Spoilers: Theory and critic

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Are the events fabricated due to mental illness or did the events actually occur?

  • Fabricated

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  • Other

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  • Total voters
    3

AndyThomp

New Member
Jan 14, 2017
1
5
33
I have always heard that Stephen King is a great author and I should read his books. Revival is the first Stephen King book that I read. At first I really loved the book and the concept, however, the ending left me feeling disappointed. I felt that the afterlife after death lacked description and detail. I felt cheated because the first seven chapters were great and left me wanting more. The last two chapters left me feeling that he abruptly ran out of ideas. I felt he ran out of ideas and ended the book. However, my theory is that Jamie Morton was mentally ill and made the whole thing up and just pieced together stories from real life. He tracked down Charles Daniel Jacobs and kills him because of the traumatic consequences of the "terrible sermon." What are your thoughts or theories of the meaning of the book? Do you people think that the vision of the afterlife and the events leading up to it actually occurred or that Jamie fabricated the whole story as a result of being mentally ill?
 

GNTLGNT

The idiot is IN
Jun 15, 2007
87,651
358,754
62
Cambridge, Ohio
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...I thought the whole novel smacked of various forms of mental illness.....
 

Doc Creed

Well-Known Member
Nov 18, 2015
17,221
82,822
47
United States
I just figured he went crazy after his wife was killed in the car wreck. I viewed the minister as a well meaning character who couldn't accept a God who'd allow such terrible things to happen in the world. I think he really did want to do good with his experiments/healings but went mad in the process. Perhaps this is the fate of a man who forsakes or interferes with God's plan. (Think Louis Creed in Pet Sematary)
 

skimom2

Just moseyin' through...
Oct 9, 2013
15,683
92,168
USA
Revival wasn't a favorite of mine (and the ending was just absurd, to me). If this one wasn't to your taste, please dive in to another book. He has many different types of stories in his well, and there is likely something else that will blow your skirt up.
 

Grace82

Well-Known Member
Oct 8, 2007
582
2,435
NC
I really liked this story. I would say it was one of my top 5! I tend to lean more toward the stories that are not neatly tied at the end...the one's that leave you guessing....somewhat scared. I think those stories are more true to reality.

With that said, I take the story at face value. That the events did occur and that the minster went crazy after his tragic event and became obsessed with the afterlife...regardless of the consequences.

I think this story is pretty deserving of some sort of follow-up...maybe have the main character's name come up in some obscure way in a future novel.
 
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