http://www.goodreads.com/user/updates_rss/255429 en-US Sat, 25 Aug 2007 15:49:36 -0700 60 http://www.goodreads.com/ 200 41 http://www.goodreads.com/images/layout/gr_logo.gif 3350279 Sat, 25 Aug 2007 15:49:36 -0700 Review4619030 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4619030 to: Lisey's Story (Hardcover) by Stephen King
bookshelves: alltimebests
After the minor disappointment that was Blaze, I decided to pick up the copy of Lisey's Story that had been moldering on my bookshelf since we bought it during its debut week and promptly forgot about. This can be blamed on a combination of factors, the first being that I decided to allow my boyfriend to read it first, but after I finished it I couldn't help wondering why I hadn't started it earlier.

Lisey's Story treads the line between the slasher-horror novels that have made up the bulk of King's writing career and his more introspective, thoughtful novels of recent years. It is a beautiful, heart-wrenching story of the famous, departed husband and the wife who was left behind. At the same time, it is also a story about the darkest places we dare not talk about for fear we will be labeled "insane" and the people we choose to share them with. There are subplots, of course, of Lisey's fragile sister and a madman who is a little too intent on his mission, but while these threads may meander off and never lead anywhere in some of King's novels, all of these are artfully woven into the larger picture, guiding the book to its chilling and heartbreaking conclusion.

Though I did feel at one point that I was re-reading a scene or two from his much less promising Rose Madder, Lisey's Story takes it in a much more satisfying direction, almost as if the former were nothing more than a rough draft. The brief sense of deja vu did nothing to diminish my enjoyment of the book, however, and I would gladly read it again to fish hidden details out some of the smaller nooks and crannies.

I positively devoured Lisey's Story and I recommend that you do the same, even if you aren't a fan of King's more lurid offerings. It is one that I truly feel will appeal to lovers of all genres. ]]> 2956599 Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:28:41 -0700 Review4785558 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4785558 to: The Bad Seed (P.S.) by William March
]]> 2956590 Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:28:30 -0700 Review4785551 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4785551 to: The Collector (Paperback) by John Fowles
]]> 2956532 Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:27:26 -0700 Review4785508 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4785508 to: Fast Food Nation (Paperback) by Eric Schlosser
]]> 2956518 Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:27:09 -0700 Review4785494 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4785494 to: The Honk and Holler Opening Soon (Paperback) by Billie Letts
]]> 2956517 Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:27:03 -0700 Review4785493 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4785493 to: Where the Heart Is (Paperback) by Billie Letts
]]> 2956483 Sun, 19 Aug 2007 18:26:22 -0700 Review4785463 http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4785463 to: Canis (Paperback) by Robert E. Armstrong
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