Customer Reviews

The Long Walk

5 star:		(130)
4 star:		(47)
3 star:		(20)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

If you ask me, The Long Walk may well be the most fascinating novel Stephen King has ever written. Written back in 1966-67, while King was a college freshman, the novel earned the author nothing more than a form rejection letter. Finally, after a few years of dust-gathering, the manuscript was released into a much more welcoming world in the form of Richard Bachman's second novel. It's a magnificent story - not perfect, but magnificent nonetheless. It's a disarmingly simple tale centered on a seemingly mundane activity, yet in King's masterful hands The Long Walk burrows into the core of a number of characters, lays down miles of metaphors about the human condition, and absolutely mesmerizes you with its emotional force and power.

The setting is an alternate, possible fascist America; King leaves things pretty murky on the sociopolitical end of things, almost surely by design. The Long Walk is really one of your "it can't happen in America" kind of stories, and the horror of it all (and, yes, I would categorize this as a horror novel) is made more powerful by obscuring the lines between our America and this fictionalized America. Here, The Long Walk is the premier sporting event in the land. Spectators turn out in droves, bets are made left and right, and the whole nation watches and cheers. Obviously, this is not a regular walk, nor is it a race in the purist sense. Endurance - mental even more than physical - is the key to victory in this sport. To win, all you have to do is outlast 99 other competitors - and the winner receives nothing less than whatever he wants for the rest of his life. Before you yell "Sign me up," you'll want to hear about the details. You have to maintain a pace of at least four miles per hour; fall below the pace, and you get a warning. You are allowed three warnings (and you can "lose" a warning by walking another hour on the pace), and then you get ticketed. Getting ticketed doesn't get you a place to rest or even a little much-needed nourishment; all it gets you is one or more bullets in the head.

The obvious question is: why would anyone volunteer for this, knowing that he was almost surely going to die? That's a large part of what this whole novel is about. The contestants do a lot of talking while they're walking; most of them dance around the "why" issue, but we see clues to some of the reasons as each lad draws closer and closer to death. For some, reality doesn't really set in until the guns started blazing. Cockiness turns to anger, fear, shock, and just about every other kind of dark emotion you can imagine. The boys are stripped bare in both body and mind as the Walk goes on and on, through all kinds of weather. Through his characters, King is basically asking the reader how he/she will face death when it comes. Will you freeze up early on? How long will you fight to stay alive after you've pushed your body far beyond the breaking point? Will you lie down and accept your fate, or will you lose control and lash out at your perceived enemies?

The most weighty questions actually involve the crowd. As the Walk progresses, more and more people come out to cheer the Watchers on, secretly hoping to see someone get ticketed before there very eyes. This goes far beyond craning your neck to see everything you can at an accident scene. For the Walkers, the crowd eventually becomes Crowd, an amorphous creature always right there roaring and grabbing at them, living (and dying) vicariously through them. Obviously, one thing the Long Walk represents is life itself. The Walkers literally age before our eyes as exhausting hours turn into ever darker, more painful days. Death's approach changes every one of them. Fate has its way with each one's odds of winning, allowing for no favorites among them, as even those with the most going for them sometimes find themselves felled by injuries and sickness. During the journey, the Walkers arrange themselves into little groups, develop enemies, and help - or don't help - one another keep going. Is life a competition or a journey? Different things motivate them to keep going - family, a girl back home, or - for some - just the satisfaction of outlasting another Walker they don't like (oddly enough, the Prize never really seems to mean much to any of them).

I could just go on and on with the symbolism of this story. I haven't even described the characters, and I think it is better if I don't - except to say that the story is told from the perspective of "Maine's own" Walker, Ray Garraty. I could read this novel over and over again without ever growing tired of it. It's just endlessly fascinating and illuminating. Even as a very young writer, King had a lot to say, he understood people, and - most of all - he knew how to tell a story better than just about everyone else who has ever lived.

I'm a big fan of Richard Bachman, Stephen King's alter ego. I usually love his books, as they are very dark and atmospheric. But The Long Walk wins it! This one is King's darkest novel. It's about a group of boys who, in a near future, participate in a race where the losers are killed. These 100 boys walk together for 4 days, discussing their non-existant future and death. This, of course, makes for a very bleak read.

The book is short but it still felt a little repetitive to me. Sure, this is about a group of boys doing the walk (not much to do except, well, than to walk!), but it seems that King doesn't have enough to sustain the reader's attention for 350 fifty pages. As a matter of fact, the beginning of the book feels more like a short story than a novel. Did King start this one as a short story? It sure does feel like it.

Still, this book is exciting in that King demonstrates how wonderful he is at writing dialogue. Everything these boys say feel true and real. You can't help but care about all these characters, even the so-called mean ones. This isn't the great King at work, but it's still a very good read nonetheless!

This is second Stephen King novel I've read and it confirms my original conviction that he is an excellent writer. Set in near-future America the book follows a sixteen year old who signs up for the biggest sporting event of the time: the Long Walk. A walking competition where the last man standing wins and if you slow down for too long you buy yourself a 'ticket' out of not only the walk but also out of exsistence. As the teenage boys begin their greuling trek across the state of Maine frienships are formed, stories are exchanged and mind and body are put to the ultimate test.

The idea for the plot I thought was brilliant and only Stephen King could tell the tale. Except I don't really know King enough (having only read one of his other books) to feel qualified to say that. However if all King's novels are all like these first two I've read than the man is an absolute genius. Only this story idea could come from a genius.

I love the way he keeps the plot moving and still has time to paint a sharp mental picture for the reader. His characters act with incredible realism and he shows the walkers slow descent into hysteria with a kind of terrible beauty. He also gives the gore in his stories a gut wrenching quality and whether you want to or not you are forced to see the repulsive majesty of the scene he is describing. Chills run up my spine when I think what one of his more ghoulish tales (the other King book I've read being the Green Mile) with a lot more blood must be like. 'The Long Walk' has its moment but for those weak of heart and stomach (like myself) rejoice, this book is not scary or incredibly gruesome. It may leave you feeling slightly disturbed but not horror struck.

I had only one problem with the book: the ending. The conclusion was kind of clipped. It felt like King had forgotten to finish the book until the morning before it was due be to published and in a mad scramble he had to rush the last bit. The rest of the book was so thorough and detailed but the last part was too adbrupt for my liking. I think this may have been a deliberate attempt by the author to make the writing change as the main character slowly lost his mind, however I still don't like it.

Besides that not much is wrong with the book. It is a constant page turner and is not a very complicated read making this a thouroughly enjoyable novel. It has finished the work the Green Mile began and turned me into a loyal fan of King.

The book arrived quickly in excellent condition, but I have read better Stephen King books, I actually skipped the middle 75 pages and picked it up at the end, without missing a beat!,

Ray Garraty and ninety-nine other teenage boys have passed screening tests, been randomly selected, and decided not to opt out of the annual Long Walk. Each of them chose to apply, hoped to be selected, and failed to change his mind.

Ray's mother drops him off at the Long Walk's starting point, somewhere on the Maine/Canada border. Ray is checked in, given a number to tape on his shirt, and left to wait for the 9 AM start time. Once the Long Walk begins, we learn more from conversations between the walking boys. They must keep walking, never slower than four miles an hour. If a walker slows too often, strays from the road, or commits another infraction, he gets "ticketed" and is out of the walk. This ticket is a bullet from one of the soldiers shepherding the walkers.

The speed requirement ensures that the walkers are never far from each other. Their discussions, scuffles, and individual endings are the story's meat. They do the usual teen boy things--call each other names, insult each other's mothers, argue about who has "done it." As the walk continues--it will last five days--other issues emerge. How much should they help each other? Can you sabotage another walker and get him shot? Some walkers rely on their endurance, trudging steadily ahead. Others play head games with the other walkers. All the while they keep walking, slowly dwindling in number.

Stephen King released this book under his "Richard Bachman" pseudonym. King later revealed that this was his first novel, written while he was in college. The minor agonies of adolescence must have been fresh in his memory as his imagination added the pressure of the Long Walk. The boys' stories, goals and concerns ring true for a group of teens. The story feels like a longer, darker Stand By Me.

The book imposes a mounting, relentless horror on ordinary boys. The spectators and passing New England landscape reinforce the everyday feel of the world around the walkers. But the horror is there, increasing with the steady rhythm of walking and the recurring staccato of gunfire. All supported by rules and institutions that don't seem so different from the ones we know.

This book is highly recommended. It's good Stephen King, good horror, and just plain good reading. For a real treat, take a walk some evening while listening to the audio book. It's a little hard to stop.

An interesting book that speaks to the human desire to survive and the limits that one can go through to reach that goal.

This is an awesome book, I was glued to it for three days, and the boys became almost friends, King has written a fantastic story. Not that it would ever happen, but it could, and we can say that for everything he writes, there is always the slight chance it could. I was lost in this book, he has a fabulous sense of keeping the horror and tension right up there at all times, and I just love it. You don't just read the book, but you have an experience far beyond what real life could offer!!! Loved it, three thumbs up!!!!

I have read all of Kings published novels, about 50 or so, and this is my alltime favorite. In fact, of all the horror novels I've read, and believe me its 100s, this is the best. Incredibly bleak, gritty, and dark. This would make a great sci-fi film but is too bloody hardcore for the mainstream. The story follows 100 game show contestants struggling to survive. What makes the story great is you know only 1 of the 100 will win, and the rest will all die. It is only their willpower that will keep their life. As the story progresses King creates realistic characters of depth that inevitably get run down by the game. This format makes you keep turning the page, wondering how it could possibly get worse, and it does. This is the only novel I've read 4 times. Definately recommend for fans of bleak King, Horror, or dark Sci-Fi. Not for the squeamish or faint of heart.

This book is creepy version of the future. To think that anyone would volunteer to walk for days without rest at four miles per hour is almost unbelievable. But Stephen King makes it believable. I probably would have enjoyed the book more if I had been born when the book was written and I had a vague idea of what the walkers were talking about. I don't know of any teenagers that talk like that.
Every King fan should check this out. In my opinion, it doesn't compare to some of his better works, but is still worth a read.

King is a master plot-spinner. His pacing, with the possible exception of the last couple of chapters, is superb, and he's great at keeping the tension high. This is not, however, a novel for the ages. It's got engaging characters, several of whom you come to feel for, but they all too often speak with a kind of erudition that belies their years. There's a kind of commentary on the human condition, here, and a critique of contemporary society's obsession with the public display of pain & humiliation (think "Fear Factor" & "Jerry Springer") that, in a 1979 novel, seems pretty prophetic. But, when all is said and done, this is basically a beach book, and not the kind of work that repays the "only-novel-you'd-take-to-a-desert-isle" treatment.