...Holy Crap!...I love people who think around corners....Me too. I like that idea though!
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...Holy Crap!...I love people who think around corners....Me too. I like that idea though!
Even though I still abhor the ending, this possibility elevates the rest of the book in my opinion. It makes so much sense! You get an A+ for this totem.Loved the book, it had me thinking for quite awhile once I finished.
Towards the end, Jamie states he thinks Con was the first "revival". After thinking for a bit, does anyone else think that Jacobs may have healed his wife of something prior to the start of the book, then she killed herself and their daughter in the car wreck?
Even though I still abhor the ending, this possibility elevates the rest of the book in my opinion. It makes so much sense! You get an A+ for this totem.
She was Aunt Bea, not Ant Big!...oooops!...wrong Big Ant...errr. Aunt.....
then she killed herself and their daughter in the car wreck?
I loved that book (Fifth Business)The term comes from a novel by the same name written by Robertson Davies in which he writes: "Those roles which, being neither those of Hero nor Heroine, Confidante nor Villain, but which were nonetheless essential to bring about the Recognition or the dénouement, were called the Fifth Business in drama and opera companies."
It reminded me much more of the structure of FrankensteinI have another question. I didn't pick up on the idea that the story was being told through Jamie's writings in his journal until Jamie mentioned his journal late in the story. Was the entire story told through his journal similar to how Jonathon Harker told his story?
-Finally: what I did find troubling is how much I found myself worrying about Mr. King over the course of this story. It reads very much as if told by a person who has had a revelation of devastating illness within oneself or a close loved one, something over which the storyteller has no control, and that person is so ANGRY with God (or whatever one chooses to call the Eternal Why). Been there, done that, so no judgment. I usually don't think much about the author at all when reading an absorbing book, but I found myself with a low thrum of worry and sadness virtually from the beginning of this book, worry about Mrs. or Mr. King, or their children or grands. That was weird for me.
Okay. Time to think some more.
Me too! He certainly has the talent to put himself in that sort of mind set without a specific catalyst. I keep worrying, though... (I am such a softie for my favorites. I get choked up even thinking about the end of the new Night at the Museum movie, when TR must turn back into wax... I don't think I'll be able to watch the actual movie.)My feeling was more, that it was written from a time in life, rather than a worry about a specific health situation... the ageing and moving on to the next life-stage thing was hugely prominent... oh boy, I hope I'm right about that though.
I understand...Me too! He certainly has the talent to put himself in that sort of mind set without a specific catalyst. I keep worrying, though... (I am such a softie for my favorites. I get choked up even thinking about the end of the new Night at the Museum movie, when TR must turn back into wax... I don't think I'll be able to watch the actual movie.)
So, Jacobs is technically not a villain.The term comes from a novel by the same name written by Robertson Davies in which he writes: "Those roles which, being neither those of Hero nor Heroine, Confidante nor Villain, but which were nonetheless essential to bring about the Recognition or the dénouement, were called the Fifth Business in drama and opera companies."
I just skimmed through Little Sisters of Eluria and could only find them described as bugs but never specifically ants unless I missed the reference. In my mind when I first read the story I imagined them looking like beetles.
I think depending on the individual's level of faith a person can read anything at all without necessarily being adversely effected. But, point well-taken, since the fact that Jacobs was questioning his "faith" is presented early in the story.His faith must not have been strong to begin with if he was already reading the necronomicon (or the book it was based on) before they passed. And he must have read that before he cured Con.
I get choked up even thinking about the end of the new Night at the Museum movie, when TR must turn back into wax... I don't think I'll be able to watch the actual movie.
I had a visual of something like this too. (But I'd thought it was from The Talisman.)Am I the only one who was reminded of the pit mine/slaves part of the Territories in Black House when they got the glimpse of "the other side"?
Finally finished. A few thoughts (but just a few, as I'm still digesting):
-First, it's important that Jamie calls Charlie his 'Fifth Business'. A character who is fifth business is neither hero or villain--he's just a mover of the story. If Jamie doesn't consider Charlie a villain, neither should we. So... if there is a bad guy in this story, it's death itself. Very fitting that should come up as the author (and we) age. Death doesn't really scare me (and this story didn't change that any), but DAMN if I'm not resentful of what I'll miss after I'm gone!
-Not convinced that Charlie had anything to do with his wife's death, aside from maybe turning a blind eye to possible drinking. It was the randomness of her death that set him on his path in becoming Victor Frankenstein Jr.
-I thoroughly enjoyed the glimpses of Mr. King's other books. I particularly liked Jamie's description of going home to Harlow--it was so close to Ben's description of going back to Jerusalem's Lot that it made me smile.
-The ant and spider thing (and the hairy leg was definitely a spider leg in my mind) did nothing for me. I'm not a Lovecraft fan, really, so... yeah. Not scary for me, or even particularly troubling.
-I'll probably be lambasted for this, but here goes: I think this story would have worked much better as a short story or novella. This is not because I don't enjoy character development or allowing a story to breathe--I certainly do--but because there were sections and characters that seemed extraneous to me. Not uninteresting, but unnecessary to tell this story.
-Finally: what I did find troubling is how much I found myself worrying about Mr. King over the course of this story. It reads very much as if told by a person who has had a revelation of devastating illness within oneself or a close loved one, something over which the storyteller has no control, and that person is so ANGRY with God (or whatever one chooses to call the Eternal Why). Been there, done that, so no judgment. I usually don't think much about the author at all when reading an absorbing book, but I found myself with a low thrum of worry and sadness virtually from the beginning of this book, worry about Mrs. or Mr. King, or their children or grands. That was weird for me.
Okay. Time to think some more.
I had a visual of something like this too. (But I'd thought it was from The Talisman.)