Duma Key

I think I said in an earlier post that I tend to avoid the "King' section of any bookstore or library shelf. I have never been a fan of horror, and things that go bump in the night scare me. In spite of all my misgivings (reading scary story=insomnia) I read a few pages of Duma Key while standing in line at the checkout counter of the local library. Before I knew it 15 minutes had passed and the old lady standing behind me looked about ready to commit violence with her cane because I was holding up the queue.

Stephen King writing about people who suffer is in my opinion some of the best Stephen King, not the writings that make me have insomnia. The story is about a construction worker involved in an accident which cause his arm to be amputated and also brain injury. His marriage collapses and he rents a beach house on Duma Key in an attempt to recuperate. The story then moves into the realms of 'King', but remains absorbing and very human. It reminds me very much of 'The Shining'. (Confession: some books of King make the insomnia worthwhile)

Not the run-of-the-mill story I expected. Stephen King wrote this one with wit and grace.