Well, although the ending of Revival was already ruined for me by a dastardly newspaper article I absolutely loved this book! The first person narrative worked extremely well here, and Jamie Morton is now amongst my list of great King character crushes (alongside Jake Epping, Scott Landon, and of course Roland!). I was instantly drawn in by the characters and settings. King's description of past decades/eras makes me wish time travel really were possible, just to know if everything looked/tasted/smelled as good as the sensations King creates in my imagination.
The Rev/Preacher/Mister Charles Daniel Jacobs is possibly one of the most pitiful and complex character's King has created in a long time. Wow, I truly pitied him, he wasn't a bad guy and his character made me wonder how much circumstance and life events really can change a person? Had Patsy and Tag-Along-Morrie survived he probably would have lived a happy and fulfilled life. Sure he was already playing with the unknown electricity even at that stage in his life, but it was the accounts of what others saw "behind the door" that spurred him on to go further, all in the hope of discovering what fate had befallen those he loved once they reached the other side.
The religious aspect of the book was also very well written. I appreciated how a man who had once been so devoted to God could turn away from religion after his family had been cruelly ripped away from him in such dreadful circumstances. The physical description of what his family looked like after the crash, and knowing the Rev witnessed them in that condition, would be enough to make most people question their faith, if not drive them slightly insane. And where illegal substances were Jamie's drug of choice in his later years, the Rev's drug was electricity and working with that was his coping mechanism following his family's deaths. Yet the unknown electricity and suggestions of what was really "out there" slowly turned him from an affable character to someone cynical and obsessive in his pursuit of the truth.
The unknown electricity is dark and dangerous, and looking at it from a religious aspect it is probably the work of the devil. The world it exposed was a hellish vision, where good people were beaten upon and tortured...by ants no less! The smallest creatures that as humans we think nothing of stamping upon, so it's quite clever that in this world they tower above humans and beat upon them like they are worthless. Yet it was playing with the unknown electricity that created that world/hell for the Rev and those he healed...so I have no doubt had he left it alone and eventually died a natural death he would have been reunited with his family in another world that represented heaven. Just my opinion folks.
Damnit!! There’s so many aspects of this book I could waffle on about right now, but this post is already far too long...sorry. However, if we could get a discussion going then I'm sure many other aspects will pop up along the way. So come on folks, what did y'all think?
The Rev/Preacher/Mister Charles Daniel Jacobs is possibly one of the most pitiful and complex character's King has created in a long time. Wow, I truly pitied him, he wasn't a bad guy and his character made me wonder how much circumstance and life events really can change a person? Had Patsy and Tag-Along-Morrie survived he probably would have lived a happy and fulfilled life. Sure he was already playing with the unknown electricity even at that stage in his life, but it was the accounts of what others saw "behind the door" that spurred him on to go further, all in the hope of discovering what fate had befallen those he loved once they reached the other side.
The religious aspect of the book was also very well written. I appreciated how a man who had once been so devoted to God could turn away from religion after his family had been cruelly ripped away from him in such dreadful circumstances. The physical description of what his family looked like after the crash, and knowing the Rev witnessed them in that condition, would be enough to make most people question their faith, if not drive them slightly insane. And where illegal substances were Jamie's drug of choice in his later years, the Rev's drug was electricity and working with that was his coping mechanism following his family's deaths. Yet the unknown electricity and suggestions of what was really "out there" slowly turned him from an affable character to someone cynical and obsessive in his pursuit of the truth.
The unknown electricity is dark and dangerous, and looking at it from a religious aspect it is probably the work of the devil. The world it exposed was a hellish vision, where good people were beaten upon and tortured...by ants no less! The smallest creatures that as humans we think nothing of stamping upon, so it's quite clever that in this world they tower above humans and beat upon them like they are worthless. Yet it was playing with the unknown electricity that created that world/hell for the Rev and those he healed...so I have no doubt had he left it alone and eventually died a natural death he would have been reunited with his family in another world that represented heaven. Just my opinion folks.
Damnit!! There’s so many aspects of this book I could waffle on about right now, but this post is already far too long...sorry. However, if we could get a discussion going then I'm sure many other aspects will pop up along the way. So come on folks, what did y'all think?
- I better get my arse over to Chapters this week some time after work and buy a copy!
There was a lot of interesting characters, and I really cared about them. I felt genuine sadness at the loss of Charlie's family, and the ending with the numerous murders/suicides was devastating. 
