“I was lost in the dark,” he whispers. “You found me.”
I went on a JOURNEY with Lisey’s Story. I picked it up, read a few dozen pages, got annoyed, decided to DNF. Then, a few minutes later (literally)…I picked it back up, read a few more sections, found myself annoyed again, decided to DNF. The next morning? Picked it back up and barely put it down again.
Here’s what you need to know: Lisey’s husband, Scott, has been dead for two years. Lisey is just now starting to sort through his office (he was a famous author, of course). This book feels almost feverish in the beginning. I felt like I was entering a story at the middle, and there was some jumping back and forth between the present moment and some memories that threw me off the timeline a bit. It took a while to get used to King’s cadence here and get a feel for the foundation of the story, but…stick with it.
Scott and Lisey have their own little language within their marriage, made up primarily of words from Scott’s childhood. And it’s incredibly annoying. Thankfully, after a certain point, it tapers off…but at the beginning of the book, it borders on insufferable and childish.
Scott’s backstory is unsettling and I found myself looking for clues about what was really going on, but I suppose I was meant to suspend disbelief and just buy in to the supernatural “bad-gunky” that has allegedly plagued Scott’s family for decades.
Avid King readers will find shades of Rose Madder and Bag of Bones here (and now, as I type this, I feel like maybe a little touch of Duma Key, even?) If you’ve read any or all of these books, you’ll almost feel like you’ve already read Lisey’s Story, but it does stand (albeit, a bit shakily) on its own.
There are some deeply emotional moments throughout Lisey’s Story and for that reason, i’m glad I read it (I reluctantly gave this four stars because the parts that I loved…I REALLY loved). Lisey’s Story is another one of those books that’s a must for the Constant Reader, but not necessarily required reading for the more casual King fan.
Scott & Lisey: Now We Are Two
Read with Aimee 