The Stand in Overdue Podcast

Sep 21, 2020 Jason rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own

M-O-O-N that spells...meh, a dark nostalgic read. A book in a few parts of varying success.

This is a book that I enjoyed much more when I read it years ago; perhaps this is a story better appreciated by a younger man, or perhaps just a book that is easier to appreciate when the pandemic portion doesn't seem so real.

The part of the story that seems like speculative fiction was by far the most interesting portion, while the latter portions, that were more 'good versus evil', seemed less appealing ...more

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May 10, 2020 Sarina M rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, a

This was amazing, principally because King is such an engaging writer and he is able to take insane situations and pull in the reader into an intricate but also somehow realistic story. At first I was a bit intimidated by the length (especially after 'IT'), but this flew by to the point I was saddened by the prospect of running out of story when I was nearing the end. The plot never lagged as there were constant developments due to the abundance of characters.

The gradual amp up of the supernatu This was amazing, principally because King is such an engaging writer and he is able to take insane situations and pull in the reader into an intricate but also somehow realistic story. At first I was a bit intimidated by the length (especially after 'IT'), but this flew by to the point I was saddened by the prospect of running out of story when I was nearing the end. The plot never lagged as there were constant developments due to the abundance of characters.

The gradual amp up of the supernatural during the story was interesting. It seemed as though King was exploring his own spirituality through writing, and it was thrilling to follow along for the ride. I have always had a bit of trouble wrapping my mind around the religious ideas of completely good or evil, especially with the God on the 'good' side constantly manipulating, torturing, and killing his own followers on a mass scale. This comes across to me like a form of Doublespeak (hate is love, jealousy is love, utter obedience is freedom, suggestions are orders, pain is a gift, beliefs are truth, pleasures are evil, death is life). Anyway I don’t get it, but once I suspended my confusion I was able to accept and get into the story.

I think King’s particular talents arise in his extensive characterization and development of his (male) characters. They are so layered and real. I loved all of the core male characters, particularly Glen, Larry, and Nick. The latter two developed so much on their journeys, (particularly Larry), but so gradually that I didn’t notice the change as it was happening. Glen didn’t develop as much but his monologues on sociology were awesome. Unfortunately, the women were much less developed, to the point it was hard to differentiate them by their personalities (and I kept having to remember which male character each woman was sleeping with to remember who they were). I think when authors have trouble writing women characters they lean back on the 'either they are beautiful or ugly [often described w/ adjectives like horse-faced / stocky]', 'generally hypersensitive and emotional to the point of irrationality', 'easily manipulated', and 'obsessed by the prospect of landing a male character mate’. I understand the these tropes have plenty of real life examples, but there are so many women who don't inhabit these characteristics, and even those that do can be developed and be variable too. I felt nothing about most of the women in The Stand, except for Frannie, who I hated (the fucking inappropriate giggling, ugh, I wanted to jump in the book and slap her).

The other major piece I couldn't identify with was the characterization of Harold. I have to admit I felt a lot for this character, even during his decent into madness. I felt like I was being manipulated into looking down on him, starting with descriptions of his appearance, such as 'his greasy hair falling into his eyes' - (My thoughts being 'who the hell cares if he is fat or has greasy hair, it is the fucking apocalypse. Maybe intelligence should be key in terms of characteristics to value at a time like this?). Also other characters were constantly judgmental and suspicious of him (not completely without reason in the end, but still). He turns into a monstrous beast, but I think he could have been a real hero if he was ever supported or if people were more direct with him. The biggest case of this was Frannie's utterly bitchy, useless, and plot devise journaling. Of course she shouldn't have to sleep with or be thrown together with any guy she doesn't love, but if you're writing a journal for you future baby to document the apocalypse, why make the focus a nasty diatribe about some guy you once traveled with? It made me much more biased of her than Harold. The situation wasn't her fault, but her response to it was irritating.

Anyway I did the thing again of concentrating mostly on the negative aspects of a book in my review, but this book was really really good. I could also say I loved pretty much everything about this book other than what I referenced above, and considering how long the book is I think that’s pretty amazing.

Coincidentally I put this on hold from the library right before this Corona craziness hit it’s peak, so this was especially poignant right now as there is a real world new deadly virus spread across the entire world and changing the way we are living. ...more

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