I own two Stephen King books -- The Shining and The Cell. I have yet to read either, but I just might after reading exactly 35% (100 pages, hah) of his book On Writing. I'm tossing around reading the remaining 65% of On Writing because, shockingly enough, it's a good book and might just end my inability-to-finish-a-book slump. His writing isn't bogged down with fluff. Pretty language isn't a bad thing but when you're used to reading Tolstoy-thick research papers, being concise is much appreciated.
Stephen King doesn't suck. He's a gazillionaire penning a bunch of bestselling genre-spanning novels. I'm surely interested in what kind of creep weirdo wrote the book It, aren't you? Perhaps this is more attributed to Stanley Kubrick's evil genius film making but I recall a spine-tingly sensation across my back as the hallucinatory hotel blood river scene surged across my Zenith's screen.
King constructs his memories in On Writing with a fluidity that allows for a proper melding of space and time. It's really cool. He admits he can't recall a great deal from his early childhood but he manages to touch on it with funny (and some grossly sad) anecdotes. I think these are needed to get the full picture of King's semi-permanent roots and how he came to write.
The book reads like a good story but generally I think there are elements of storytelling in memoirs. King doesn't get all gooey and melt to pieces but he's speaks of being rejected and his struggles young writer. I'm worried I will have an early 1970s Stephen King moment after graduation. No one will want me to pipette in their test tubes...wait, that doesn't sound quite right, sigh... It's possible he wasn't supposed to publish Carrie until 1974 and the universe wouldn't make sense if he wrote it a moment sooner or later. It took his wife's reassurance to let him know he had something.
I'd like to finish the book before I speculate as to what King's big take home is with On Writing. When King talks of his childhood, was anyone else unable to shake the image of Gordie/young Wil Wheaton from Stand By Me from their brain?
I hope you did/do read the rest; the 2nd part offers readers insight on the writing process. Interesting reflection on the first 35% of the book. You manage to explore some interesting threads about King and his writing.
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