Finding this hard work - anyone else?

[Caroline]

I love Stephen King but am finding this so hard to read. The first chapter seems over long, over written and confusing but when you boil it down not a lot happens.
I have pushed on but even up to chapter four I'm really finding this one hard.
Does it get better or should I just quit?

[Brooklyn]

I thought it was an okay hangover read. There really was little point to the story, IMO, and I really only liked it for its utter batshit craziness, but I definitely consider among his worst.

[Caroline]

Thanks for that. I think I'm gonna stop where I am as I really am not enjoying it. Was beginning to think I was going senile.

[Jeanine]

I kept on with the agonizing read hoping it would get better.
Like Brooklyn said it has utter batshit craziness and I kept going to see what exactly was wrong with the car.

[Papaphilly]

It depends, if you have read From a Buick 8 out of sequence with his other works or have read it as one of the first of Stephen King it may make little sense.

This is what I call a bridge novel for the constant reader (his name for us). You have to be steeped in Stephen King lore to understand what the book is about. It is part of his Dark Tower universe. It bridges one section to another. If you do not know the Dark Tower Universe, then you can't possibly understand what is going on and it can be very frustrating. The book is not about the car, but the darkness that the car represents. Hearts in Atlantis is another version of this. On one level it is about a boy and the old man, but on the other level that the Constant Reader understands, it is about the Dark Tower universe. However, if you do not know about the universe to start with, you will never catch the inside joke.

The Dark Tower series is a set of eight books, but most of the rest of his novels tie into his Magnum Opus in some form or another. Think of From a Buick 8 like a very large Easter egg.

[Brooklyn]

Oh I caught the DT stuff and I perfectly well understood the book. But that didn't make it any more of a satisfying read. Hearts in Atlantis was great though. :)

[Jeanine]

Ah now it makes sense for I have not read the Dark Towers

Thanks

[Papaphilly]

Brooklyn wrote: "Oh I caught the DT stuff and I perfectly well understood the book. But that didn't make it any more of a satisfying read. Hearts in Atlantis was great though. :)"

I didn't like Pet Sematary much and others loved it.

[Caroline]

Papaphilly wrote: "It depends, if you have read From a Buick 8 out of sequence with his other works or have read it as one of the first of Stephen King it may make little sense.

This is ..."

Thanks I have read just about everything of his but not the dark tower books, and I did not realize that this was related to those. Even though for me it was very overwritten so I think I will leave it for now. I have the dark tower books so may come back to it after those.

[Jeffery]

Some of SK's books are different as you can see. I really think you need to know what kind of author he is. Also, I think some of is books I do not like at all(some of them), I do like a majority of them.

[Brooklyn]

I agree. I LOVE about 90% of his work, like about 7% and was just "meh" about 3%. I only recall 2 that I didn't finish and even this one wasn't one of them. Which is why he's my hero.

[Caroline]

He is definitely up there with hero points

[Caroline]

I loved Christine but just couldn't read this. I gave up at about page 130

[Caroline]

Thanks Aaron may come back to it after the Dark Tower Series, but got a lot to read at the moment

[Mark]

Me too. I just finished it last week. Although I found the idea great, I had to skim over quite a few parts, mainly the bits which weren't to do with the Buick.

The funny thing is in King's great writing guide/memoir On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, he recommends cutting out any boring parts.

Also, I didn't really care about any of the characters. The boy in it, Curtis's son, seemed like a bit of a tool. The Buick should have got him hahaha

[Caroline]

:)

[Matt]

I was going to say stop now, but it looks like you've made that choice already. Worst King book ever, and probably the worst book I've finished, ever. There are a couple of books where I've stopped, because life is too short, but I almost always enjoy the ride, if not the story itself. SK's narrative is usually like getting back in touch with an old friend. This was more like an ongoing Facebook post about...well, it doesn't matter what it was about. I blocked it from my timeline.

[Caroline]

Oh Matt that is such a good way to put it.

[Lj]

Sadly, I feel SK stopped writing for his readers years ago. He now seems to ramble on and just enjoy stringing sentences together whether the reader will enjoy it or not. Some of his books are just plain tedious. My once favorite author seems to have let his ego take over his narrative.

[[deleted user]]

I am a fan of Mr.King but I just couldn't finish this one.

[Papaphilly]

Olivia wrote: "I am a fan of Mr.King but I just couldn't finish this one."

Out of curiosity, did you read the Dark Tower books?

[Kate]

I've read everything SK has written. I'd read the man's grocery lists.

That being said, I don't think this was one of his better efforts. I judge this based on the fact that I've only read it once. There are some of his books (Insomnia, Bag of Bones, It, The Stand, for example) that I've read probably dozens of times.

If I were new to his books, I'd start elsewhere.

[R]

There isn’t a single Stephen King book (outside of Dark Tower books themselves) that requires you read the Dark Tower series to enjoy it. This is just a weak story. Should have been a novella at most.