A couple of years and two books since his supposed ‘retirement’ from writing, Stephen King, one of America’s best modern storytellers, has created one of the best books of his career. Lisey’s Story, which debuted in Oct. 2006, explores love, life, art, and death in ways that his previous ‘literary’ works have left us lusting for.
Anyone who’s familiar with King is well-acquainted with his artistic divide. He’s world famous for his horror stories – dark, Lovecraftian explorations of the imagination that are built to warp and stimulate the muscles that churn out our dreams. However, works like The Talisman, The Stand, and Hearts in Atlantis, which employ some horror elements, are totally different in nature – character-driven modern fairytales that border on ‘literature.’ They explore people and lives in the same way, with the same unbelievable depth, that his more classic writing explores the dark side of the universe and the mind. Lisey’s Story is one of these.
Lisey is the widow of Scott Landon, a renowned New England novelist. Two years after his death, a series of psychological barriers prevent Lisey from remembering some of her strangest, most wonderful, and most terrible moments with her husband. Little by little, she gets wrapped up in a journey of recollection and starts to piece together a mystery that ran beneath the entirety of their relationship.
And so, Scott Landon comes to life. By the end of the book, you’ve lived through his twisted childhood. You’ve weathered the bizarre, supernatural circumstances that defined his life and art. You’ve grown to love Lisey, and you’ve watched her become a hero. It makes you want the book to go on forever.
The story starts a bit slow, but develops a nice pace after a bit. Once you start piecing together Scott’s history, you’ll be glued. Every one of Lisey’s recollections is a shocker; every one is a self-contained story. The supernatural elements consist of cross-dimensional world jumping, recalling The Dark Tower Series and The Talisman.
Fans of King might recognize Lisey’s Story as his most personal book. Scott Landon is, after all, a famous writer. At one level, the book aspires to depict Scott’s creative process, and the events that shaped him as an artist. Many of the more supernatural elements of the book serve as symbols of the creative dynamic – imagination vs. insanity.
The fact that the book is biographical of Lisey and Scott (and potentially symbolically autobiographical) makes it all the more powerful. You won’t have been more attached to the characters since Hearts in Atlantis. The story itself is compelling and exciting. King’s best qualities, his hyperactive imagination and his insight into basic humanity, are running in full gear after all these years.
