Stephen King: Bag of Bones

One of my new years resolutions was to read books–lots of books–this year. The problem is, and I don’t know why this happens, if it’s a medical condition or what, I have a hard time remembering what I read months later. Even weeks later. I often wonder if this is something I should be worried about or if it’s something everybody goes through. When I hear people talk about how they can plow through two books I week I often wonder what would happen if I were to ask them in-depth details about the story’s plot… would they be able to answer?

I’m a slow reader because of that. I take my time and try to really understand the plot and why things happen the way they do. Even so, I often get caught off guard by questions asked about the book and that’s what worries me. So, as a way of trying to make that sort of thing not happen as much, I’m going to start blogging about all the books I read this year so I can look back and refresh my memory.

The first book on my list to be completed is Stephen King’s “Bag of Bones.” It’s slightly more than ten years old at this point, which is scary because I remember the media attention when it first came out. I was thirteen or fourteen at the time.

The plot is actually very simple, and is neatly explained in the last chapter in what I’m thinking is Stephen King’s signature send-off (I’ve only read 2 of his books so far, both from Crystal’s recommendations): a conversation between two people, one asking “so what happened?” and the other, the main character, answering all the questions.

(Since this book came out 10 years ago I think a spoiler’s ahead warning isn’t really necessary, but here it is nonetheless.) It’s the story of a writer named Mike Noonan who looses his wife in a weird traffic accident and can’t write anymore. Seeking escape, he goes to the lake house they own on Dark Score Lake, in an unincorporated village-like settlement called TR-90, in Maine. The name of the lake house is Sara Laughs, named after Sara Tidwell who was the lead singer of Sara and the Red Tops, a group of black singers who lived in TR-90 back in the day when racism was still the in thing. Sara was brutally raped and murdered by the forefathers of the town, leaving Sara’s spirit (and her remains… the literal bag of bones) haunting the lake house and influencing members of the community. Mike Noonan’s ultimate destiny at Sara Laughs is to write a story guided by the good-spirit of his dead wife, which gave him clues about how to break the curse and remove the bag of bones left behind by the evil-spirit of Sara.

Of course, there has to be something else besides just that to fill the 732 pages, and there certainly is! All of the blurbs at the beginning sum it up nicely: it’s King’s finest work, it’s King’s powerful imagination, it’s King at his clever, terrifying best, but most importantly, it’s King “proving he’s not only a mesmerizing storyteller, he’s one of the most moving as well.”

As he grieves his wife and struggles with his writing, he becomes involved in a younger woman’s life and her bitter custody battle between her little girl, Kyra Devore, and her nasty father-in-law, billionaire Max Devore. The woman, Mattie, stirs something up in Mike so much that Mike takes her struggle as his own, investing his time and money and allowing himself to fall in love again after his wife’s death.

There is tragedy about 3/4’s of the way through, though, when you think all is well and all will be happily ever after. And that’s when Stephen King is Stephen King and just as he has you by the balls he decides to twist them a bit and serve you a cold plate of flapjacks. (Just in case, you’ll need to highlight the following text with your mouse to read it, but): Yes, Mattie dies. But she doesn’t just die, she gets shot in the face. One of the most powerful scenes in the book was Mattie lying in Mike’s arms, struggling to call for her daughter, as he tried to hold her brain into her head.  “I wish I’m able to tell you that I don’t remember exactly how that looked, but I do.”

I read this book in less than a month, which, at 732 pages, says quite a bit. It was a good way to start the non-stop, book-reading new year. Next up? Star Trek: Q & A (Q being the omnipotent god-like being from another dimension), but don’t expect to hear anything about that. I’m too embarrassed.

And why was Sara Laughing? Well, that’s just the kind of gal she is.