Stephen King Fans discussion
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Do you find some of King`s stories repetitive?
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Emil
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Jul 18, 2014 09:01AM
I found that sometimes King tends to choose certain motifs in a lot of his novels, which is alright by all means, but then comes the bigger problem as years went by and books grew in considerable number: Stephen began plot-stereotyping.
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I totally agree about King being repetitive, but I don't think it's a bad thing, not for my tastes anyway. I enjoy King's body of work because it all seems familiar to me by now. I know a big knock on him is that it seems like half of his characters are writers and all his stories seem to take place in shitty New England small towns, but that's what I like about him. In fact, the King book I disliked the most was The Gunslinger. I just couldn't stand it. I'd much rather King take me to some crappy little town so I can watch a depressed writer get his ass kicked by a crazy fat lady. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy and shit.
Gavin wrote: "Like what motifs, Bill?"They're rather themes than motifs, but I'll mention a few:
Child abuse, writer protagonists, machines that come to life on their own,(Trucks, Christine, the laundry press machine in The Mangler, etc.), possessed animals (Pet Sematary, Cujo, that cat from a short story which name eludes me right now...
all of this is very true, that s the sole reason I slowed down on King those last years, the pattern was getting too obvious
Have none of you heard about the finite number of plots in the world? The rest is all just variation on a theme. Having written upwards of 50 books, numerous other media contributions, etc. how could he NOT repeat a bit?http://www.ipl.org/div/farq/plotFARQ....
Bill wrote: "Gavin wrote: "Like what motifs, Bill?"They're rather themes than motifs, but I'll mention a few:
Child abuse, writer protagonists, machines that come to life on their own,(Trucks, Christine, the ..."
Well, some themes are recurring in his stories(some are not), but to the point that the stories would be repetitive and SK 'plot-stereotyping'? I don't think so. For instance, aside from 'machines coming to life', those 3 stories you mention couldn't be more different.
Kandice wrote: "Have none of you heard about the finite number of plots in the world? The rest is all just variation on a theme. Having written upwards of 50 books, numerous other media contributions, etc. how cou..."You have a point there, Kandice.
Aside from writer protagonists, the two recurring character types that he gets the most flack for I think are "the magical black guy" (or lady, in case of Mother Abigail) and the mentally handicapped guy with special powers. Sometimes it seems like he can't get through a novel without relying on one or the other of those.
Mod
oh wait. isn't there a Dean Koontz group on GR? Be right back.
Telepathic powers also pop up a lot. But let's not judge King too harshly. all authors have themes and ideas they like to revisit.
Chris wrote: "I really don't understand joining a Stephen King group in order to point out his flaws. oh wait. isn't there a Dean Koontz group on GR? Be right back."
LOL - Goofball!
I love how SK brings familiar characters, settings, and even themes into new writings; I feel like part of the family. There are always strange and fascinating twists.
I agree with Chris I didn't join a group about SK to talk bad about his work I wanted to talk to and share with ppl that love his work as much as I do :(
Carrie wrote: "I agree with Chris I didn't join a group about SK to talk bad about his work I wanted to talk to and share with ppl that love his work as much as I do :("I love King's work as well, don't get me wrong. I was just trying to discus something that caught my attention.
Carrie wrote: "I agree with Chris I didn't join a group about SK to talk bad about his work I wanted to talk to and share with ppl that love his work as much as I do :("The title of the thread is a clue that maybe some of the comments might be a bit negative.
I also love the way bits and pieces and allusions to previous stories come out in the newer stories. I've read more recent SK books than old ones - now I'm going back and reading some of his old stuff- and I'm catching familiar nuances I wasn't aware of.
Love it.
He does revisit certain themes but it does not bother me.
I'm reading IT now and one of the characters thought "how about that happy crappy". Sound familiar... :)
I honestly do not mind whatever repetition there may be because the guy is such a brilliant story teller. And I do appreciate how characters and other referrences show up in different books, it's almost like everything is all part of one big novel :)
Stephen King's stories are not repetitive. Well, some of his characters seem to resemble with each other a lot. But by story, the main concern we have here is the synopsis. I think King's stories are original and fascinating from each of their own. Give the great man a break, you guys. I think there's nothing wrong if he exploits some aspects of his past works over and over again. It's called being resourceful, making use of what was already set before him. And so what if he does it sometimes? They're his stories, anyway. He can do whatever he wants with them.
Interesting thread. What I'm seeing, I think, is that one persons 'repetitive' is anothers 'warm and familiar'. Po-TA-to/Po-TAH-to. And for what it's worth, I don't find it disrespectful to pontificate on the subject.For me I started reading Stephen King when I was around 11 or 12, from the school library (remember those?lol). What I find brilliant about his writing is his understanding of the human condition. He knows that the imagination of a young child exists still in all of us and his writing brings you to that point within yourself so that you can "feel" the story. If I take a step back, I do have to confess that most of the 'monsters' created are rather silly and goofy, I can understand where some may find repetition in that. Imagine if you will your son or daughter, niece or nephew coming to you and telling you about the clown in the drain or any of his other creations. An adult mind would dismiss this of course as the imagination of a child. The genius in the story telling is the ability to make even the rational adult think, even for just a split second, 'what if'.
Like I said, I started reading his work when I was 11 or 12, I'm now 46 and can just as easily still immerse myself in a King novel, whether a new release or an old friend. But there have been large swaths of time where I haven't picked up one of his books. Whatever reason why, I honestly can't say, but I know whenever I do stray away I always come back.
He definitely has developed his own category of cliches.
Mack wrote: "I totally agree about King being repetitive, but I don't think it's a bad thing, not for my tastes anyway. I enjoy King's body of work because it all seems familiar to me by now. I know a big knock..."I completely agree; it's the familiarity of his topics, settings, and characters, that make me feel like I've come home. It's a comfort thing for me.
Maria wrote: "Carrie wrote: "I agree with Chris I didn't join a group about SK to talk bad about his work I wanted to talk to and share with ppl that love his work as much as I do :("The title of the thread is..."
I, too, have been catching up on his more recent works after not reading him for about 25 years, and plan on going back and rereading the older novels as well, for the reason you mentioned. The little nuances are what makes them so good.
Sheila wrote: "Interesting thread. What I'm seeing, I think, is that one persons 'repetitive' is anothers 'warm and familiar'. Po-TA-to/Po-TAH-to. And for what it's worth, I don't find it disrespectful to pontifi..."Sheila, you explained my feelings exactly. Started when I was young, left him behind for awhile simply because of the "goofy monsters," and have just recently started reading him again after rereading The Stand this past summer. I agree, the monsters can be rather silly, but it's the storytelling, the "getting it" when he describes a certain emotion or feeling. I am currently reading Cell and, while zombies aren't quite my "thing," I can totally picture the streets filled with them, and the terror of the noncrazies. For me, this is what makes King great.
I like his recurring author characters, and I remember telling my husband that one of the things I enjoyed about Bag of Bones is that I got an education on the process of writing, editing, and submitting a manuscript for publication. It didn't bore me, and I was glad to have learned something, even though I'm not a writer. I know a lot of detail turns some off, but I love it.
Carrie wrote: "I agree with Chris I didn't join a group about SK to talk bad about his work I wanted to talk to and share with ppl that love his work as much as I do :("I do love King and have to say that his worst is better than the best of most other writers. But it doesn't hurt to know those few places where he stumbles and can't quite pull it off. Also, it's good to find people who like works that I didn't, because maybe I was the one who was off, at a bad place for example, when I was reading the book. Then I reconsider and go back and re-read. So far I've really liked some of the books that I previously dismissed.
Chris wrote: "I really don't understand joining a Stephen King group in order to point out his flaws. oh wait. isn't there a Dean Koontz group on GR? Be right back."
Very Good Chris LOL
Steve wrote: "Chris wrote: "I really don't understand joining a Stephen King group in order to point out his flaws. oh wait. isn't there a Dean Koontz group on GR? Be right back."
Very Good Chris LOL"
Once again I'll explain. You can still like an author or a film director, and point some things out that don't live up to certain expectations or just strike you as flaws.
You can love your parents, but that doesn't mean that every once in a while you aren't pissed at them or just criticize them. Need I simplify it any further for you?
I've noticed some recurring elements but that doesn't really bother me too much. As Kandice says there are only so many plots in the world, his talent is in spinning them in a different direction. One thing that does bother me though is the more I read older horror the more I see very close similarities to them in King's books. And some of them are pretty specific not just general themes. I had a list but it's not to hand right now.
Interesting thread here. Stephen King is such a prolific writer (54 novels and 200 short stories) that I think some plots and characters will overlap as familiar. His creativity is certainly high when you look at the range of all his stories. But in the comment below "in joining a SK group in order to point out his flaws," isn't it fair to say that no book is flawless. No matter how good a writer one is, every story has some weakness here or there.
Paula wrote: "Interesting thread here. Stephen King is such a prolific writer (54 novels and 200 short stories) that I think some plots and characters will overlap as familiar. His creativity is certainly high w..."That was my point, Paula. I'm not trying to be negative or critical of King's work, in fact, quite the opposite. I was just trying to have some objective discussion on a different topic.
Understood and your point is well taken, Bill.
King is my favorite author and has been for 30 plus years. There is nothing of his I won't read, although there are a few I haven't re-read. That being said, if his stuff was all the same, would we all love him as much as we do? Of course some themes repeat, but I for one find that to be part of his charm.
Personally I enjoy some of the more recurring elements, it's like being part of an inside joke or discovering a secret meaning. Even when a plot repeats, though, he still manages to inject new emotions into the writing. I can honstly say I've never been bored reading King, and most of the time if you're relatively sure you know where a plot's going, it still manages to surprise you in the end.
Oh, yes - I love the references in some works to places, names and events in other books/stories. He's definitely my all time favorite author - but I do have to read something else in between.
I don't think of them as repetitive, but as commen themes.
Claire wrote: "Personally I enjoy some of the more recurring elements, it's like being part of an inside joke or discovering a secret meaning. Even when a plot repeats, though, he still manages to inject new emot..."I love them too. It's like catching up with a favorite character from a different book when they pop up in another.
I agree with this but it doesn't necessarily have to be a bad thing. It's like that same monster lurking at the back of your mind coming out to play. I think that's part of the charm. Once you get freaked out, you know all the rest will do the same for you. And you keep on coming back to face that fear he had instilled on you.
