books

Listened to the audiobook version narrated beautifully by Michael C. Hall, this is the first Stephen King book I have listened to and the first by this narrator.

I don’t even know where I’m going to rank this book in the Stephen King canon but I know that the trademark touch of horror that leaps out of the page and whispers and settles into you is in this book. More scary and human than Misery, it does not compare to the freak of IT but somehow the rising tension of its last act reminded me of IT’s similar final act.

The best thing about Pet Sematary is how how it’s paced so openly, the Creed family gets to live and breath and be happy in many of its pages even when narratively it seems tiresome and boring, even when the promise of horror keeping it’s eye on the family begins to dull. When the shadow of death finally falls on this family, it almost seems unlike Stephen King, it feels accidental and natural too at some point. Like the characters in the book who think at various points that these things were meant to happen, we as a reader think these events were meant to happen to these characters in exactly this slow, tragic, sad and insane way. There are no big fireworks, yes a house burns down but nothing “spectacular” happens, Louis Creed our protagonist simply pays the price for what he bought.

And the narration is amazing, the way Michael C. Hall voices not only so many diverse characters from old people to kids but what’s amazing is how he consistently voices the elements of the book as well. One of my favorite examples of this is the scene where a dog is howling and the narrator doesn’t just say he barks but we get the actual sound. Of course now that I think about it it might just be the sound effect or recording of a dog but either way the sounds of this audiobook are beautiful and fitting. I think part of the way the novel felt so suspenseful and dreadful is helped by the sound production

Brilliant, scary, sad and altogether humane, Pet Sematary is a very very good Stephen King novel.

There’s a small coffee shop in my city that puts a lot of love into their drinks. They have a couple of seats at the bay window by the entrance, which I always find a relaxing spot to read whilst I’m savouring my coffee. And the best part - the café has a really cute dog that’ll occasionally come up to you for some pets :) Just sitting there, with relaxing music playing and the sound of people chatting in the background… I find that to be a charming place to read.

I also have fond memories of sitting by a pool when I was younger whilst on holiday with my parents. I’d devour the latest Alex Rider or Lemony Snicket novel sitting in the shade. Has been a while since I’ve last had that experience, but it’s a sunny day here today, so perhaps I’ll sit outside on my lunch under a tree.

Do you have any particular places where you like to read?

From Blood Meridian by Cormac McCarthy:

They posted guards atop the azotea and unsaddled the horses and drove them out to graze and the judge took one of the packanimals and emptied out the panniers and went off to explore the works.

In the afternoon he sat in the compound breaking ore samples with a hammer, the feldspar rich in red oxide of copper and native nuggets in whose organic lobations he purported to read news of the earth’s origins, holding an extemporary lecture in geology to a small gathering who nodded and spat.

A few would quote him scripture to confound his ordering up of eons out of the ancient chaos and other apostate supposings.

The judge smiled.

Books lie, he said.

God dont lie.

No, said the judge. He does not. And these are his words.

He held up a chunk of rock.

He speaks in stones and trees, the bones of things.

The squatters in their rags nodded among themselves and were soon reckoning him correct, this man of learning, in all his speculations, and this the judge encouraged untilthey were right proselytes of the new order whereupon he laughed at them for fools.

What does the last line entail? Are they fools for believing the judge in that gods words are the world, or is he laughing that they are so dumb as to believe scripture?

Thanks.