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Apr 11, 2009 08:43am
This story grossed me out so bad when I first read it. I was 9 at the time but even today it grosses me out. What did you all think of it?
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Survivor Type will always rank very high on my list; I love the stories that when I first read them I did not see the ending coming, and this one I did not see coming. I love survival horror stories anyway, and the physical trauma experienced in this story is particularly descriptive and memorable. I lived it; for better or worse, I was on that island for each excruciating moment! :0 Another reason I love this story is you can really see King's devlish humour at work, especially with the line "Lady fingers, tastes just like lady fingers" Awful! Cringe! LOL
This is one of my favorite short stories, because this is one that could actually happen. Any of us could be stranded somewhere without food and have to make a decision like that. I don't know if I could do it, but it's definitely a creepy prospect!
I always loved the line "I did everything according to Hoyle. I washed it thoroughly before I ate it." Ack!
Crimsonbutterfly wrote: "I always loved the line "I did everything according to Hoyle. I washed it thoroughly before I ate it." Ack!" Ha! Love it! ROTFL :)
Crimsonbutterfly wrote: "Nothing wrong with that. "ah that's it ... i'm going to ask you to be my GR friend :o) ... seriously ... lists and twisted - all i need ;o)
Sam... We're STEPHEN KING FANS if you hadn't noticed. I think that's Commandment 11: If thou art a Stephen King fan, thou shalt be twistedeth. Of course, they don't spread that one around with all the "Thou shalt not kills" because it kinda sends a mixed message. ;)
Becky wrote: "I think that's Commandment 11: If thou art a Stephen King fan, thou shalt be twistedeth."tee hee hee; now that's funny :) ...it would make a great t-shirt too!
I`ve often heard of people in situations where they had to drink their own urine, even eating their own friends (A rugby team who`s plane crashed & the survivors were forced to eat the dead bodies in order to survive). Eating parts of yourself is something I`ve never heard of or even thought of! But hey, people do crazy things in order to survive!
Becky, I concur with Commandment 11. I'm definitely twisted, have been since I started reading King at age 12.Anyway, this story was surely twisted, and even plausible. But who better to chop you up but a surgeon, and yourself at that!
SK wrote in "Danse Macabre" that he had been asked at one time if he had ever written a story that was "unpublishable"(this was in 1981) -- his answer was "Survivor Type" -- a few years later, there it was, in this collection. -- I LOVE this story because if there were ever anything unforgettable -- "Survivor Type" is it!!
I can imagine, perfectly, that crazy guy, all hobbled up, screaming at the end "You are what you eat!". I mean I can picture it in my head with absolute clarity! This is one of my favorite short stories of his. I don't know if it oculd really happen, but I certainly believe it!
This has always been my favorite story by King, and I'm a huge fan of his short story collections. It really stuck with me because not only is it incredibly morbid and gross, but it's also totally plausible. And the fact that he was a surgeon, and therefore capable of cutting himself to pieces until the cows come home... uhg. Awesome.
Here's a question for all the Survivor Type fans. I've been discussing this with several colleagues of mine recently, as we are working on a Dollar Baby film adaptation of "Survivor Type" authorized by Mr. King. Our group is divided on the answer.Do you think Richard Pine is a person to be at least somewhat admired for his innate survival instinct, even if that very instinct causes him to break laws and destroy his life, or is he just a completely miserable jerk of a person with no redeeming value who gets what he deserves in the end?
I'm curious as to your responses, it will help us inform our choices when making the film. Thanks ahead of time!
Chris
Chris wrote: "Here's a question for all the Survivor Type fans. I've been discussing this with several colleagues of mine recently, as we are working on a Dollar Baby film adaptation of "Survivor Type" authoriz..."Actually I think he's neither of those things. While he makes some truly regretful choices I think he's intended to be an everyman caught up in a mess who gets screwed by fate.
Oh, I don't know, Amanda -- remember, he's part of the heroin shipment that was aboard the ship -- so very accessible to him in his "diet."
I had actually forgotten about his involvement with the shipment. Course its been about ten years since I read it.
Survivor Type is a fantastic piece of work and really encompasses everything that a short story should have. The fact that the twist in the tale here is so horrific only adds to its gravitas. Richard Pine does deserve everything he gets. The man is truly vile and despises everyone with an arrogant superiority bred out of resentment for his lack of advantages in life.
Survivior Type is so horrible that it will stay with you for a long time after. The whole disintegration of language thing (very similar to Flowers for Algernon) is a wicked technique. Certainly one of my all time favourites. Although I defy anyone to read Pet Sematary and sleep well.
Stephen King remains the only author to give me a genuine nightmare after falling asleep reading one of his books.
This is a great story. A short film was supposed to be made on it by a GR member but I don't know if that ever happened. Love the ending.
Gatorman wrote: "This is a great story. A short film was supposed to be made on it by a GR member but I don't know if that ever happened. Love the ending."Hey Gatorman,
That was me, and we did, in fact, finish the short film. I'm impressed you remembered the film, it's been a while since I logged in to goodreads.
You can see a trailer here:
http://www.survivortypefilm.com/trail...
We are premiering the film at the Buried Alive! Film Festival next weekend in Atlanta, GA. 4:00pm at The Plaza theater. If you are in Atlanta, please come out and join us for the premiere.
A reviewer at Ain't It Cool News who is a fan of the story reviewed the film and gave it solid marks. You can find that review here:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/51715#1
If anyone wants to discuss the adapation, I'd be happy too. It's been a long road, but my team and I are very pleased with the results.
Best of luck at the festival, Chris - The trailer is excellent, simply because it does not give away the "surprise" element!
James wrote: "Survivor Type is a fantastic piece of work and really encompasses everything that a short story should have. The fact that the twist in the tale here is so horrific only adds to its gravitas. Ri..."
what book is this story in.
Chris wrote: "Gatorman wrote: "This is a great story. A short film was supposed to be made on it by a GR member but I don't know if that ever happened. Love the ending."Hey Gatorman,
That was me, and we did..."
Best of luck with the film, Chris. I won't be in Atlanta but hopefully I'll have a chance to see the film at some point.
"I recognize terror as the finest emotion and so I will try to terrorize the reader. But if I find that I cannot terrify, I will try to horrify, and if I find that I cannot horrify, I'll go for the gross-out. I'm not proud. " — Stephen King The Man himself personally citing his complete lack of pretension.
To expand on my previous comment, what I mean by this is consider his range. One of the reasons he's (finally) considered one of the most influential modern authors in the world is his ease with swinging between stories that range from the sublime ("All That You Love Will Be Taken Away" Nightmares and Dreamscapes I THINK), IE deeply moving and rawther literary, my deah, to pieces like the foregoing where he's essentially grabbed up a blues guitar, invited us to a roadhouse and blasted us with a nasty little ditty written more to give himself a giggle than anyone else.Steve's having fun with bits like this. He's peering around the corner, snickering his butt off watching you squirm and having a roaring time doing it.
Any author who can't hold onto that sense of rip-roaring "let's do it in the parking lot" blues-guitar FUN, while still capable of serving up the foie gras, is not an author I want in my life. By all means, there are times one should wear pearls....but sometimes, all you really want is to put on some jeans and get a pitcher of draft.
Mina wrote: "To expand on my previous comment, what I mean by this is consider his range. One of the reasons he's (finally) considered one of the most influential modern authors in the world is his ease with s..."I could hug you Mina :) That's exactly how I think of SK's books. He's one of the few authors I can pick up and get sucked right into. He has a natural storyteller's voice no matter what he's writing.
Mina wrote: "To expand on my previous comment, what I mean by this is consider his range. One of the reasons he's (finally) considered one of the most influential modern authors in the world is his ease with s..."I like this :)
Mina wrote: "To expand on my previous comment, what I mean by this is consider his range. One of the reasons he's (finally) considered one of the most influential modern authors in the world is his ease with s..."love that... thanx. I think any author that can make you sleep with the lights on, is a great author indeed. :)
Thanks Alondra, Kit, Amanda xoxoxo Much appreciated.By the way, self-correction: "All That You Love Will Be Carried Away" can be found in Everything's Eventual not Nightmares and Dreamscapes, sorry. My bad.
I have always interpreted this story as another example of King's subconscious trying to make him realize that drugs were destroying his life, his body, and slowly eating away at him, bit by bit. Like the failed addict writer villain of The Shining.
Hi all,I posted this in another thread, but since the original posts I made were in this one, I thought I would mention it here as well. The Dollar Baby I made of "Survivor Type" that is discussed above is screening three times in the next month in various locales.
In Southern California:
August 19th, 2012 5:30pm in Monrovia, CA (LA area) at the Krikorian Theater as part of the Action on Film International Film Festival.
In Lousiana:
September 7th, 2012 8:00pm in Shreveport, LA at the East Bank Theater as part of the Phenom Film Festival.
In Georgia (close to parts of Alabama and Tennessee as well):
September 7th, 2012 11:00pm in Rome, GA at the DeSoto Theater as part of the Rome International Film Festival
I will personally be at the Monrovia and Rome screenings. If anyone from goodreads would like to come check it out, please do!
I wanted to mention that the adaptation of "Survivor Type" is going to be screening tonight (Nov 8, 2012) at the NYC Horror Film Festival. If you are in the New York/New Jersey area, I hope you are safe and dry. If you can safely make it out, the movie is playing at Tribeca Cinemas at 7:00pm, opening for the indie feature Nailbiter, which is a great film as well.
Nailbiter is a very good movie, I reviewed it a few months back for The Horror Zine. I didn't know there was a Survivor Type, though. Damn, I have to see that!Of course, if I'd bothered to read this thread...
