It’s been ages since I read pure, gripping fiction. Reading this book has put me well ahead of that curve now. Stephen King, at the twilight of his career delivers a resounding punch in the form of 4 novellas bound into 1 book. All of them speak of the limits of human sanity, courage, madness, tolerance and fear. Where does sanity end, to let madness take over? Where does one draw the line between courage and stupidity? How long can one tolerate fear before numbness takes over? The novellas try to answer these questions and many more, in a manner much remindful of Mr. Kings Shawshank Redemption heyday.
1922, the first novella describes a harrowing year in the life of a Wisconsin farmer who decides to murder a wife who has strange ideas in her head about how they should take care of their farmland, ideas that no woman has the right to possess. He does so and makes his 14 year old son an accomplice. The domino effect that this act sets in motion is described so explicitly and skilfully that I couldn’t help marvelling at the depth that a writer can achieve while making his readers delve into the elaborate scenes of a work of fiction. Madness prevails and how so!
Big Driver, the second, is about a female author who is raped on her way back from a book signing. We go on to see how she avenges herself by murdering the man. The disgust of the act, the horror of the aftermath, the calm and focused planning, the terror of a mistake in execution, the relief of the compassion at the end. The reader is taken on a white knuckled ride through all these emotions such that the brutality is masked by an innate sense of empathy.
Fair extensions, the next one, for me was the most basic story. It’s about a man who makes a deal with the devil so that he can defeat cancer and live to prosper. But as always, the catch is that to help one man live, another has to suffer. Will a man trade an unsuspecting friends happiness with his own, based on a grudge held on to for years? Good material for the next Adam sandler movie I suppose.
A good marriage, the last novella is about a housewife who towards the golden jubilee of her marriage, discovers that her loving and doting accountant husband is in fact a meticulous serial killer. This one could have gone the Hollywood movie way too, but it deviates by adding complexities and depth that one wouldn’t find in a typical thriller.
Mr. King, in this book, delivers a class act. The thing about book lovers (read fiction lovers ) is that they love being carried away into a world that is relatable yet bizzare, lifelike yet surreal. That’s exactly what this book did to me. Strongly suggested for those who desire a diving trip into the dark recesses of their mind.
Waves and Sands 