Under the Dome

Alright, I'm finally back, with the next installment- Stephen King's Under the Dome.

When I first got the book from the library, a string of profanities (that I'm not proud of) ran through my head, all directed towards Mr. King. The book was- is- 1,074pages long. I was furious. I've read a lot of Stephen King before, and I knew that his work was detailed and thick, and not something I could skim. So I cursed him for writing something this large novel that I would have to pour over... and then, 37 pages later, I was eating my words.

In short, I absolutely loved the book. Within just a few chapters, I was remembering all of the things I love about his writing, and I was, once again, hooked. Only towards the very end did I actually begin to feel the weight of the book- both in my purse and in my mind- but it really kept a quick pace that was easy to read and engaging. Even in the most horrible parts, King made me laugh out loud, and I am so thankful for that. I knew I was, undeniably, in love with the book when he said:

"We have toured the sock-shape that is Chester's Mill and arrived back at Route 119. And, thanks to the magic of narration, not an instant has passed since the..."(p 37)

I won't tell you since what, obviously.

Much much later, I was sitting in a coffee shop on the Siuslaw River, enjoying a day of sunlight, when I read:

"She didn't need to finish; the pallor of her cheeks was eloquent."(p 664)

I thought, No, you're eloquent, Stephen King! Maybe it was the glorious day talking, but I was touched at King's ability to say something so poetic in such a bleak situation- and the book is littered with moments like this. The range of emotions is stunning- this isn't simply a horror story.

Now, having read his work before, I've come to believe that there are (at least) 2 basic kinds of King novels: Those that are meant to terrify the living snot out of you (re: It, The Dark Half, etc.) and then there are those that are creepy in a more thoughtful way- the kind of fear that seeps in and stays there for years to come, the kind of fear that comes from terrible things happening that are a little too realistic and hit a little too close to home.

Under the Dome was the latter.

Now, I'm going to pause here and say, NO, this was not based on the Simpsons movie. Yikes. King started writing this in 1976 and tabled it. So let's move on, shall we?

Under the Dome was so interesting, so compelling, and so complex that it made me feel... unsettled. It made me uneasy, seeing characteristics in people that were disquietingly horrible, and yet, so normal. It was amazing to watch what happened to the people that were trapped under a dome, and how quickly their lives fell apart. For the record, every single one of my (many) predictions were wrong. Not even close. But this, again, is why I love King.

Now, since I'm sure this sounds like a horrible bit of fan mail to Stephen King, I'll get on to the bad news:
It's long.

Sorry, that's all I've got- it was really, really long. It didn't feel long, but after a week of nothing but this book, I'm a little relieved to be done.

So, what do you think? Will you brave this obstacle? It's worth it, I think. If you do, do yourself a favor and read the Author's Note in the back- it was delightful.