Note: I promise I won’t give away the plot.
As a person who read English for her Masters I have read very limited pop fiction. And I had no reason to go check the uncharted territory because I did not find much appeal in what I saw. Then I watched Shawshank Redemption and found out that it was written by Stephen King. I had decided this I would read this author. That was more than ten years ago.
Now I have finally come around to reading King’s The Mist. I must admit that I planned to read it after watching the movie, which is never a good idea. Anyway I knew the book would be better. This was originally a long story part of a collection, Dark Forces, then a novella called Skeleton’s Crew, and expanded into a novel later.
So, the story is narrated by David Drayton, a commercial artist based in Bridgton, Maine in the US, of course. Living close to a lake David is aware of the changes in nature that do not seem organic. Although his instinct keeps cautioning him against normalcy, he pretends to act normal like going to the supermarket. King said the idea for the book came to him when he was at a supermarket and imagined big colossal bugs outside. That is pretty much the premise of the book except that these bugs are extra-terrestrial.
I am tempted to mention that while the movie focuses on drama, the book focuses on the human reaction to such unprecedented events, and their dynamics and priorities in such circumstances. David Drayton is real, with anxieties, prejudice, as much as he has kindness. Mostly it his fatherhood that is mostly at display in the story. He is not a typical pop-fiction hero with no flaws. In fact, it is an unlikely person, Ollie Weeks, a short, non-ambitious, matter-of-fact person who appears to be the hero here. I also like how Bud Brown’s character slowly changes in the book from only a clerical professional to an empathetic person. The alien factor is also developed in proportion to the story and not merely for action.
I am tempted to mention that while the movie focuses on drama, the book focuses on the human reaction to such unprecedented events, and their dynamics and priorities in such circumstances. David Drayton is real, with anxieties, prejudice, as much as he has kindness. Mostly it his fatherhood that is mostly at display in the story. He is not a typical pop-fiction hero with no flaws. In fact, it is an unlikely person, Ollie Weeks, a short, non-ambitious, matter-of-fact person who appears to be the hero here. I also like how Bud Brown’s character slowly changes in the book from only a clerical professional to an empathetic person. The alien factor is also developed in proportion to the story and not merely for action.
It is worth a read even if you have watched the movie and definitely a good book to pick if you are new to the genre.
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