"Lisey and the Madman" vs. LISEY'S STORY (Help!)

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Officious Little Prick

Well-Known Member
Aug 28, 2014
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Broken Arrow, OK
Can someone please clarify something for which I can't find a clear-cut answer? Is "Lisey and the Madman" (the short story/book excerpt as found in the anthology McSweeney's Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories) a true word-for-word excerpt from the novel Lisey's Story, or is it an earlier draft, with compositional or narrative variations from the final published novel?
 

Spideyman

Uber Member
Jul 10, 2006
46,336
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Just north of Duma Key
Lisey's Story is a novel by Stephen King that combines the elements of psychological horror and romance. It was released on October 24, 2006, and was nominated for the World Fantasy Award in 2007.[1] An early excerpt from the novel, "Lisey and the Madman", was published in McSweeney’s Enchanted Chamber of Astonishing Stories (2004), and was nominated for the 2004 Bram Stoker Award for Best Long Fiction.[2] King himself stated that this is his favorite of the novels he has written.[3]

This is all I could find for now.
 

Bev Vincent

Well-Known Member
Apr 11, 2006
4,351
11,651
Texas
www.bevvincent.com
There are significant differences. For example, the opening line of Lisey's Story says

To the public eye, the spouses of well-known writers are all but invisible, and no one knew it better than Lisey Landon.​

Whereas the opening line of "Lisey and the Madman" says

The spouses of well-known writers are all but invisible; no one knows better than Lisey Landon, who has given only one actual interview in her life.​
 
Mar 12, 2010
6,538
29,004
Texas
I found Lisey's Story difficult to read. Tried many times. I guess you would have to have been there.

In a loss like that. I know it was one of JD's favorites

I found Lisey's Story too difficult to read too. It hit too close to home. I tried to read it. I kept telling myself it was just fiction but the story kept causing my mind to wander into real life grief. I made to about page 50 and tearfully closed the book and have never wanted to open it again.

I can't watch Disney movies either :(