NOS4A2 by Joe Hill/May 2013 - PLEASE USE SPOILER TAGS

[Amy]

No, I didn't have a problem with her appearance. That's just how I pictured her. I didn't hate her. I kind of related to her, actually. In her defense, she did try to come out of herself to be a better mother. She obviously used Lou, but she needed him.

[Rachel]

Finished this last night. I'm still not sure exactly what I thought about it. Definitely a 4 star book. I liked it but it didn't wow me. It's funny because I kept skimming reviews before the book came out that would mention feeling King's influence in this book. I felt like it was apparent, but not always in a good way. This was the first book I felt Hill needed to tighten up more, especially in the middle. Great characters but the plot takes a bit too long to reach its end for me. I also don't quite understand what the prologue had to do with the rest of the book, besides introducing Manx. Did the nurse's kid end up in Christmasland and I forgot his name?

[[deleted user]]

I finished too.
I did like it. A lot. And at times I loved it. The characterization wasn't up to the standard I expected from Hill. And I felt the story line jumped around too much. And skipped over what should have been important events. (view spoiler)[ Vic and Lou getting together. Wayne being born. Vic being a mother. Vic leaving. Etc. (hide spoiler)] Also I was left wanting to know more about (view spoiler)[ Manx and Christmasland. (hide spoiler)] I did like the ending though.
I don't know. It's a good solid 4 for me. Maybe even a 4½. But I feel it could have been better.

[J.W.]

Does anyone else think that Hill's writing changed massively with this novel? The writing strikes me as being very similar to his father's, whereas with HORNS and HEART-SHAPED BOX I thought he had a very different writing style, and it was quite beautiful. This novel is a bit... drier, I guess. It's still good writing, but I can't tell if it's just me.

[[deleted user]]

I noticed... something. I'm not ready to say he wrote in his father's style. Though, I can see why the comparison comes up. And I agree that Horns was a better book. If that Joe Hill had written this one it could have been great.

[Char]

I don't know about having it tattooed on my chest, but I like the idea of having a tattoo of an engine. I'm not a biker, but I often feel the need for speed and I love to drive. I also love going to the races...the smell of racing fuel, car exhaust, the whole thing.

[Tressa]

I still haven't come down off the high of Horns, and I read it years ago! It had a protagonist you could root for, his wonderful girlfriend, a complicated villain, laughs, lyrical passages, and even the side characters were so fleshed out they could have taken the lead in their own novels. NOS4A2 is a good, solid story, but it reads like it could have been written by any good horror writer. There wasn't much special about it, IMO. Actually, it could have been a Stephen King book: solid with flashes of brilliance but overall not as excellent and tight as it could have been.

I also wanted to know more about Christmasland, and was wondering if we were going to get ANY background on Manx; I was grateful we did.

Maybe I just didn't care for Vic too much. She's no Ig (or Merrin, for that matter).

[Gatorman]

I agree mostly with Jesse and Tressa about it. Gave it 4 stars but it felt too much like Hill was trying his hand at being his dad instead of going with what made his first two novels so good. I thought the ending was anti-climactic since there was so much build-up about Christmasland but we barely spent any time there. Solid writing and an entertaining story but it could have been better, especially in Dad's hands.

[Ctgt]

It's interesting how those of you who read some his previous works don't seem to like this book as much as me. Not that you hated the book but I wonder if I'm letting the similarities to King's early works cloud my vision of this book? I'm not sure.

[J.W.]

While I didn't enjoy this novel nearly as much as Hill's other work, he recently wrote a bit on his blog about how things were very different during this novel. It gave me a lot of insight into why it may have felt so different, and really made me respect the guy even more.


Here's the link:

http://joehillsthrills.tumblr.com/pos...

[Tressa]

Interesting, Jesse. Thanks for the link. I can't imagine being held slave to the paranoid habits of OCD. I always thought Hill was so self-assured to the point of swagger, but I'm actually glad to see that he's just a regular joe, full of self-doubt at times, too.

I think most of HIll's work here on out will be clouded by how wonderful I think Horns is. And that's my fault, not Hill's.

[Char]

Thanks for the link, Jesse.

Good for him for "coming out". These types of diseases can be debilitating for many people. Most especially because of the stigma of mental illness.(Not so much OCD but that's part of it, as the parnaoid thinking he had going on. )

[[deleted user]]

I have had minor (and not so minor) ocd. Though mine is more on the side of the tv show character Monk than Hill's is. And it is not easy to overcome. It really is like being a host (or slave) to your compulsions.
I admire him for not letting his fear rule his life.

[Rachel]

I have OCD tendencies that cause me to occasionally think really negative thoughts and cause anxiety. I can't imagine coupling that with a job where it does kind of matter what the general public thinks of your job performance, that's a crazy amount of stress.

[Bandit]

Just finished NOS4A2 and I really loved it. Now I've read 4 pages of everyone's opinions about it and I think I may have liked it a lot more than most. It was very entertaining and very difficult to put down and very imaginative. Normally I stay away from large books, but this one had me enthralled, you can read my review if you care to, although I have to warn you it's a bit like a crazy happy rave. I really liked Vic (name and all), I thought she was a unique female character, not a pretty cookie cutter, not cute at all. I liked Lou a lot. I pictured Mr. Burns for Manx and maybe Paul Giamatti for Bing. Maggie was a terrific side character.
I think this book was more in line with his Locke & Key series and might have been why it didn't quite make the cut with some of the horror fans.
Also, thanks for the link, Jesse. For me, as someone with OCD, it's very inspiring and encouraging to read about another person dealing with/possibly conquering it. Yet another reason to admire the man.

[Char]

Bandit, I'm glad you enjoyed it! I found that I've been thinking about it a lot since I finished it. I'm pretty sure I would like to do a re-read at some point.

[Bandit]

Right now I can't imagine forgetting it enough to do a reread, it is SO memorable, but who knows what future holds...some of the details of his previous two books have faded from my memory, I think