Insomnia, why so overlooked? **SPOILERS**

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M_Parabola

M_Parabola

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Karloff said:
In Poland, on the 25th of March, a new edition of "Insomnia" is coming out :)

The new cover below:

Bezsenno%C5%9B%C4%87-715x1024.jpg
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Oh god, I love my Polish people I am SO glad they're doing a movie adaptation, they tend to do book-to-film decently. I've seen a few good Polish flicks. Both myself and my husband are Polish. He's more fluent in the language than I am, I joke that I have a grasp of the Polish language like a 6-year-old sailor. I know curse words and basic phrasing, that's about it. I self-taught myself the language, whereas he was born into a home speaking it. Both his parents left Poland during the time of Communist occupation and have some pretty good stories about it as well. This is totally unrelated to the thread and I apologize, but I'd love to see a novel discussing the history of the nation. Their Golden Age during the Polish/Lithuanian commonwealth, the Polish Winged Hussars, how they once were such a powerful nation before everything was stripped away from them. How they disappeared off the map entirely, only to re-emerge through underground fighting. Or the battle during World War 2 where Polish soldiers fought the German army, outnumbered 40-to-1, and still stood strong to give their people a chance to escape.

ANYWAY, apologies for the tangent. Thank you for letting me know about this, I'll definitely be watching it and having my husband help me translate the Polish. Dziekuje!
 
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Patricia A

Patricia A

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Doc Creed said:
I need to read it again, too. I bought it in 1995 when it came out. Ibrought it with me to Saturday detention at school. Never had more fun, lol.
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Best detention ever! I used to get my share of that. There was only Carrie, back in my high school days though. No, now that I think of it, there was The Shining too. I think... mayhap Salem's Lot? Anyhow...............!
I'm reading R. McCammon's, Stinger right now and for some reason it's taking me forever to finish. I'll probably finish it this weekend then start Insomnia again. It's a good feeling to have a "for sure" next book waiting in the wings.
 
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Doc Creed

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Patricia A said:
Best detention ever! I used to get my share of that. There was only Carrie, back in my high school days though. No, now that I think of it, there was The Shining too. I think... mayhap Salem's Lot? Anyhow...............!
I'm reading R. McCammon's, Stinger right now and for some reason it's taking me forever to finish. I'll probably finish it this weekend then start Insomnia again. It's a good feeling to have a "for sure" next book waiting in the wings.
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McCammon lives here in my hometown. I like his books but haven't read Stinger. I still need to read Swan Song. Yes, it is!
 
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doowopgirl

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M_Parabola said:
I've heard people call this novel boring, slow, and uninteresting. I find it none of these things.

Ralph Roberts watches his wife slowly die, the introduction begins with a fantastic mental image of this slow ticking of a death watch. It ticks down and down and down until it is silent, and she is gone. His reaction to her passing is understandable, feeling lost he "wanders", he walks and roams and has no direction to his life.

His reaction to his insomnia is also very interesting, and the visions he sees make you question throughout the book if they're just in his head. A symptom of grief and lack of sleep, or if they are really, truly there? I love the three characters named after the Three Fates. I found that particularly clever in a novel that talks its way around death. Clotho, Lachesis, and Atropos. Instead of being portrayed as females, they're portrayed as little bald men that look like doctors. Isn't that symbolism interesting considering Ralph's position? The doctors who couldn't save his wife, the doctors who cannot fix his insomnia. Now there are these doctors named after the fates of death who plague him, particularly Atropos, the one who finally cuts the thread of life.

Well done King, well done. I thought it was the neatest thing when Ralph began to see auras. The way they're described makes it very easy to mentally visualize what you're seeing in your head, and throughout the novel instead of saying "hey that's cool" I feel even worse for the man. If it's real he can look at someone and know if they're going to die, if it's not real it's because he's being torn apart in his own life.

Insomnia is pure metaphor, brilliantly written with lots of little Easter Eggs tossed in as it goes round and round the subject of death.
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Yeh, I always liked it as well. It's very complex and involved. I love the fates and all the intricate details. Also, it has a Lois. My realife name.
 
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Patricia A

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Doc Creed said:
McCammon lives here in my hometown. I like his books but haven't read Stinger. I still need to read Swan Song. Yes, it is!
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WOT?! No Swansong? It's all good, you'll get around to it. You won't be sorry when you do. Read Boy's Life, if you haven't already. It's a story that sticks with you for a very long time.
I read his book, The Border right before I started Stinger. Maybe that's why I'm having a hard time getting into the feel of Stinger. I was so knocked out by The Border. They are both alien invasion type stories. Bad timing on my part mayhap. I think I'll put Stinger on the back burner and get right into Insomnia.
If you ever run into Mr. McCammon, buy him a coffee for me. I'll pay you back eventually. ;-D
 
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Doc Creed

Doc Creed

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Patricia A said:
WOT?! No Swansong? It's all good, you'll get around to it. You won't be sorry when you do. Read Boy's Life, if you haven't already. It's a story that sticks with you for a very long time.
I read his book, The Border right before I started Stinger. Maybe that's why I'm having a hard time getting into the feel of Stinger. I was so knocked out by The Border. They are both alien invasion type stories. Bad timing on my part mayhap. I think I'll put Stinger on the back burner and get right into Insomnia.
If you ever run into Mr. McCammon, buy him a coffee for me. I'll pay you back eventually. ;-D
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Ok, I will, ha. Yes, I've read Boy's Life three times and persuaded my book club to read it. It was a hit. I will try to squeeze in time to read Swan Song.
 
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staropeace

staropeace

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Patricia A said:
Best detention ever! I used to get my share of that. There was only Carrie, back in my high school days though. No, now that I think of it, there was The Shining too. I think... mayhap Salem's Lot? Anyhow...............!
I'm reading R. McCammon's, Stinger right now and for some reason it's taking me forever to finish. I'll probably finish it this weekend then start Insomnia again. It's a good feeling to have a "for sure" next book waiting in the wings.
Click to expand...
Gawd, I love Stinger. It is like Under The Dome and almost better lol.
 
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