Hello everyone,
I'd read The Green Mile many years ago in middle school. So I decided to try Salem's Lot within the past week. I ended up reading the first 60-80 pages or so (I can't tell the exact amount, I'm on an ebook reader).
I found some parts genuinely interesting. Take this sentence for example: "It was a moment he remembered for years after, as though a special small slice had been cut from the cake of time." That's a great sentence. Efficient use of metaphor and great pop. The whole meeting between Ben Mears and Susan Norton in the beginning was interesting and good writing. And when he told her about coming into the house as a kid and finding the guy hanging, I could see how it was scary and good.
The problem is that right after that, King felt the need to do a panorama of random characters throughout the town. It was terribly boring. Instead of focusing on these two interesting characters, he killed it by bouncing from character to character for a while. I didn't care too much at all, I just wanted to get back to the Susan Norton/Ben Mears part of the story.
I think the shift in perspectives also reflected a real decline in writing quality in the book. For example, the section of the book with all these viewpoints begins with this sentence: "The town is not slow to wake — chores won't wait." Can you say cheesy?
As well, the whole scene where Straker meets with Larry to buy a house...I found that poorly written. Look at this quote:
"'I have been sent to buy a residence and a business establishment in your so-fair town,' the bald man said. He spoke with a flat, uninfected tonelessness that made Larry think of the recorded announcements you got when you dialed the weather."
"So-fair town" is not something anyone would say, except a cliched outsider. The whole idea of him being "flat" and "emotionless" kept re-appearing in the scene, and frankly it also came off as a cliche.
These aspects of the writing bothered me to the point where I don't know if it's worth it to keep reading the novel to get to the good parts with Ben/Susan. I feel like King can write really good dialogue sometimes. Again, everything good about the book so far for me came from the Ben/Susan interaction. I found the writing seriously declined and it felt like King just wanted to give a panorama of the town for no real reason. I guess it gave the town a little more 'life' beyond Susan and Ben (which it didn't need), but it seemed like just filler. Even the guy at the graveyard that found a dead cat hanging on his rail was a big yawn. So, my last page read was the end of the conversation between Straker and Larry.
Does anyone have any feedback/criticism/advice? I want to hear from someone that actually likes King's writing, and this book. Do you feel my feelings are accurate? Should I keep reading? Will it get more interesting?
Thank you!
I'd read The Green Mile many years ago in middle school. So I decided to try Salem's Lot within the past week. I ended up reading the first 60-80 pages or so (I can't tell the exact amount, I'm on an ebook reader).
I found some parts genuinely interesting. Take this sentence for example: "It was a moment he remembered for years after, as though a special small slice had been cut from the cake of time." That's a great sentence. Efficient use of metaphor and great pop. The whole meeting between Ben Mears and Susan Norton in the beginning was interesting and good writing. And when he told her about coming into the house as a kid and finding the guy hanging, I could see how it was scary and good.
The problem is that right after that, King felt the need to do a panorama of random characters throughout the town. It was terribly boring. Instead of focusing on these two interesting characters, he killed it by bouncing from character to character for a while. I didn't care too much at all, I just wanted to get back to the Susan Norton/Ben Mears part of the story.
I think the shift in perspectives also reflected a real decline in writing quality in the book. For example, the section of the book with all these viewpoints begins with this sentence: "The town is not slow to wake — chores won't wait." Can you say cheesy?
As well, the whole scene where Straker meets with Larry to buy a house...I found that poorly written. Look at this quote:
"'I have been sent to buy a residence and a business establishment in your so-fair town,' the bald man said. He spoke with a flat, uninfected tonelessness that made Larry think of the recorded announcements you got when you dialed the weather."
"So-fair town" is not something anyone would say, except a cliched outsider. The whole idea of him being "flat" and "emotionless" kept re-appearing in the scene, and frankly it also came off as a cliche.
These aspects of the writing bothered me to the point where I don't know if it's worth it to keep reading the novel to get to the good parts with Ben/Susan. I feel like King can write really good dialogue sometimes. Again, everything good about the book so far for me came from the Ben/Susan interaction. I found the writing seriously declined and it felt like King just wanted to give a panorama of the town for no real reason. I guess it gave the town a little more 'life' beyond Susan and Ben (which it didn't need), but it seemed like just filler. Even the guy at the graveyard that found a dead cat hanging on his rail was a big yawn. So, my last page read was the end of the conversation between Straker and Larry.
Does anyone have any feedback/criticism/advice? I want to hear from someone that actually likes King's writing, and this book. Do you feel my feelings are accurate? Should I keep reading? Will it get more interesting?
Thank you!