Lisey’s Story by Stephen King
My rating: 1 of 5 stars
For the first time in as long as I can remember, I didn’t actually finish this book. I am finished with it though. I made it through 270 pages, that seemingly dragged on forever. Almost, but not quite, half way and I’m calling it.
I have enjoyed a lot of Stephen King’s books, his character development has always been second to none. In the past I have been disappointed with the endings to some great stories from him, but have always forgiven it because the journey was so damn enjoyable that I didn’t care about the destination. (Fwiw I really appreciated the divisive ending to the Dark Tower series, because it felt like Stephen was reflecting this too)
However, for me Lisey’s Story falls dramatically short. Maybe it has a great conclusion, and I’m doing him a disservice, but I won’t find out. I have found it impossible to care about any of the characters so far, and the general mood has barely even made it to creepy. We’re treated to repeated uses of made up words (‘smuck’ is by far the worst offender and has been widely addressed by other reviewers here) and a variety of tedious cliches from the lead character’s past.
When I enjoy a book I find it difficult to put down, I look forward to getting back to it, and I have a sense of loss when it’s over. In this case I’ve struggled to pick it up, and I’ve been wishing it was over for a while. Sometimes you just have to allow yourself to let go and move on.