Joyland in Around the World in 80 Books

Nov 03, 2013 Laura (booksnob) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: literature, 2013, audiobook

Joyland is a amusement park in North Carolina near the ocean. Devon Jones is a college student in need of a summer job and he gets one working at Joyland. The year is 1973 and Devon arrives with a broken heart, in need of a distraction. He learns of the rules of the park from the true carnys. He makes new friends, wears the fur and learns of the legend the ghost who still haunts the funhouse. This promises to be one interesting summer.

When the summer ends, Devon decides to stay in North Carolina ...more

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Apr 24, 2025 Tony rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio, novels, thriller, setting-us-south, workplace, comingofage

I probably haven't picked up a Stephen King book or story in 40+ years, but this one caught my eye, mainly because it's short, a crime story, and I am about to read King's book "On Writing", so figured I should refresh myself with a taste of his prose. The story takes place in a North Carolina beach town in the summer of 1973. Devin Jones is a college student who's come down from New Hampshire to work at the "Joyland" amusement park, a rickety indie park at the tail end of its life, hanging on i I probably haven't picked up a Stephen King book or story in 40+ years, but this one caught my eye, mainly because it's short, a crime story, and I am about to read King's book "On Writing", so figured I should refresh myself with a taste of his prose. The story takes place in a North Carolina beach town in the summer of 1973. Devin Jones is a college student who's come down from New Hampshire to work at the "Joyland" amusement park, a rickety indie park at the tail end of its life, hanging on in the era before chain amusement parks had taken over. Pining for his college girlfriend, who's running around Boston without him, he makes friends with his fellow college student summer workers and starts to get drawn into the rhythms of the park and its colorful characters.

Of course, it being a King book, it doesn't take long for the fortune teller to tell him something odd, and for him to hear about a disappearance / murder that took place a decade earlier. The potentially supernatural and the old maybe-murder sit mostly in the background as the story focuses on Devin and his summer. When the summer ends, Devin stays and becomes involved in the life of a young boy who is slowly dying and his mother.

The story is told by a 60ish Devin, reflecting back on that summer -- and like a lot of what I can recall of King, the tone is very nostalgic and wistful for the naivete and promise of youth. King tries hard to portray Devin as a typical decent college student of the time, a little weed, yearning for sex, but generally a good guy -- however he also has him acting quite maturely and reflectively, in a way that felt a little too heroic at times. Still, I dug the whole faded, tattered 70s vibe of the story, and especially the slang (real and made up) of the amusement park. I was reminded how well King can paint a scene and suck you into a time and place, and I was happy to go along for the ride.

Note: The book is dedicated to master crime writer Donald Westlake, whose 14th book in the "Parker" series (Slayground) was set entirely within a rickety old amusement park. ...more

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Dec 23, 2013 Rachel N. rated it really liked it

Devin Jones is a college kid who gets a job working for the summer at Joyland amusement park in North Carolina. A woman was murdered in the tunnel of terror at the park and it said to haunt the ride. The book is mainly about Joyland and Devin and his relationship with a handicapped boy named Mike. Not really a scary book. More a sweet book that made me cry in spots.

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