Duma Key

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl]

Yeah, saw that, but I counted that as the same complaint :-)

[[deleted user]]

You know, it's been so long since I picked up the book, that I really "Don't Know What to Expect" I usually only read the summary once, just to see if the story sounds interesting... As for Duma Key; I'm going by the masses, stating it's a great read by The Man himself. I'm not too far into it but I usually do like his writing style, just not always the way the story goes.. So I guess I'm not expecting anything, therefore I won't be disappointed... :)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl]

Always - I don't think you'll be disappointed.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl]

Astronaut Chickens - Chapter Two - Big Pink:

"You've got all your basic staples," he said , "plus salad-in-a-bag, hamburger, and one of those cooked chickens in a plastic capsule - we call em Astronaut Chickens at my house."

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl]

Do you think the following is a reflection of King's own feelings on religion? :

"...as a member in good standing of The First Church of Nothing in Particular, I had no grudge against the Baptists. The only religions I don't like are the ones that insist their God is bigger than your God."
-from Chapter 3, Drawing on New Resources

btw, I haven't posted any spoiler alerts because I think I've so far shared pretty vague passages from the story. I plan to post spoiler alerts for anything I share that would give away key story elements.

[Becky]

I don't know exactly... I have a vague feeling that King is a religious man, but I don't think that the personal faiths of his characters are a reflection of his own. King's characters are, to me anyway, all very real and different people, so any beliefs they hold are just theirs.

I've never really given a lot of thought about King's religious beliefs, and now that I think about it, I appreciate him the more for it.

When I read Koontz, I KNOW what his beliefs are, and it can alienate people or turn them off of his writing. But even after King's near-death experience, where I'm sure that he might have had the most religious experience of his life, I don't feel like King makes a statement of right or wrong with regard to religion.

I don't know if that makes sense... I guess I'm trying to say that I like that King doesn't beat me over the head with the Religion Stick. =\

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl]

Becky, Yep - makes sense. I read somewhere in another discussion on this group about Stephen King's religion and it sounded something like what was stated in Duma Key so that's why I mentioned it. Also, on Koontz - I know :-) followed the Dean Koontz discussion thread on this group under "Other Books" and I think the point was made pretty clearly how as you said Koontz strong religious views - "... can alienate people or turn them off of his writing."

Also, Becky, do you think there's any quotes that I posted that I should go back and put spoiler alerts on? I don't think I've given anything away (I don't think Astronaut Chickens play a major role in the story - although I know another one gets eaten in Chapter 3) but I just wanted to make sure. I'll happily add a spoiler alert to every quote if other readers want me to :-)

[Angie, Constant Reader]

Don't worry about the spoiler alerts in this thread. The thread was started sooner then our book discussion so there are already spoilers.

I suppose I should warn people (though it's late) to beware of spoilers in this thread! Read the older posts with caution!

[Becky]

Nothing you've posted so far is a spoiler, Dustin. :)

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl]

Thanks - didn't think so but I'll use them when necessary.

[Jaice]

Becky wrote: "I don't know exactly... I have a vague feeling that King is a religious man, but I don't think that the personal faiths of his characters are a reflection of his own. King's characters are, to me a..."

Actually, I thought that King is widely-known as an atheist and claims to be such himself. In fact, I'm certain I've seen his name on a list of celebrity atheists--it is a YouTube video, I think.

[Becky]

Jason wrote: "Actually, I thought that King is widely-known as an atheist and claims to be such himself. In fact, I'm certain I've seen his name on a list of celebrity atheists--it is a YouTube video, I think."

Hmm... I've never heard that. It seems strange that an atheist should write so much about God, or a supreme being like Gan, or the subaudible from The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon, etc. I think of books like The Stand, where so much was tied to faith and God, and I just can't see it.

He may not worship any particular god, but I don't know if I could believe that he doesn't think there IS something... But he would know better than I. :)

[Jaice]

Becky wrote: "...He may not worship any particular god, but I don't know if I could believe that he doesn't think there IS something... But he would know better than I."

You may be right, Becky--I cannot make the claim with certainty. I read that he has never made an official public statement on the matter. His daughter is a catholic minister though. I would certainly argue that he is not religious (and is, in fact, vehemently opposed to organized religion), even if he is a theist and not an atheist. I find he is often satirical and even derogatory about religion in his writing. I did find this list of famous celebrity atheists, though I cannot vouch for its credibility:
http://machineslikeus.com/famous-athe... .

[Becky]

Jason wrote: "I would certainly argue that he is not religious (and is, in fact, vehemently opposed to organized religion), even if he is a theist and not an atheist."

I would agree with this statement, and with the position. :)

[Stacie]

This interview with King is from last year but it's relevant to this discussion :) Hopefully the link will work:

http://www.salon.com/books/int/2008/1...

[Nilofer]

I was rereading the older posts, esp. LinBee's one of all the possible King events happening at once, and it reminded me of this poem by Neil Gaiman in his book "Fragile Things" called "The day the Saucers came"...about how on the same day, flying saucers land, vampires attack, zombies come out, etc etc with a nice, witty ending.

Re the thread about Benjamin's post, discussing anything we find relevant to a book is the best part of these monthly reads, you never know what someone's going to relate to, or have a reference to, just like Dustin's Reba song lyrics. The more info and posts the better!

[[deleted user]]

I was wondering if anyone besides myself was reading DK & hearing SK's voice doing the narration? Perhaps that is why I'm lovin' it so much...
If not, Please don't judge... :)

[Becky]

No, the only voice for Duma Key for me is John Slattery's. It's perfect.

I have to say that I'm not a big fan of King's narration... it's a bit nasally. But given the choice between a nasally narration or no King at all, I'll take the former any day. :)

[Angie, Constant Reader]

I am finally about to start this book!

[Rachel]

I'm gonna now continue to listen to this book on Itunes.

[Stacie]

Always wrote: "I was wondering if anyone besides myself was reading DK & hearing SK's voice doing the narration? Perhaps that is why I'm lovin' it so much...
If not, Please don't judge... :)"

No, you aren't the only one ;) I actually like King's narration... not so much for his voice, per se, but for his cadence. His sentences have a certain flow to them and you can really hear it when he reads. Although I will admit Slattery did a fantastic job!

[Leshawn]

One of the things I've always loved about Stephen King's characters is their ability to observe the smallest facial gesture or change in body language and understand how that relates to the interior life of the person they are observing. It seems to me that this is an indisputable part of life but so few authors include it in their character development.
Now here comes my strange contribution to the "Duma Key" discussion: King's development of Edgar Freemantle and Wireman is linked in my mind to Henry James's consistent development of his characters by observing their slightest gesture and the ensuing exploration of what this means about their interior life.
I've always loved Stephen King's books because he invests so much effort in creating a well-developed world with well drawn characters before he introduces the "Horror"!
I wasn't sure what the "Horror" was until page 446 of a 609 page tome. And with the small, innocuous sentence "There was a man in my kitchen.", I was just as scared as Edgar. I was completely taken in because King spent so much time making Edgar real to me!

[Bondama]

Leshawn -- what you've written is one of the most insightful comments about SK that I've ever come across -- The comparison to Henry James is particularly interesting because when I read James, I find myself turned off and bored because of his "consistent development of his characters. . . " But King, while doing the same thing, only draws me further in. And you are so, so right.... although most people will be frightened by the drawings, for me it was that exact sentence you quoted. "There was a man in my kitchen." Whoa.... my heart rate tripled at that point -- BECAUSE King had spent so much time establishing normality as his atmosphere. And suddenly, with those words, normality flies out the window! What you wrote was wonderful, Leshawn, because it helps clarify what so many people have tried to dissect: Just what is it that makes Stephen King so much more frightening that most of his contemporaries?

[Sarah (AdventGeekGirl)]

Becky wrote: "I don't know exactly... I have a vague feeling that King is a religious man, but I don't think that the personal faiths of his characters are a reflection of his own. King's characters are, to me a..."


In the Sunset Notes for 'Willa' in Just After Sunset, King writes "I was raised as a perfectly conventional Methodist, and although I rejected organized religion and most of its hard and fast assertions long ago, I hold to the main idea, which is that we survive death in some fashion or other. It's hard for me to believe that such complicated and occasionally wonderful beings are in the end simply waste, tossed away like litter on the roadside. (Probably I just don't want to believe it.)"

I think due to him pointing out a rejection of organized religion, he still holds to basic religious beliefs and probably strives, as many people who have been burned in some way or another by organized religion, to live the best life that they can within their means and hope for the best on the other side. He does not hold himself to an organized religion, but embraces his own system of beliefs that make sense to him over the years.

Another interesting tidbit is that his daughter, Naomi, is a minister for a Unitarian Universalist church in Florida (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naomi_King).

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl]

Thanks for the info Sarah :-)

[Becky]

Sarah wrote: "I think due to him pointing out a rejection of organized religion, he still holds to basic religious beliefs and probably strives, as many people who have been burned in some way or another by organized religion, to live the best life that they can within their means and hope for the best on the other side."

Yes. I think that there is a definite difference between eschewing organized religion and not believing at all. He just worships or believes on his own, as you say. Which is how I've always felt King does just about everything.

There is an undertone of belief in King's books, that the reader can accept or reject on their own without feeling browbeaten, like I happen to feel pretty often with Koontz. Which is why I think this conversation started in the first place...

[Sarah (AdventGeekGirl)]

Becky wrote: "Sarah wrote: "I think due to him pointing out a rejection of organized religion, he still holds to basic religious beliefs and probably strives, as many people who have been burned in some way or a..."

I have always been interested in the "religious" themes in King's work. For years (before the internet became bombarded with information) I did research trying to learn more about whether or not he was this or that or how was he raised, etc. Only in the last several years have I really turned over some stones. But I like how he handles it. My husband reads more Koontz than I do (I read mostly Odd Thomas books), so I can't really speak to the Koontz stuff.

but I had just read that little bit in Just After Sunset the other day, so it was fresh and I thought I'd throw it in. :-)

[Becky]

Thanks.

I haven't read nearly as much Koontz as I have King, but the ones I have read have such a heavy handed Christian overtone that it just turns me off and I can't enjoy the STORY. :(

[Jaice]

Becky wrote: "Yes. I think that there is a definite difference between eschewing organized religion and not believing at all...."

Absolutely, Becky. Theism is not at all dependent on religion, but religion requires theism. Thus, one can believe in a god and not be religious, but one cannot be religious without believing in a god. Religion is just a set of rituals/beliefs that are centered around belief in a god. I would argue that many people believe in some creator, but choose not to abide by a specific religion based on that belief. I'm glad Sarah mentioned that bit about his daughter, as the source from which I gave the info about his daughter's ministries above was incorrect, apparently.

[Becky]

Of course. It just seems easy for people to miss the distinction, and think that in order to believe, you must follow The Church.

I grew up in the Bible Belt and had a lot of prayers directed my way because I didn't go to church and wasn't raised to any particular religion. To most of the people I knew when I was a kid, I was damned because I didn't go to church. But back then, when I was little, I KNEW there was a god, because it just made sense that there would be. Now, I'm not so sure, so I'm agnostic. But, even when my friends' parents would ask if I believed in God, and I'd say yes, it still wasn't enough. I had to go and sit in church so that God could see me, or it didn't count. LOL

It seems to me that personal religion is the true religion, if any can be considered "true". Not the biggest one with the prettiest buildings and the largest congregation. I think that if there is a god, and there could be, I don't claim to be an expert or KNOW there isn't now, but if there is, I'd think that God would speak to us personally, rather than through an unreliable representative.

Anyway, I'm rambling and now you all know way more about me than you probably wanted to. LOL

[Angie, Constant Reader]

OK so... I am about 200 pages in (so I haven't read any other posts yet) and have to say this book is slow to me. I feel like in 200 pages nothing has really happened. And then the "How to Draw a Picture" sections are so confusing so me. I have to re-read what I am reading. I mean I feel like the only thing I've learned is.. there was an accident, Eddie moved to Duma, painting, and he might be able to predict the future through art. 200 PAGES!

[Becky]

Oh no! You should listen to the audio! John Slattery is fabulous.

[Dustin the wind Crazy little brown owl]

I'm also going to start listening to the Audio read by John Slattery to help speed things up :-) otherwise I don't see how I'll get through this book in October. I read too slow and this past week have been reading a different book, but I'm getting back to Duma Key this coming week so I'll probably post more soon.

[Jaice]

I will be starting the Slattery version early next week, as soon as I finish Dean Koontz's Frankenstein (book 3) Dead and Alive. By the way, Becky, I have suspected your views on religion/theism for some time now and I share them, agreeing with everything you said.

[Becky]

Thanks, Jason.

I'm sure you will love Slattery's reading. I literally couldn't stop listening. He is THE perfect reader for this story. :)

[[deleted user]]

Angie wrote: "OK so... I am about 200 pages in (so I haven't read any other posts yet) and have to say this book is slow to me. I feel like in 200 pages nothing has really happened. And then the "How to Draw a ..."
It's not 1 of King's Horror Feast Books, it's still has a Supernatural undertone (IMO) ... And You have to read even the stuff that doesn't make sense, cuz it will... And yeah, I think he coulda put a few pages less in the book (I'm less than 200 from the ending)However, I keep seeing him as the main character & (by the side of the road when he was hit by that car years back) this may be more of another testimonial perhaps w/Twists???
It's rings more of an Emotional Ride..
Anyone Else????

[Bondama]

Actually, I liked the "slowness" of the way that the "supernatural" creeps into Duma Key -- for me, it made it all the more frightening BECAUSE one is lulled by the very ordinariness of the scenario. By the time things start to go off kilter, he speeds up and up and up until you literally can't put the book down. Duma Key is one of favorite of all King's books. By contrast, "Insomnia" nearly drove me crazy with its slow build up.

[[deleted user]]

Bondama wrote: "Actually, I liked the "slowness" of the way that the "supernatural" creeps into Duma Key -- for me, it made it all the more frightening BECAUSE one is lulled by the very ordinariness of the scenari..."

I agree w/Insomnia... I'll never read it again...
Unless I was to meet the man himself to do it... Then I would read it over & over & over..... :)

[Becky]

I really enjoyed Insomnia. It's among my 2nd tier King favorites. But I really loved Ralph's character, and I loved the slow ordinariness that morphs into crazy fantastic oddity. I also loved the DT links too.

But Duma just... is in a league of its own. I think a lot of my complete adoration is because I listened to the amazfantabulous audio, but the entire story just draws me in and makes me wish I could BE there. And the characters are so real and interesting and wonderful, especially Wireman. I wish King's characters were real.

Well, some of them.

[Melissa]

I've read the book once. I don't dare read it again but not because I didn't enjoy it. Because I did... quite a lot.

It's because my husband got me the paperback edition and the binding has come loose and some of the pages are threatening to come out. It rarely happens in paperbacks but it is a risk.

So to preserve it for now it's staying on the bookshelf.

Plus I have 'Just After Sunset' now.... so I can entertain myself with that.

[Becky]

Rachele, I hate when that happens. My paperback copy of From a Buick 8 did that, as well as my copy of Cell. :( But I still vastly prefer paperbacks to hardcovers.

[Melissa]

Oh I prefer paperbacks too solely for their portability (I can fit one in my purse) and their cost as they are cheaper. Plus I can fit more paperbacks on my bookshelf vs hardcover.

But the risk for paperbacks if they aren't bound well is that the pages may fall out.

BUT the book is new. And the entire binding split, top to bottom. Like it got sliced when they opened the box at the store or something with an exacto knife.

[Becky]

That is horrible.

Note to self: When buying books, flip through the pages and test the binding to make sure all is intact and stable.

[[deleted user]]

I noticed the paperback version of 'Duma Key' was pretty thin & pretty flexible. Light on the fingers.... I can't explain it better than that

[Rachel]

I agree with Becky that the characters in Duma Key feel real.I've never vacationed in FL (well, once in Key West in a very modern condo) but i pictured Big Pink to look a beach house that my family used to rent yearly in NC when I was a kid. King sets up the worlsd so beautifully that you're really invested by the time the crazy stuff starts to go down. I also really enjoyed Insomnia's slow dive into weirdness.

[Becky]

Yes. They are so interesting and unique but REAL.

I grew up in northern Florida, and there was no shortage of eccentrics, but the characters in Duma aren't eccentric, they are just INTERESTING. Just like, odd things happen around them, like they draw it to themselves without knowing or intending it, it just happens, and then they are stuck trying to have a life while they deal with the craziness around them.

I don't really know how to express what I mean. Suffice it to say that I love these characters.

[Kandice]

I love Wireman too. I agree with Becky that hearing it read and listening to the voice Wireman was given, added to the appeal. I loved him when I read it, too, though, so that's not ALL it was.

Rachel, we used to go to Myrtle Beach when I was a kid, and that's what I envision Duma as, as well! That's funny.

[Chris , The Hardcase]

I've only been to northern Florida beaches - never down as far as Duma Key....Pensacola, Panama City, Jacksonville....

[Kathy]

One thing I loved about this book was that I loved the story before anything supernatural really happened. I loved his story of recuperation and renewal, and his growing friendship with Wireman. By the time things really start to happen, I love these people!

[Angie, Constant Reader]

I am up to page 400 now (hardcover) and must say I really liked pages 200-400. Much better to me then the first half of the book. While reading this book I really wish there was a way to see the pictures. Of course I can picture them in my head but I kinda wish they were also in the book... kinda like the illustrated Da vinci Code.