The Shadow-gloom and Weight of the Sacred

One of my all-time favorite fiction authors is Stephen King. For all of his weaknesses (Deus ex Machina, anyone?), he remains a very good writer. King was the first author that I ever just flat out read. In middle school, if it wasn't for Stephen King, I probably would have given up reading all together. My own fiction is nothing like Stephen King's work, but he is my truest and greatest passion when it comes to reading fiction. Whenever I'm stumped or have writer's block, I don't read Hemingway even though my writing is more similar to Hemingway's style than King's style. I don't read Flannery O'Connor even though she is the writer to whom I aspire to imitate. Whenever I'm having difficulty writing, I read Stephen King because reading Stephen King rekindles my passion for narrative, for character development, for the whole story. It reminds me of how exciting it can be to create worlds and people. So here it is, my top five favorite Stephen King books. This list is subject to change at any time. In fact, it may even change as I write it out.

5. Needful Things--This is the last of the four books set in King's fictional town of Castle Rock, Maine. If I were making a top 10, all four books would easily make the cut (maybe not Cujo). This is a dark comedy about greed. I read it in eighth grade and it was the first time I had read a really long novel (around 740 pages). It was also the first time I was exposed to complex narrative sequences (I think it's pretty complex, anyway). King beautifully weaves together a number of different story lines to create some of the best tension I've ever read in a novel. I must admit that the big finale was kind of lacking, but I have nonetheless always considered this a clever story that is, overall, told very well. It's always been one of my favorite Stephen King Books.

4. The Shining--When I was in middle school and high school, people would see me reading Stephen King and inevitably ask me of the book in my hands, "Is it scary?" I always found that an odd question because I don't typically find books scary. I don't ever think, "Oh, I must put this book down because I'm shivering with fright." I didn't read Stephen King for the sake of fear anyway. It was always about the story for me and King tells a great story. It so happens that his stories often revolve around the supernatural, but it's the story that matters when you read King. In any event, The Shining actually did scare me. I was up late reading and--I don't remember what part of the book, but I remember it happening--I just became too engrossed with the world of the Overlook hotel. I was really there and I was freaked out. I finished the chapter I was on and then promptly closed the book for the night. The Shining is slow at first, but it's a classic horror novel that does not disappoint on any level, unless of course you're looking for rhymes. No rhymes here. There have only been two other books that I'd say scared me (both by King): Itand....

3. Pet Sematary--This book is perfect from start to finish. No Deus ex Machina here. Pet Sematary is a writing clinic on the horror novel as poetry. It has some of the most beautiful language describing some of the most horrific things a person can endure. Though it is a horror novel in the truest sense (much like The Shining), it is a novel about human emotions and the trials of dealing with loss. It is how we cope and deal with our own mortality, how we try and create worlds where mortality is ignored for as long as possible. I don't want to spoil the book for anyone who hasn't read it (because I really think you should read it), but if you've read the book, email me and I'll tell you my favorite part of the story. The language in this particular part is so indicative of the human plight that, were it written by Woolf or Faulkner, we'd think it one of the greatest moments in the 20th century canon.

2. The Dark Tower III: The Waste Lands--I've only read the first four Dark Tower books. I read the first three in high school and the fourth in college. I can't bring myself to read the rest of them. I'm just not ready for it to be over. I had planned to read them this year, but I may back out on that. When I do read them, I'm going to reread the first four and then move on to the books I've not read. I suspect I will do that this year, but in the winter. I think it will be winter reading for me. This is my favorite of the Dark Tower books. The first two books were great, but they were slow and methodical. The Wast Lands was so fast moving that it was almost a thriller. This is also the first book where you get an idea of what the tower actually is. It's vague, but it's there. Of course, I could be wrong on that since I've not completed the series. Oh, and a great cliffhanger of an ending!

1. The Dead Zone--This is the first Stephen King book I read, but it didn't become my favorite a long time afterward. My favorite King book throughout high school and into my early adulthood was The Stand. But, in a way, I've outgrown The Stand. Not outgrown, just moved on (if you know what I mean, constant readers). I think The Dead Zone is King's most complete novel. The story has two major plot lines: (1) a psychic, (2) a serial killer. Also, there's politician with a bit of megalomania. Try as we might, I think it's hard for us to rule out the possibility psychics could be real. Yes, my brain says that's stupid, but there are so many crazy things in the world some times I find myself, in a somewhat spooky fashion, pondering whether or not some people experience some type of sense perception that I can't. (And then I become self-conscious about whether or not I have put on deodorant.) Not long after graduating college, I read The Dead Zone for the third time and was really taken in by it. For the last several years, it's been my favorite Stephen King book. I don't have a problem suspending disbelief to enjoy a novel, but perhaps because this book seems less of a leap for me than others, and perhaps that makes t it more engrossing. Who knows? This is my favorite, in any event, and I can't imagine anyone not liking this book.

There it is. Have a great weekend!

Honorable Mention: The Stand (I've read it four times! Although, one time was the abridged, 1977 version), Night Shift, Skeleton Crew, The Dark Half (almost made the list), Misery, Dolores Claiborne.