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Revival
By Stephen King
(Scribner Book Company, Hardcover, 9781476770383, November 2014, 405pp.)

*No Spoilers*

The Short of It:

A young, impressionable boy is taken with the local minister and his ability to make things magical, but when their faith is tested, both battle their own demons to survive.

The Rest of It:

Jamie Morton is only six-years old when Charles Jacobs comes to town. Jacobs, married with a young son of his own, quickly takes a liking to Jamie and his family. In fact, many of the folks in town begin to attend church again just to hear what the new minister has to say and when Jamie’s brother loses his voice in a freak accident, Charles Jacobs comes to his aid and heals him. Not with spiritual healing, but with electricity.

After a tragic accident, Jacobs faith in God disappears entirely and what he chooses to hold dear, are the electrical experiments he’s developed over the years. Traveling from town to town, he reinvents himself, peddling what is essentially lightning and a whole lot of fanfare. It’s at this point in his life, that he runs into Jamie again. This time Jamie is an adult, battling a wicked heroin addiction. Can Jamie be saved?

King has said in many interviews that Revival is his return to true horror. I believe his definition of horror and mine vary greatly these days. Perhaps writing about a heroin addiction IS horrific, given King’s personal battle with drug and alcohol addiction but the story itself is not scary in that “clowns in the sewer” way. Nope. It reminded me a lot of Frankenstein and the one Mary Shelley reference did not escape me. I hardly think it was a coincidence that he included it because just as I was thinking ‘Frankenstein’, the name dropped.

Without being specific, lots of terrible things happen and they are all devastating. Devastating enough to absolutely wreck a person and let me tell you, it tore me up. These characters are damaged and flawed and King does damaged and flawed so well.

But…

The story lagged for me and since I was expecting a real horror story, I was slightly disappointed with the direction that it took. It seemed too safe and yet, I still enjoyed it. What King nailed is childhood itself. Those moments where Jamie is young and all of the wonders that go along with childhood… King was spot-on with them. That sense of innocence lost? Heartbreaking.

A group of us read this together and I must say, it was pretty quiet on Twitter. Nearly everyone was curious as to where the story was going but there wasn’t a whole lot to discuss. Compared to his other novels, the ones he is known for (IT, The Shining, The Stand, Carrie), this one seems a little thin but if you dig deep, there is substance there and some well-developed characters to spend some time with.

Have you read it? What did you think?

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

Sunday Matters

Well, hello again. I unintentionally took the week off from blogging. As many of you know, I took the week off from work but was hit with a major headache which lasted a good couple of days. That damn headache made reading impossible. Although I did tough it out to finish one book, I could not read much after the one. Instead, I napped, watched TV and movies and for once, took it easy.

Thanksgiving was wonderful. We had planned to be all by ourselves but that changed. In the morning, The Teen’s girlfriend came over to watch the parade on TV and then later The Teen’s friend from choir, whose father was working Thanksgiving evening, joined us for dinner. The meal was great but I had no appetite by the time dinner hit. I am looking forward to the leftovers today.

We did not hit any of the stores for Black Friday and I am really glad we didn’t. It’s so easy to get caught up in the frenzy of it all. I used to have a lot of fun shopping with friends but these days, I much prefer getting up late, enjoying some coffee and browsing the stores online. And, The Girl put all of the Christmas stuff up for me. How cool is that?

Christmas Tree

Right Now:

The Teen isn’t feeling well and has to go caroling later tonight for choir. Hope he perks up soon. My plan this morning is to hit church and then do nothing, Think it will happen?

This Week:

We have a lot going on this week. The Teen has a driving lesson, we have two doctor’s appointments scheduled for the kids, our dental appointments, my book club party/meeting, my hair appointment, a co-worker’s party and The Teen’s Winter Concert for choir. Work will most likely be hectic because I was off last week. We’ll get through it. Oh, and we are supposed to have some weather! Rain, lots of it but it keeps getting pushed so we’ll see if it actually produces a drop.

Reading:

I did finish Revival but I am not sure what to think. Good story, but definitely not the return to horror that King claimed. Unless, the subject of drug addiction is what he was referring to. He battled his own demons in that area so I supposed returning to that subject would be horrifying.

I need to read my book club book for this week’s meeting, A Gathering of Old Men.

Watching:

We’ve been enjoying a free movie weekend and I am catching up on all the movies I either haven’t seen in awhile, or recording the ones I’ve been wanting to see. I saw Maleficent and really enjoyed it. I watched Annie Hall again, Miracle on 34th Street, The Exotic Marigold Hotel, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Pretty in Pink, Rush Hour and that is only what I can remember. I have so many recorded that I will be watching movies for weeks.

Making:

After all that cooking and then not wanting any of it, I am all cooked out. I have no desire to make anything.

Grateful for:

Grateful that my family could spend this time together, Grateful that I was able to take the week off and although The Teen is not feeling well, I am grateful that he’s had the tail end of this week to recover. Also grateful for The Girl’s mad decorating skills. I just was not feeling it when it was 88 degrees out! Now with the decorations up and the lights up on the house, it does feel a bit like Christmas is around the corner.

Happy Thought For the Week:

That by this time next week, my crazy week of appointments will be over. I booked many of these appointments over six months ago never thinking this would be a busy week. Normally the weeks closer to Christmas are busier but oh well. What can you do?

Also, Murakami’s new book, The Strange Library, hits the shelves this week!

How is everyone? How was your Thanksgiving? Did you travel? Stay home? Cook your first turkey?

Chatting with friends about books and life…