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Doctor Sleep
By Stephen King
(Scribner, Hardcover, 9781476727653, September 2013, 544pp.)

The Short of It:

A solid follow-up to The Shining as far as the story goes, but I was disappointed with the execution.

The Rest of It:

Readers of this blog know that I am a King fan through and through. A Constant Reader, if you will. He writes a book, and I read it no matter what it’s about because the man can write. And yes, I did enjoy The Shining quite a bit and for those of you that aren’t in the know, Doctor Sleep is the sequel to that much-loved book. So going in, King had a lot up against him since the first book was written so many years ago and written when he was battling alcoholism. I’m sure that writing Doctor Sleep in a sober state presented its own challenges too.

But, I was not all that impressed with Doctor Sleep and it pains me a little to say it. The story is a about a young man, Dan Torrance, who finds himself battling the demons of his youth. He sees things and he has special talents that even he has yet to fully understand. He’s also an alcoholic because the drink, is just about the only thing that puts his “shining” to rest. As he moves through life, he encounters a young girl who shares his talent and the two get to know each other quite well when they are forced to fight a band of wandering life suckers called the True Knot.

Doctor Sleep is ultimately a battle between the good and the not-so-good. Some of the characters are more developed than others. I felt that King took more time with Dan and I expected that since he is one of the original characters from The Shining. But Abra, the young girl he encounters, seemed cartoonish to me. I had a problem with her age. She felt younger to me than she was. I also had a problem with the main villain, Rose. I never really saw her as a viable threat and I think that is what really disappointed me about the book. You need a really evil villain, one that you can really remember, and Rose was weak in my opinion.

The ending wrapped-up too quickly, whereas other parts of the story seemed to plod along. Was it entertaining? Yes. I’d say that most of King’s books are and there are glimmers of wonderful-ness here and there, but overall, it was a little too safe for me to love it. However, I did feel as if King did Dan justice in the story itself. It was not a bad story line at all. I just wish it had finished a little stronger than it did.

I read this as part of a read along so if you are interested in those posts, you can read them below. I never did a final wrap-up post, just this review so count this as the wrap-up!

Doctor Sleep Read Along (Chapters 1-6)

Doctor Sleep Read Along (Chapters 7-13)

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

The Art of Fielding
By Chad Harbach
(Back Bay Books, Paperback, 9780316126670, May 2012, 544pp.)

The Short of It:

To say this debut novel is about baseball, would be a gross understatement.

The Rest Of It:

Henry Skrimshander is a quiet boy with one heck of an arm. Destined for greatness, he is invited to play baseball at Westish College but after one wild pitch and the injury that resulted from it, he becomes paralyzed with fear every time he steps onto the field. Also affected are the four people he’s gotten to know while playing ball. Guert Affenlight, the college president, his daughter Pella, and his teammates Owen Dunne and Mike Schwartz are all tangled up in Henry’s world as they struggle to find their place.

I received a review copy of this long before it was released for publication, but as gorgeous as that copy was, it did not survive when my daughter accidentally dumped a bottle of water onto it while in the car. And did I mention that she didn’t tell me about it until three days later when it was a pulpy mess? Yeah. I tried to dry it out but the pages were stuck together and then when I checked it out from the library, I had to return it unread because I never could find the right time to read it. I mean, it was about baseball right?

Yes, and no. The Art of Fielding centers around baseball, but there is more to the story than just playing ball. It wouldn’t surprise me if a lot of readers avoided this one because they thought they’d have to know a lot about the game to follow it (you don’t) or that it would be about manly men with attitudes and a bone to pick (it’s not). It’s a tender, sweet story about friendship and love and figuring out where you fit in. As Henry attempts to find his way, the others come along for the ride and figure out things about themselves that perhaps they’d never be forced to face had Henry not entered the scene.

I really enjoyed this one and reading it now, after it’s been out for so long, I have to say that it never felt like a debut novel to me. Harbach’s grasp of his characters is swift and self-assured and the writing is straight-forward and alive. It’s incredibly readable and I think that’s important to note given its length (500+ pages). It’s one of those feel-good novels that you seek out every now and then and we all need more of those. I highly recommend it.

Note from Ti: I also listened to a portion of this on audio and it was also very good.

Source: Sent to me by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

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