Got married on 10th May - happy at last!! Taking BA Hons Degree in Eng Lit & creative writing in Sep...
Got married on 10th May - happy at last!! Taking BA Hons Degree in Eng Lit & creative writing in Sept so expect practice! x
Member since:03.11.2001
Reviews:42
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As a youngster and in my early twenties I was an avid Stephen King fan and would read his books over & over again and wait with baited breath for his next book to come out. Then his writing, for me, went a little down the pan as it were....
Delores Clairbourne, Needful Things, they weren't bad but not up his usual standard for me. And so, I went off Stephen King for a while and though I still read anything he brought out, I didn't rush out to buy them, then the first small paperback of The Green Mile came out. Personally, I saw this as a cynical way of the publishers and King himself trying to wring more money out of the reading public; though I now know that it was an attempt to ape Charles Dickens who often published his work in this format. Anyway, I didn't buy any of the serialised versions for the combined reasons listed above.
After the serialised version had been out for a little while, I was browsing our local bargain bookshop when I saw the full version of the book and I thought 'Oh what the hell...' and bought it. I will say that it was a very good decision, at that time the book wasn't anything like as famous as it is now because of the Hollywood film starring Tom Hanks.
On to the subject at hand and please forgive any whittering on my part, I felt I had to explain how I felt about King's work at the time as it is relevant.
The Green Mile is set in the present day but the tale is told from the perspective of Paul Edgecumbe when he was a prison officer on death row in 1930's America. The story centers on the inmates on death row and the officers that look after them until it's thier time to walk 'The Green Mile', a corridor with a green floor that leads to 'Old Sparky', the electric chair itself.
Paul is feeling the strain of his job; putting men to death year after year is beginning to take it's toll on him and when the huge figure of John Coffey (like the drink but not spelt the same) is brought in, he initially treats him like any other inmate. He soon finds out that John Coffey is special and the task before him of putting him to death lays heavy on his conscience.
The story deals with many different characters though, John Coffey and what he is, is simply a builder to the climax of what made Paul leave the job. King does an excellent job of juggling the characters and making them come alive. There's Del, the man who Jingles the mouse takes a fancy to; there's Percy, the prison guard with a mean streak; there's Wild Bill Warbuton, the total pyscho(!) and all the other guards who all figure greatly in the tale. King manages to intertwine all the characters so well that you understand and sympathise with every aspect of the story and feel the wisdom of Paul, Brutal (another officer) and feel the sheer petty mean-ness that is Percy. You even manage to feel sympathy for the inmate, most of all whom have commited henious crimes; except, of course, John Coffey.
I really don't want to give too much away because, for me, this really was an excellent book and I don't want to spoil anything for anyone who may be inspired enough by this to want to read it. Suffice to say that this book restored my faith in Stephen King and I now await his next books with bated breath once more.
I also realise that the pressure heaped upon the author to come through with the goods for serialised work greatly improved his writing. Perhaps some of the more famous authors should give it a try, anyone who writes knows how much first drafts can change up until the final draft, maybe King, with his pressing deadlines learnt something about his writing.
To sum up I would reccommend this book to everyone; I've seen the film and enjoyed that immensly too but it still isn't a patch on the book. It's one of the best books I have ever read, and I've read an awful lot!!
Hope this is helpful; thanks for reading! Kes:)
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Great review about a fantastic book
Loved the book more than the film though don't know many that would disagree there
Carol x
Luckyfriend 14.04.2005 00:17
I couldn't get into this one when it 1st came out so I put it down and read something else. Then I picked it up again. I read it in a couple of days. Brill once I got into it. They did quite a good job on the film version aswell, don't you think? They don't always do justice to the book, obviously because the film would be too long for all the details. Misery was agood example of this. Cut out alot of the goory bits in the film. Nice to find a fan. See you've wrote alot on Stephen!!
Jimmi5bellies 15.10.2002 22:22
A good clear op, i have watched the film which i thought was brill, i am looking forward to reading the book.
This novel (now complete in one volume) taps into what Stephen King does best: ... more
character-driven storytelling. The setting is the small "death house" of a Southern prison in 1932. The charming narrator is an old man looking back on the events, decades l...
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