Duma Key: A Novel | Stephen King | Long time coming...

Duma Key: A Novel | Stephen King | Haunts for months...in a good way

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Duma Key: A Novel

	Duma Key: A Novel Stephen King Scribner, 2008 - 592 pages average customer review:based on 418 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Long time coming...

I was a die-hard Stephen King fan. I read them all, read some of them twice. Finally, though, I just got tired. It seemed that all of King's books were kind of running together, getting muddled in my mind. It's been a long time, but when I saw King interviewed on The Today Show, I decided I would give Duma Key a try. Boy, am I glad I did! It is an outstanding book, and I haven't felt this way in a long time...scared, I mean! Its size did put me off a bit, and it took me awhile to read it, but once I got into it, I was stealing bits of time everywhere to read. Near the end, I thought that there could not be that much more to the story, but I was very wrong. This is a great book, and I think that it would make a wonderful movie.

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Haunts for months...in a good way

A long-time King fan, I couldn't wait for Duma Key to be released. I was not disappointed. Probably my favorite King novel since the Dark Tower Series, this book has all the well-loved classic King elements: colorful, hysterical language, dead-on descriptions, creepy toys, voices in the night, child ghosts, mysterious visions, a witty sidekick, tormented main character, and cursed ground. I know a great King book when I have to read late into the night so that I can get past the scary parts so I can turn off the light...when I laugh out loud at the character's choice of words...when I can't stop thinking about it for days, weeks, months afterwards...when a place comes alive in my mind and I feel like I've been there myself and know the people intimately. Duma Key delivers again and again. Bravo, Mr. King!

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Great story, blow me away audio book

Duma Key is another remarkable work from Stephen King, especially so soon after the wonderful and very different "Lisey's Story". Duma Key is more eerie than outright scary, but lightening fast in plot, and rich in character development. Edgar Freemantle has as much raw courage as any hero from King before. The explorations of creative process are very interesting. One might daydream about having Edgar's powers for a day or two.

But it's the audio performance that really blew me away! John Slattery is magnificent. His vocal quality is smooth but maintains authenticity, simultaneously hot and cool like great jazz music, imbued with humor and irreverence without really trying. Just terrific, a perfect match for this Stephen King novel.

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Better Than Some Of King's Recent Novels

I haven't been a fan of Stephen King's recent novels. Dreamcatcher was entertaining but also kind of farfetched and over the place. From A Buick 8 had great atmosphere and tone, but the story didn't have a pay-off. Cell started off great, but then it went nowhere. I'm happy to say that Duma Key is actually a pretty good book.

The story centers on a middle-aged man who retires early due to a severe physical injury that leaves him with one arm and difficulty with memories. The man decides to move to Florida and once there, he picks up an old hobby--drawing. I won't give away anymore of the plot, but given that it's Stephen King, the typical horror/supernatural elements follow.

Duma Key is long--a little too long--but the story builds well. King brings you in slowly--revealing little bits of info that aren't paid off until later. The book has great characters--Wireman and Miss Eastlake jump right off the page (or audio CD). The novel is told in 1st person, and the narrator (injured middle-aged man) tells the story quite well--there is a nice sense of melancholy sprinkled throughout. It was one of the sadder King books I've read, and the emotion/tone rings true most of the time.

I listened to the audio CD, and it was actually quite good. John Slattery does a pretty good job. He provides some distinct voices, which brings out the personalities of a lot of the characters--his best job is on Wireman. I was also quite impressed with his ability on the female voices--providing distinct characterizations without overdoing it. Too many male narrators try too hard to sound like a female, and it just comes off fake. Not here.

If you are a fan of Stephen King, I would give this book a chance.

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Hooray!

Stephen King's Duma Key is one of the more enjoyable books he has written in a while. With likeable characters, a steady pace slowly unfolding the events, and a nice tilt toward unexplained phenomenon, Stephen King weaves a story I got lost in completely (and that hasn't happened with his books recently).

Edgar Freemantle loses an arm and damages some memory portions of his brain in a freak accident. As a result he loses his "old life" and must start redefining himself again in a "new life" and in a new location: Duma Key, FL. Along the way he discovers new friends, new memories and a new talent that enables a sleeping evilness to take residence again on Duma Key, and into both Edgar's "old" and "new" lives.

Memory is the books central theme. Of things left behind and lost due to the passage of time. "It was like being given back your memory, and a person's memory is everything, really. Memory is identity. It's you." Memories shape our future, but sometimes they are gone forever and sometimes they come back whether we want them or not. Both Edgar and Wireman overcame past accidents that set their destinies together in motion, and Elizabeth's past is what they need to battle together. When Edgar loses his memory after the accident, mostly over words and trivial matters, it is the catalyst for his life change. However, for the rest of the novel he is searching those memories trying to bring them back. Memories of Melinda and Ilse, sleeping "like the old days" with Pam, and of course the feelings in his missing arm. "Speak, memories, that I may once more taste the green cup of the sea", Elizabeth reads to Edgar at one point. Some memories are worth keeping, but some should be forgotten and never brought out again, as Edgar realizes during his stay on Duma Key

Although I really enjoyed the first ¾ of the book an awful lot, the last ¼ seemed like a rush job to resolve the story. I would have been just as pleased if King did not feel the need to give us a charged-up carnival ride at the end. The slower paced style utilized during the majority of the book would have been sufficient for this reader. Let the conclusion slowly roll onto the beach like a lazy wave, instead of crashing like a powerful breaker.

There were a few things left unresolved, but should we expect anything less from King? Life is unresolved so why should his stories be tied-up nice and neat. Unique characters, a welcomed supernatural element, sustained creepy atmosphere and a very enjoyable read.

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