Thursday, July 14, 2011

Stephen King, and why I love him


I really like this quote from Stephen King, because it sums up pretty nicely how I feel about the dreaded "doorstop thriller":

"So many of the 400-pagers are disposable... When I see books by some of the suspense writers that are popular now, I think: "These are basically books for people who don't want to read at all." It just kind of passes through the system. It's like some kind of fast-food treat that takes the express right from your mouth to your bowels, without ever stopping to nourish any part of you."

There are exceptions, of course, but I think for the most part that's spot on.

But King himself writes monstrously long books, doesn't he? Ah, a quandary.

The things I DON'T like about Stephen King: His books are, indeed, waaaay too long, usually. And he writes too goddamn many of them. I can't keep up. In fact, I'm a good DECADE behind.

The things I LOVE about Stephen King: nobody, and I mean NOBODY, writes better or more believable characters. That's King's gift to the world, and that's why he'll be remembered 100, 200 years from now.

Also, the man is a brilliant short story writer. As behind as I am on his novels, I never miss a short story collection from him. If you don't believe me, read Everything's Eventual and see for yourself. It's a collection by a man at the top of his form.

Stephen King's enthusiasm for writing and for reading (he's still a big ole' fanboy himself) are infectious. Long live the King.

10 comments:

  1. I'm in the same boat as you. I read one of his latest stories and was a tad unimpressed, but he usually smacks you right upside the head. I'm way behind on his novels. I think the Dark Tower series broke him a bit. But his writing voice is like a siren, subtle and gripping.

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  2. He's overproducing, but nobody dares to tell him because he's such a milking cow. But I think you're right. Guys like Harold Bloom are talking shit about him, but he's going to be remembered loooooong after his death.

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  3. I hadn't read any King, but then I got On Writing - very insightful book. Now I keep meaning to read Carrie - maybe I should just go an order it.

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  4. His sweet spot for me is his novellas. I gave up on the novels a long time ago.

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  5. I am a big, big fan of King but agree he could use an editor. (INSOMNIA, seriously? I read it in galleys when it was 1000 pages long.) Liked UNDER THE DOME, though, even if the ending was weak because it had fantastic characters.

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  6. Seth, if you haven't read King's fiction, might I recommend a short story collection first, like Everything's Eventual? I think you'd dig it.
    Thomas, "subtle and gripping", well-said. As he gets older, he gets smoother.
    Ben, yeah, Harold Bloom is a jack-ass. I think Neil Gaiman recently ripped him a new one very efficiently.
    Brian, I agree, his novellas are outstanding, but they're long enough to be considered novels by anyone but him...
    Katherine, I haven't read Under the Dome, since I'm a good ten years behind on his novels, but I think you're right about his characters. That's his real strength.

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  7. This is the second time I've read that "disposable" quote from King, and I must be dense, because I'm still not sure I understand what he's talking about. Is he referring to the length (400 pages) or the content?

    I seem to recall reading a statement in his outstanding book, "On Writing," where he says a "goodish" length for a novel is 1000 pages. I must have read that twenty times, certain he must have meant something else. Good luck approaching any agent or publisher with a 1000 page novel unless your name is King or Tolkein...

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  8. Love his short stories too but he needs a better editor for his novels. ON WRITING is masterful though. Learned so much from that one.

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  9. I'm with you on the characters, I struggle to find someone better at creating multiple believable people in one story.

    But, unlike everyone else, I love the longer novels. Give me 1000 pages any day.

    Except for Insomnia...that could of lost a few hundred pages for sure!

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  10. ... and this is probably one of the reasons I'll never be at the top of the best-seller lists... I like 'em short and mean. In fact, one of my goals as a writer is to get the story told effectively in as few words as possible. But I can understand the appeal of longer stuff.

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