Did it seem to start slowly for others too?

[EMTP513]

I'm on page 55, and so far it's still mostly descriptions and everything happening inside his head. Which I have no problem with, it's just that I'm remembering his other books as having action sooner. Of course my memory has done something really alarming in the past 4 years, with short term memory recall dropping almost out of existence.
That's why I'm asking if other people thought it started more slowly than most of his recent books.

 

[AnnaMarie]

It started so slow, I gave up. I've never given up on one of his books before.

 

[HollyGolightly]

I loved it and didn't feel that way at all, but it drove my husband nuts. He thought the action would never begin. It was his first King book and I should have insisted it be something else, but I thought a quick read would be better. He's reading Cell now and really digging it. I loved Joyland, though.

 

[Spideyman]

I really enjoyed Joyland. It fit the style that most pulp fiction stories follow.

 

[king family fan]

I too loved joyland.

 

[GNTLGNT]

...never sensed that at all...just the genre style seems to me...

 

[Out of Order]

I'm on page 55

At least you made it past page 44.

 

[EMTP513]

At least you made it past page 44.

Yes. I'm on page 75 now. I figured that if it's pulp fiction, I'll keep reading because I saw a movie called Pulp Fiction a long time ago. It had all kinds of action in it.

 

[EMTP513]

I guess it helps if you have a true memory of an amusement park ride malfunctioning and causing someone to lose his leg; helps to speed up adrenalin and creepiness.
When I was in Paramedic School, we watched real-life videos of really terrible emergencies, because it's one of the few ways they can determine if you're really cut out for the work.
We saw one about a ride operator who was working at an amusement park and the ride he was operating starting acting up. Not moving very fast, jerking back and forth, stopping altogether. He came down to move the wheels back in alignment with the track and suddenly it took off with him trapped beneath it.
It severed his leg below the waist and they couldn't reattach it at the hospital.
The part where he's explaining how you "make sure it's lined up before stopping the ride" reminded me of the kid (he was 17) who lost his leg trying to 'fix' the ride manually.

 

[blunthead]

At least you made it past page 44.

Yep, it gets good on page 45. I never had a feeling of it starting out slowly.

 

[jchanic]

King's novels often start out slowly (Insomnia, for example) but pick up nicely after a while. One of the things I like about King is the build-up of the characters before the real action starts. It allows the reader to more closely identify with them.

John

 

[Rrty]

"Joyland" is indeed going very slowly for me. I am on page 87 (or around there), right after the main character (Devin? I am not remembering right now because first-person narration sometimes doesn't mention the main character's name a lot, but I believe it is Devin Jones) talks about the death of his friend.

Here's the problem: in my mind, at least, a reasonable person might expect a different story than the one that is being presented (at least up to page 87). I kind of thought we'd be getting a murder mystery from the get-go, but so far, it's just a tale of the amusement park. Now, don't get me wrong, I do enjoy the storytelling aspect, and I have to say that reading it during the summer enhances the atmosphere.

But so far, my favorite part has been when the woman tells the little ghost story to the protagonist. That gave me a chill. And honestly, I was expecting more of that.

Haven't given up yet, and if I decide to do so, I will at least skim through the rest of the book. But, yes, this has been slow for me.

 

[The Nameless]

It kind of started a bit slow for me, but I read it with the following knowledge:
1, it's a book that is more about suspense and painting an image to absorb you in, rather than being action packed.

2, his girlfriend leaves him for someone else.

It was number 2 that I wanted to just get out of the way because I don't like reading about break ups and adultery, so for me, the book was going to start when he gets the job, and start adding depth to the picture once he decided to stay on. I thought Stephen painted this picture perfectly, and built the suspense up gradually, keeping you (well at least me) guessing all the way.

I loved the hell out of joyland, it is a guaranteed future reread, and is pushing drawing of the 3 for 4th place on my list of favourites.

It was also my fastest read, the only book I have ever read in under a week.

 

[carrie's younger brother]

Not at all. I was hooked from page one. Joyland is more of a cerebral story than most
SK novels. Its beauty is in the words, the sense of time and place, and the storytelling. If you are waiting for action and such, stop. Just let the story flow. It's one of my favorite SK books of all time.
And remember, not all books appeal to all constant readers.

 

[Mr Larry Underwood]

It is because you are not interested in storytelling. You're a plot driven reader. To me, fiction depicts life, hence it can be uneventeful at times. It won't hurt.

PS: Joyland became my favorite book by King. Re-read it 4 times

 

[prufrock21]

I have no problem with a slow beginning as some of his other works begin that way.

 

[OldDarth]

Mark me down as another who had no problem reading Joyland. I find the first part of the book a masterful job of character and world building.

 

[Mr Larry Underwood]

King is about characters and settings, not necessarily about plot. I guess we should all realize this by now, 40 years on

 

[A.C.T_Guy]

I started Joyland today.1/3 of the way through and its starting to build nicely. I'm not that fussy over the pacing of the start of a book. There have not been many characters to introduce so far do SK could delve a little deeper into each one and at a earlier stage in the story, rather than fleshing in the back story at a later point. Although I must admit to a preference of third person over first person POV stories, I'm liking what I'm reading so far.