From the Bookshelf of The Reading For Pleasure Book Club…

Lisey's Story

Stephen King

Start date: August 15, 2014

Finish date: August 31, 2014

Discussion: Official Book Club Buddy Reads

Discussion leader: Dustin

Why we're reading this: Official book club Buddy Read at the Reading for Pleasure book club hosted by Dustin and Holly and whoev…more
[close] Official book club Buddy Read at the Reading for Pleasure book club hosted by Dustin and Holly and whoever wants to read it with them. It Starts August 15th.

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What Members Thought

Apr 30, 2012 DeAnna Knippling rated it it was amazing

A reread; rather, a first read after an audio read a couple of years ago (which was excellent).

I think you have to be a fan of both "literature" and "pulp" in order to like this book.

On the literature side, King digs so deep into people's character's that the pace resembles that of a Joyce Carol Oats novel: fascinating, but slow. Lisey's just this person; her husband the famous writer is the one who ever did anything outwardly significant. But, from a literary perspective, that makes her all th ...more

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Jan 09, 2012 Cindy Newton rated it really liked it

Shelves: owned-books, horror, stephen-king

This was my second read of this book, and I really enjoyed it. It had that King element of being transported into another world in a way that just works, but it also dealt a lot with the grief of loss of a loved one, of having to go on without someone you thought you couldn't live without.

One thing I could have lived without was the "Scott talk." A few of his verbal creations were clever, but many were just corny. The "smucking" thing might have been cute a few times, but throughout the entire ...more

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Jul 27, 2021 Dave Courtney rated it really liked it

3.5 Stars
Touted as King's personal favorites and even deemed somewhat autobiographical in nature (based on his own personal near death experience), this came onto my radarn (as a considerate fan of King's work) due to the recent release of the adaptation (for Apple TV+).

Reads as advertised. It is clear this is a deeply personal work. It's also a bit of a deviation from what he has done before (which is diverse in its own right), making it difficult to even categorize in that light. I can see th 3.5 Stars
Touted as King's personal favorites and even deemed somewhat autobiographical in nature (based on his own personal near death experience), this came onto my radarn (as a considerate fan of King's work) due to the recent release of the adaptation (for Apple TV+).

Reads as advertised. It is clear this is a deeply personal work. It's also a bit of a deviation from what he has done before (which is diverse in its own right), making it difficult to even categorize in that light. I can see this falling into a love/hate category for that reason, ironically so because I find myself somewhat in the middle while leaning towards greater appreciation of it in my final assessment.

One of the challenges of Lisey's Story is that it does come across as slightly self indulgent, particularly in how difficult it is to get absorbed into the story. For me it took me about half the book to start getting hints of its potential, this following what is actually a pretty engaging first 50 pages or so. Once it starts to bring in the different aspects of the story it sarts to shift in and out of a lack of any real story development, slow pacing, and confusing imagery that moves us between these seemingly co-existing worlds, perspectives and timelines. When seen as a whole it emerges as a clever way of telilng two different stories (one being Lisey who is greiving the loss of her husband, a writer, the other being Scott, her husband, who's story we get to know and hear through the pages of this book and the imaginative world that emerges from this in their now interwoven "love" story). This allows the book to become about a number of things all at once- loss, grief, love, memory, eternity, the present, the spiritual and the material, and of course fear and hope.

When pondering the different parts of the narrative it can't help but emerge as powerful and meaningful. The problem is I think I experienced this at somewhat of a distance. Maybe this would change if the experiences of my life changed and coincided more sharply with its premise? Maybe its the style, which King seems to content to write more for him and his wife than anyone else. Maybe it's the length. Maybe it's something else I can't put my finger on. But I feel like this is a book that I should love, that I'm frustrated I didn't love, and hope maybe could grow in my mind as time moves froward. Because there is definitely a lot here to appreciate (including the really strong prose and inventive storytelling device). ...more

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Sep 04, 2021 Susan rated it really liked it

It's a love story with a SK twist. No big scares if that's what ur looking 4. The first half kinda dragged a bit but I kept going. The second half is much better. I personally don't like when a book jumps around. This book does it constantly. Past present over and over. It's a book about mental illness that's all ill say. ...more

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