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Life Itself
By Roger Ebert
(Grand Central Publishing, Paperback, 9780446584968, September 2012, 448pp.)

The Short of It:

Written with humor and heart.

The Rest of It:

Everyone is familiar with Roger Ebert, right? His characteristic “thumbs-up” rating for movies he enjoyed, his battle with cancer that destroyed his face and took his voice forever, his antagonistic but often funny interactions with Gene Siskel? I grew up watching him. I spent hours in theaters watching the movies he recommended and he was probably one of the main reasons I entered college as a film major. But what I didn’t know and really didn’t begin to know, was the man behind the famous rating system. I didn’t really get to know him until his battle with cancer and I didn’t read this book until he passed away this past April. What a life.

Life Itself is a treat for anyone who enjoys small town life and nostalgia in general. Ebert’s small town of Urbana, Illinois provided a safe, comforting backdrop for his childhood. His trips to the local movie theater are written about with the care and gentle handling of a man in love with his childhood. He was always a wonderful writer, but the sense of place he conveys in this memoir will bring tears to your eyes for what once was. I loved these glimpses into Ebert’s life. His funny perspective, his awkwardness and his ability to break it all down into pleasant digestible bits.

There are some things I learned that I was not aware of before reading his book. I had no idea that he was a recovering alcoholic. The section on him joining Alcoholics Anonymous was told with such honestly, that I wanted to just reach through the pages and offer him a gentle, guiding hand. I also didn’t know that Gene Siskel, the critic that was forever (in my mind) arguing with Ebert over the movies they reviewed, was actually a very close friend and that their success on TV came quite accidentally. Additionally, I had no idea that Ebert was such a reader! Lots of book love in this one.

What I did expect and did not get was more insight into his battle with cancer. This part of his life is told in a very matter-of-fact way and details are kept to a minimum. He doesn’t dwell on what he lost. In fact, I’m not sure I expected him to be as optimistic as he was in the book, but in the end, I am glad that the cancer did not rule his life even though on the outside looking in, it certainly seemed that way.

I don’t read many memoirs but this book was a real treat. There’s quite a bit of humor and the stories from his youth are told with a lot of heart. I found myself yearning for simpler times and I’d be lying if I didn’t say that the man is missed. I never look at movies quite the same way. His sense of wonder, his ability to appreciate the small, creative nuances that directors injected into their films and his knack for saying exactly what he means is what made him a favorite in my eye.

Source: Borrowed
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Joyland
By Stephen King
(Hard Case Crime, Paperback, 9781781162644, June 3, 2013, 288pp.)

The Short of It:

Campy amusement park goodness.

The Rest of It:

Devin Jones, recovering from the heartache of losing his girl, takes a job at an amusement park during the summer of ’73. The park in question has lost its shine. It’s lure is the fact that it’s old fashioned fun with your typical rides and carnival attractions but each years it’s a struggle to keep things going. You have your long time employees such as Lane Hardy and Madame Fortuna, but the lifeblood of the park seems to be the kids that work there over the summer.

Devin finds himself a room to rent and meets Erin and Tom. Both students trying to make a little money over the summer. They become his family while at Joyland along with a host of regulars to keep things interesting. But what interests them the most is the murder that took place at the park years ago. Linda Gray and her boyfriend visited Horror House together but only one of them came out alive. Rumor has it that Linda’s throat was cut by her boyfriend and her body was thrown aside for employees to find later. The case was never solved but the repeated ghost sightings of Linda herself pique the interest of Devin and his friends. Enough for them to want to investigate the murder themselves.

Fans of Stephen King know that he writes a lot more than horror and this is one of those times. I think it’s safe to say that Joyland has been marketed as crime fiction and it is that, but only in the very loosest sense of the term. It’s not much of a “who-done-it” as there isn’t a whole lot of suspense to keep the story going. In fact, much of it felt a little lazy to me… lazy in the way a long, hot summer can be. The relaxed nature of the story seemed to take center stage, not so much the anticipation of solving the crime itself. Joyland was more of an experience, than a story to me but that’s not a bad thing. King has a way with setting the stage and the stage he set was welcoming to me in some odd way.

When the story meandered a bit and a young boy with a serious illness was introduced and ended up playing a central character in the story itself, I knew then that the murder was really just a backdrop for the summer that Devin needed to experience in order to move on to the next stage of his life. Truthfully, I didn’t mind this but Joyland felt more like a novella than a novel which left me wanting a little bit more.

Calling this a ghost story is a real stretch so if you pick it up for that alone, you might be disappointed. BUT, big but, it’s classic King. He knows how to paint a scene and he knows his characters. I love the little catch phrases he uses repeatedly throughout his books, too. It gives you a sense of existing within whatever construct he’s created on the page and you are successfully taken out of his world, and put into his world, often front and center.

Overall, it was an entertaining, fun read. I loved the amusement park lingo and the overall sense of place that King created but as crime fiction, there was little in the way of suspense and the resolution was rather anti-climactic. Not one of my faves but worth reading nonetheless. Especially for readers who have shied away from King before. This would be a good book to read as an introduction to King’s work.

Source: Purchased
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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