The literary equivalent of a Big Mac and fries*

Bag of Bones
Stephen King

As a self-confessed King fan who doesn’t often read him, I was pleased to hear such good things about Bag of Bones. I’ve read the Dark Tower series, but I usually stick to the movie when it comes to his better-known works. After hearing the glories of Bag of Bones extolled by several persons, I felt compelled to read it. I was immediately taken by the tale; it felt good to return to the master of storytelling, and if nothing else, Bag of Bones reminds readers that the man can tell a damn good story. And for a novel that is nearly eight hundred pages long, Bag of Bones didn’t feel longer than three.

Mike Noonan is our somewhat reluctant hero, and it wouldn’t be too unjust to compare him to King himself. Noonan is a writer too, and a popular one at that -- even if he’s no Tom Clancy. But when his wife suddenly dies, Noonan is faced with something every writer fears: writer’s block. Whenever he tries to write, he is filled with a sudden, blinding panic that leaves no room for creation. Soon, writing becomes nothing more than a long-lost memory.

After a time, it occurs to him that he has long been absent from Sara Laughs, his summer home on the coast of Maine. Thinking this serene locale will at least soothe his spirits (and hopefully inspire him to write), Noonan returns to this summer retreat to make peace with his past.

Enter the Kingishness: Noonan is not alone in his house. Things are going bump in the night, Noonan’s finding strange messages, and something is clearly afoot. He becomes entangled in the lives of a young mother and her daughter, and what begins as a brief act of kindness becomes a cause for which Noonan is prepared do battle. In doing so, Noonan discovers he has been restored to life -- and so has his house. Noonan now has another battle to fight, and both are equally dangerous.

As I mentioned earlier, Bag of Bones is long but never feels tedious. King’s writing style is better than I remembered, although it cannot be denied that his strength lies in the shaping of his story and not the shaping of his sentences. My biggest complaint is with the ending, when some elements veered into a “hokeyness” I could have done without.

There were, however, sufficient surprises that, since I didn’t see them coming, left me feeling pleasantly fulfilled after reading this hefty tome. I’m glad I gave it the time, especially since I've recently learned that the movie rights to Bag of Bones have been optioned with Bruce Willis as producer. Let's see what they do with this one. I'm glad I got to the book first.

In a nutshell: Ghost story, love story, mystery: Bag of Bones has it all. Well worth the read.

Bibliolatry Scale: 4 out of 6 stars


* By the way, the title of this post comes King's own words regarding his work; it's not my opinion. But right about now I'd commit some heinous deeds for a Big Mac and fries. Alas, such temptations are denied to me but for twice a year, when I release my inner grub and chow down on some trans fats and refined carbs. Yummmmmmm.

so good, yet so, so bad