What did you guys think of "Bag of Bones"?

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lowman

Well-Known Member
Mar 9, 2015
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So I've always had this book in my book shelf but never got around to reading it because I had so many other SK books to catch up on. I hadn't heard much about the book or rave reviews, but I started 2 days ago and I could not put it down. I absolutely loved it, definitely one of my favorites! I'm mad it took me so long to read it. I can't stop thinking about the characters, loved them haha. :p

What did you guys think of it??
Ithink it started slow but definitely picked up the pace i really enjoyed the ending.great book
 

Sunlight Gardener

Well-Known Member
Jul 22, 2013
375
1,273
I liked Ralph, too. I don't have a favorite spot in my heart for the novel Insomnia, tho. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to think that someone of Ralph's age would know and like songs by Pearl Jam, etc. Just didn't ring true to me.

From the time I was in high school up through my early 30's, when he passed away, my Dad and I would cruise around in the car listening to Metallica and Pantera very loud. He absolutely loved both. He dug Nirvana a lot too. Needless to say, I totally believed that Ralph could like Pearl Jam lol.
 

Doc Creed

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2015
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King once praised a Greg Iles novel as 'Rebecca if written by a man', but I actually think it better describes Bag of Bones.
He crams a lot into this novel but it never feels clunky or unwieldy. Life is complex and so are his characters in BOB. Some readers may find Devore too villainous to be real but I've come to accept that sometimes money can create eccentric, diabolical people. It feels even more real under the story's circumstances and the isolation of TR-90. Expect the unexpected in this one. Favorite line: "Don't taggle your own quartermack.".
 

Aija

Active Member
Nov 7, 2007
25
77
Norway
I'm going to quote myself here

As audiobooks; i do not really care for Mr.King reading, sorry. He is the author, and obviously knows his characters and how he meant them to react in any given situation, but unfortunatly don't have the voice or talent, to do his own writing, books and characters justice.

And now i must eat my own words because...
This (listening)time around i actually find mr.Kings reading of BoB quite good.
 

M_Parabola

Well-Known Member
Jan 27, 2016
56
268
31
Outside NYC
Bag of Bones is the only Stephen King book I can say with absolute certitude that I "hate". There just wasn't anything in it to hook me, it just dragged and dragged and dragged. I've tried to go back and re-read it several times now, but I can never find a way to enjoy it. It's a novel I read because I read all King works, and if it wasn't a King work, I wouldn't give it a second thought.
 

The Walkin' Dude

Well-Known Member
Jul 5, 2016
47
267
30
Charlotte, NC
This book is very much a slow burn but I loved it. All of the characters are very very strong in this one, especially the female characters. With some King stories I feel like the female characters fall flat, but everyone in this one is very three dimensional. The picnic scene is one of the most gripping scenes he's ever written, and definitely one of the most stressful and painful. Always great when a King story isn't straight horror.
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
I liked Ralph, too. I don't have a favorite spot in my heart for the novel Insomnia, tho. I just couldn't suspend my disbelief enough to think that someone of Ralph's age would know and like songs by Pearl Jam, etc. Just didn't ring true to me. Insomnia could've (and probably should've) been edited down a couple hundred pages. Just abit too long....
YES! Thank you! The music in Insomnia was wonky, both for Ralph and Ed. Not a huge thing, and I did like the book very much (Atropos is almost Mr. Flip/Space Cowboy level scary to me), but I also love music. If that is off, it yanks me right out of the story.
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
This one was a heartbreaker. Respectfully, I disagree with RichardX : I don't think Mr. King changed his style/subject matter to pander to critics or any particular flavor of the month mainstreaming. This is very much in line with how he was developing as a writer at that time. All of the books became more introspective around that time. The straight ahead potboiler was in his past (though Cell was a rather refreshing return to that style, it was an anomaly in his line-up).
 

Christiane17

Well-Known Member
Jan 19, 2010
838
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Quebec, Canada
I finished reading it last night. I loved it, but somewhere along the way I had the feeling the story was not progressing, but it's just me. And can someone tell me what a bunter bell is? I read the strory in french, and many times ''la cloche de bunter'' was mentionned. I have no idea what in the world is that thing, even after searching on the web. It's a bell, but what kind of bell? Thanks for answering my question. And I haven't seen the movie yet.
 

Doc Creed

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2015
17,221
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United States
I finished reading it last night. I loved it, but somewhere along the way I had the feeling the story was not progressing, but it's just me. And can someone tell me what a bunter bell is? I read the strory in french, and many times ''la cloche de bunter'' was mentionned. I have no idea what in the world is that thing, even after searching on the web. It's a bell, but what kind of bell? Thanks for answering my question. And I haven't seen the movie yet.
Hi, Christiane. Bunter's Bell was a bell that hung on a moosehead at Sara Laughs. They named the moosehead Bunter and I think the bell symbolized the times Mike and his wife had sex. I can't remember exactly.
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
I started Bag of Bones audiobook . I really struggled with this one so had to sit it down. A lot of comments on here speak pretty positive about it. So maybe I need to give it another chance. But it was just going so slow.
...it was a slow slog for me, but I've been through it I think 4 times now and finally appreciate it as probably his most "literary" novel....