateveraudience is left. In too many cases, that audience happens to consist of other writers and would-be writers who are reading the various literary magazines (and The New Yorker, of course, the holy grail of the young fiction writer) not to be entertained but to get an idea of what sells there. And this kind of reading isn’t real reading, the kind where you just can’t wait to find out what happens next (think “Youth,” by Joseph Conrad, or “Big Blonde,” by Dorothy Parker). It’s more like copping-a-feel reading. There’s something yucky about it.

What Ails the Short Story - Stephen King - Books - Review - New York Times

http://www.nytime...

The American short story is alive and well. Do you like the sound of that? Me too. I only wish it were actually true. The art form is still alive that I can testify to. As editor of The Best American Short Stories 2007, I read hundreds of them, and a great many were good stories. Some were ve...

I've tried my hand a short fiction, with some success at publication, and I think King is on to something here. The short fiction found in the smattering of lit-mags at my local bookstore feel weird. They feel as though the story isn't being told for the sake of the story, but only to impress the editor. Pick up any lit-mag and you'll soon notice that the stories all exhibit a sameness, the editor(s) like a certain style. The writer's pick up on it and format themselves into that style. I know I've been guilty of that. It's not because I'm a lesser writer than others, it's that no matter what I say about writing for writing's sake, publication feels damn good. Getting published today nearly almost involves some trickery on the writer's part, and the work suffers, which means readers suffer.

So — American short story alive? Check. American short story well? Sorry, no, can’t say so. Current condition stable, but apt to deteriorate in the years ahead. Measures to be taken? I would suggest you start by reading this year’s “Best American Short Stories.” They show how vital short stories can be when they are done with heart, mind and soul by people who care about them and think they still matter. They do still matter, and here they are, liberated from the bottom shelf.

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The Book Pile: Quick Hit Edition

nobody@vox.com(Kyle) — Sun, 19 Aug 2007 14:07:28 -0400

I've been a little remiss in posting the books I've been reading. In order to catch up and not get buried in a backlog avalanche here are the last three books I've read.

Blaze: A Novel

Blaze, Richard Bachman

In the intro to the book King calls it a "trunk novel" meaning one he wrote, but didn't feel it was worthy of publishing. I almost agree. I've enjoyed most of the Bachman books, the style is a grittier version of KIng that works most of the time. Here it does, just not as well. In the final 50 pages or so I felt that King completely took over, and the book improved drastically. The story isn't anything spectacular, but it's a good quick read from one of the best's nom de plumes.

The Catcher in the Rye

The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. In many cases the so-called classic books bore me, and I fail to understand their classic status. That is not the case here. The character of Holden Caulfield is on of the most fully realized characters in fiction. As narrator of the book Caulfield's every emotion is on the page and so realistically expressed believing he is entirely fictional is hard to difficult.

The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game

The Blind Side, Michael Lewis
The Blind Side is two stories. One is the story of how professional football has evolved over the it's history. The story of how certain key positions have become more important, and why. The book is also the story of Michael Oher, a young black Memphis youth who is brought into a wealthy, white family of semi-football royalty. The evolution of the game, and specifically the influence it has had on the position of left tackle collides with Oher's life and changes it forever. The Blind Side is a well-researched beautifully told story that even non-fans should read.

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King-Sized Surprises

nobody@vox.com(Kyle) — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 13:19:38 -0400

Fave author Stephen King has made two surprise appearances in my life this week.

The first was at Target this Sunday during the final leg of a semi-extravagant shopping spree. I was browsing in the book section when I spotted the men's magazines. I always like to see if Scarlett Jo is on any of the covers, and while she wasn't the cover of Esquire did catch my eye. It had nothing to do with Angelina

Blaze: A Novel

Richard Bachman

Jolie's appearance there either. The book worm in me was drawn to the blurb about the exclusive printing of King's new novella The Gingerbread Girl. The story runs about 21,00 words and covers 23 of the magazine's pages. Here are the details from King's site:

In the emotional aftermath of her baby’s sudden death, Em starts running. Soon she runs from her husband, to the airport, down to the Florida Gulf and out to the loneliest stretch of Vermillion Key, where her father has offered the use of a conch shack he has kept there for years. Em keeps up her running—barefoot on the beach, sneakers on the road—and sees virtually no one. This is doing her all kinds of good, until one day she makes the mistake of looking into the driveway of a man named Pickering. Pickering also enjoys the privacy of Vermillion Key, but the young women he brings there suffer the consequences….

Two days later I was surprised again. In my mailbox I found one of the brown boxes that means a new book has arrived. I knew it was from the Stephen King library, but wasn't aware that he had published a new book. And he actually hasn't. The book Blaze is actually the last of the Richard Bachman books, and what King calls in the book's introduction a "trunk" novel. King resurrected the novel after the fun he had writing The Colorado Kid, a noirish detective novel.

I'm in the middle of a book so I haven't begun either of these, but I can't wait. Even at his worst King is at least entertaining.

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Beyond the Crap

nobody@vox.com(Kyle) — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 20:55:43 -0500

The great Ira Glass, of This American Life fame, has a series of videos on the art of storytelling floating around these here internets. The videos themselves focus on storytelling through video, obviously related to the t elevison pemiere of TAL on Showtime, but a lot of what he has to say applies to all storytellers.

I enjoyed the insight provided in each clip, but one spoke to me more than the others. Here it is:

Ira Glass on Storytelling #3

I've realized for awhile now that my first manuscript isn't very good. Furthermore it's not the kind of book I ever thought I would write. It's too real world, not supernatural, or metaphysical enough. I want to tell the kinds of stories that Jonathan Carroll, Jonathan Lethem, and Stephen King are telling. Stories about real people reacting to unreal situations be they horrific or ultra-surreal.

People have read my manuscript and have said good things, and I even think from a pure technical stand point it's a well-written, well told (for the most part) story. But it doesn't feel like me. The question is if I could get it published do I want it published? I already know my future works will differ vastly from this first. Do I keep sending the thing off to publishers and editors, or do I stick it in the desk drawer where it belongs and send them my current work-in-progress, which is more in line with the stories i want to tell?

According to Glass, and I think I'm in agreement, I need to move past the crap I know I've written, thankful it's out of my system and just keep working on the next one.

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QotD: Top 5 in '06 - Books

nobody@vox.com(Kyle) — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 19:37:40 -0500

What are your top 5 books of 2006?

I read a lot of books this year, but only one of my favorites was actually published in '06.

Of the two Patchett books (I read three this year) Bel Canto was my favorite. I felt like I was reading a dream.

The Fortress of Solitude quickly became one of my favorite books ever. A great combination of comic book sci-fi and coming of age drama.

Both Lisey's Story and The Year of Magical Thinking are about the loss of a husband, the power of love, and marriage. In the case of TYOMT a true account. I bought the book as a gift for my mom last year after we learned my dad was dying. She started it but couldn't finish at the time. When I went home for the funeral I picked it up and I'm glad I did. I think it has given me great insight into what my mom is/will be experiencing. Lisey's Story is one of King's finest. A culmination of his talents as a master storyteller.

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