Oh me oh my did I love this book.
Firstly: I hadn’t quite anticipated the colossal size of this read. Apparently I rarely check print length on books online, unless it’s irl & I am using my eyeballs in a store. However my fear subsided when within mere pages, I was hooked. It’s been sometime since I have read Stephen King. I fondly recall reading The Shining as a teen & genuinely needing to sleep with the light on I was so petrified – I wonder if it would have such an impact now.
To me, King manages to create ‘easy-reading’ with his novels.
He remains immensely descriptive, creating deep well-rounded characters, but without a need to have obtained an English Literature degree. I guess it’s pretty clear as to why he has had the success he has.
The rising horror & sense of impending doom in ‘Salem’s Lot had me completely gripped. The suspense and anticipation is drawn out in a way that kept me turning pages. I felt connected with the town and the characters, finding it both easy & deeply enjoyable to picture it all so vividly. I loved the suspicion felt within the town – it had a folklore quality, with no-one wanting to admit to what they felt could be going on. I often think of how beneficial it is for a novel to be set in a time before mobile phones, the internet & social media – and ‘Salem’s Lot, for me, highlights this.
As a lover of well drawn and depicted characters, my appetite for such was really met here. The side-line stories going on within the town with the different families & individuals juxtaposed the vampiric shenanigans & I loved these mundane [although somewhat downright deeply sad at times] storylines.
An absolute delight.
How did you enjoy this one? Or do you have the joy of still being immersed in it? Would love to hear your thoughts – I am curious if I was one of the few, or one of the many, that loved it so.
Next read [to commence Oct 28th]: Jaws by Peter Benchley
happy reading,
