I have read and enjoyed almost all of King's books, BUT! A couple of things--annoying habits of his--continue to bug me. I won't object to his fascination with excessively precocious little kids; a writer must take his stories as he finds them. However, two things do warrant complaints, or at least questions: his over-use of Italics and parentheses to record every stray, random, trivial, boring and unnecessary thought of either a character or the author himself; and his pathological obsession with people going to the bathroom: he refers to it over and over again in EVERY novel, and--except for THE GREEN MILE--it never has anything to do with the story. King is gratuitously scatological, and it lessens the quality of his work.
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Interesting point of view. I find the way SK writes to be the whole reason why I love his work. He could write a book about paint drying and somehow manage to make it entertaining. His words flow so naturally, and those little tangents he goes on give everything an extra bit of color and laugh-out-loud humor.
As for the being “obsessed” with bathroom stuff, it’s never stuck out to me. But SK does like to keep it real. He likes to remind us that no matter how cool a character may be, hey, “everybody poops.”
Well, except the Man in Black, apparently.
Welcome to the board!
As for the being “obsessed” with bathroom stuff, it’s never stuck out to me. But SK does like to keep it real. He likes to remind us that no matter how cool a character may be, hey, “everybody poops.”
Well, except the Man in Black, apparently.
Welcome to the board!
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Welcome to the SKMB!
To the first point -- that is his style. His voice. What sets him apart. Asking that he stop that would be tantamount to asking him to chop off a hand.
Point the second -- I haven't noticed this but, if I did, I'd put it down to his writing about reality. People think about elimination and, in a dystopian or stressful situation, I bet you'd find that you'd think about it, too. Just part of his style.
To the first point -- that is his style. His voice. What sets him apart. Asking that he stop that would be tantamount to asking him to chop off a hand.
Point the second -- I haven't noticed this but, if I did, I'd put it down to his writing about reality. People think about elimination and, in a dystopian or stressful situation, I bet you'd find that you'd think about it, too. Just part of his style.
Well, there was the peeing problem in the Green Mile.
He writes as real people. That is why we love his characters.
He writes as real people. That is why we love his characters.
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I agree the over use of brackets is jarring to me at times. It bumps me out of the story and I wonder why that line or phrase is not included in the main structure. I have not noticed the bathroom aspect, in fact am now rereading the DT series and bathroom breaks are not mentioned. One of the brilliant aspects of SK's writing is the reality of the everyman, the characters are relatable maybe that's why so many bathroom scenes.
Twice around the bowl and tapered at both ends is what I consider to be a very good poop.
Hello and welcome. All excellent responses above. It is his style and it is for that that we read his books. Real life characters- thus the need to "go".
...I will welcome you to the crew, but the italics are part of his "fingerprint" and a device that may annoy some, like you-but the majority of fans just keep reading...I've never found myself ejected from the story flow by it.....finally, two words I never expected to see associated with King are "gratuitously scatological".....I've been a fan since he lumbered out of the mists of time, and have never noticed any fecal fascination or urine yearnin'.....unless your a Ken doll with a smooth groin stamped "Made in Japan"....then we all eliminate....hence the reality of his characters as others have already stated.....nowhere has the narrative ever been sidetracked by someone searching for wisdom in their dung.....
