Difficult Read

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Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I am new here and this is my first posting. I started reading Lisey's story 24th of February and I am now on page 315 (62% read and 38% to go). Ok I am not native English speaking and needless to say that I struggled initially. This is an understatement and I had many doubts whether I should read it. I have been spending many many hours reading, listening to the audio and posting too many questions on word reference forum. I found the language hard. Too many unfamilair words and expressions.
Nevertheless, I persevered and I am pleased I did. I am enjoying it thoroughly. I am no longer in hurry to finish it. Actually I started to marvel Stephen's style and his rich command. I will be scavenging through this website, not knowing what to expect and I will be posting some nagging questions.
Once again, hi all. I am pleased I found this website. This is my 5th book by SK. SK and Lee Child are definitely my favourite authors.
Welcome to the SKMB - you picked a tough one! Glad to hear you liked it.

11-22-63 Welcome.JPG
 
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Mr.Ace

Well-Known Member
May 26, 2011
449
557
Russiа
I'm reading it right now and yes, it difficult to read (especially in the beginning). I think it's because of some torn rhythm of the story. I mean, here's Lisey's reflections and they are not so interesting so that's hard part then come some stories from the past (about the bools, the episode with the Scott's arm, Scott's childhood, etc.) and those parts are great and the story becomes smooth and then again Lisey's reflections... In either case the more story goes further then it becomes more interesting and easier to grasp.
 

S.R. Wittmann

Active Member
Feb 22, 2017
34
156
63
Florida, USA
I am in my third try to get into Lisey's Story. I'm about 130 or so pages into it and still waiting to discover why I should give a smuck what happens. It's very unusual for me to struggle with SK's work. I usually inhale the words right off the page. Now, I'll admit, some of his books are like a diesel tractor—the speed is slow and steady through the first few gears, but once you've got inertia up to cruising speed, don't try to stop. Duma Key was like that, but Lisey's Story has me asking "so what?" a bit too often. Things change though, and there's still 400+ pages to go. I just hope things change soon.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
I am in my third try to get into Lisey's Story. I'm about 130 or so pages into it and still waiting to discover why I should give a smuck what happens. It's very unusual for me to struggle with SK's work. I usually inhale the words right off the page. Now, I'll admit, some of his books are like a diesel tractor—the speed is slow and steady through the first few gears, but once you've got inertia up to cruising speed, don't try to stop. Duma Key was like that, but Lisey's Story has me asking "so what?" a bit too often. Things change though, and there's still 400+ pages to go. I just hope things change soon.
...three full reads before I "got it"....
 

recitador

Speed Reader
Sep 3, 2016
1,750
8,264
41
i definitely understand why this is a struggle for some. there's a pretty excessive amount of "special language" in this novel compared to some, and it can be distracting until you get used to it. i started hitting my stride with it when the scene where he encountered gerd cole was described. another problem i think is that since it was about her recovering her memory that she needed, a lot of the initial talk about all of that was purposely vague, so it's harder to get the point of what's going on.
 

S.R. Wittmann

Active Member
Feb 22, 2017
34
156
63
Florida, USA
I finally finished Lisey’s Story and to be honest, I struggled to finish this one. I know, it's one of SK’s favorites and Lord knows I am a HUGE SK fan and constant reader, but Lisey's Story was like dragging a ball and chain uphill in the rain.

Never mind the dozen or more author words I had to learn along the way like bool, bad gunky, SOWISA, Boo’ya Moon, and so many others. That really didn’t bother me. SK creates author-words all the time. You can’t get through The Dark Tower series without picking up all sorts of new words and I LOVED the Dark Tower.

Looking back, I know what it was—all through the book, I couldn't figure out why I was supposed to care about Lisey. As I was reading, I kept asking the book, “So what? Tell me why I am supposed to care about this.”

I know SK will sometimes take his time getting out of the starting gate, so I enter an SK book with a lot of patience. If memory serves, it was well over 100 pages before Black House really got cranking. I expect that from SK, but I was at page 300 in Lisey’s Story and desperate for a reason to continue.

There was a dead cat in a mailbox. Ahh, I thought. Maybe a psychopath will become the new antagonist. And Dooley did for a little while—at least until he was overcome by the Long Boy.

Then I thought…Oooo…it’s the Long Boy. That’s the real villain. Maybe the Long Boy will find a way to cross over to Lisey’s world. Then she’d be forced to deal with it on her home turf. But nope, we’re not going there and the whole Long Boy thing just fizzled out.

To me, Lisey’s Story was hodge-podge of possible conflicts and story elements that never delivered. In the end, the narrative never made me give a smuck about Lisey.

Please, please, please don’t tell me to go read it again so I can understand it. I understood it just fine, thank you very much.
 

Paddy C

All Hail The KING...
Sep 18, 2017
1,078
5,890
57
Drogheda, Ireland
I finished reading it for the first time last night and, hand on heart, I loved it. At some points during the story
Stations of the Bool
I wondered how Lisey could have forgotten some of the stuff that was revealed
her previous visits to Boo Ya Moon
but as the story went on I got the sense that everything panned out exactly as it should have.
When I started reading this one I had preconceived ideas that it would be a bit of a slog but it turned out to be a favourite. So much emotion and love invested by Mr. King. Definitely now included in my top ten!
Bool. The End!
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
This is my latest King book and it is a slog. It gets better at around page 250 or so, lol. Still sticking with it and i'm 3/4 there. Then I need to decide what's next. Maybe Bill Hodges.

Hi William - I read the first two - Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers which were both good. Still haven't started the final one in the trilogy (End of Watch) but I did enjoy the first two quite a bit.

I think I might have even enjoyed the second one in the series more than the first!
 

SNKoury

Member
Feb 21, 2018
17
67
51
I came to this book right after finishing Duma Key, so that may have had something to do with the fact I had such a hard time getting into it. I found the first 50 pages a huge chore to get through, but once I got past that, now I can't put it down. (Yes, I'm currently still reading it)
 

Neesy

#1 fan (Annie Wilkes cousin) 1st cousin Mom's side
May 24, 2012
61,289
239,271
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
I came to this book right after finishing Duma Key, so that may have had something to do with the fact I had such a hard time getting into it. I found the first 50 pages a huge chore to get through, but once I got past that, now I can't put it down. (Yes, I'm currently still reading it)
I felt the same - my mind kept wandering at first but eventually it became interesting.
 

Ebdim9th

Dressing the Gothic interval in tritones
Jul 1, 2009
6,137
22,104
It felt like a cousin to Rose Madder to me, and I did feel like Boo Ya Moon was in some way connected to the Dark Tower, especially the Long Boy. Dunno, I felt Lisey to be a very relatable and likeable character, so I cared about her pretty early on ... I need to reread this because a lot of it has slipped in my memory ....