Customer Reviews

Bag of Bones: A Novel

5 star:		(561)
4 star:		(255)
3 star:		(93)
2 star:		(87)
1 star:		(65)

 

 

I am enjoying what I think is perhaps Stephen King's best novel, ever.

The opinion on Stephen King's best work differs depending on who you talk to; but for me, it will always be Bag of Bones.

It's the one novel of Kings that I've read more than any other (nine times) and each time it's just as wonderful and beautiful and engaging as it was the first time I opened up my hardcover copy ten years ago.

I think it was the beginning of King moving away from horror and toward a more literary style of writing. Hearts in Atlantis, Lisey's Story and Duma Key (his most literary works) would come later, but Bag of Bones was the beginning of something, the capturing of time in the pages of a book.

I remember when I first read Stephen King's Bag of Bones. I was on welfare at the time and living in a boarding house with nine other people. It was this big sprawling Victorian house that still had the servants quarters in the attic and the servants stairs to the kitchen. I remember going to the bookstore early in the morning and spending more money than I had on the book.

Even though it was fall, I sat outside on the front porch of the big old house and opened my book to the first page. I remember smoking cigarettes and drinking coffee; but I don't remember much else except the words.

It was the words, the language that transported me.

I had thought that I was going to read a story of a writer haunted by ghosts. In a sense, that's what the book was about. But in reality, Bag of Bones was and is about a man haunted by himself, haunted by the past.

It was the most beautiful book by King that I had ever read. I felt for and ached for Mike Noonan, newly widowed writer of thriller novels. Newly struggling with a writers block so intense that he could not write a word.

I remember thinking when I brought that book home that it was so big, that it was huge. That it would take me forever to finish it (and thus worth the fourty some dollars I had spent on it).

The book lasted me three days.

Three glorious days where I was held spellbound, enraptured, in rapture. Bag of Bones for me was more than a novel. It was a gift. While reading Bag of Bones, I realized that I wanted to be a writer. I wanted to see if I could write something as good as Bag of Boens.

I'm still trying.

That hardcover copy was lent out, only to be lent out to someone else. It was lost to me, never to be seen again. And so, when the book came out in paperback, I bought a copy. I read that copy twice a year for many years, always saving it for a dark, rainy day. It somehow seemed appropriate, reading Bag of Bones when the rain was falling down around me.

It would call to me on my shelf, begging to be read. I swear I could hear the book sigh with contentment when I took it off the shelf and held it in my hands.

Not learning my lesson the first time, I lent it out to someone who either lost it or lent it out to someone else. It was never clear what happened to the book. Suffice it to say that I felt like I had lost a part of me. After all, it was Bag of Bones that showed me what I wanted to do with my life.

It's been a couple years since I've read Bag of Bones. So imagine my surprise when I saw a trade paperback edition on the shelves in the bookstore yesterday.

I had no reason being in the bookstore. I had little money but, when I saw Bag of Bones, sitting there nestled in between other paperbacks, I thought again of when I had first read the novel. I looked at the cover: 10th Anniversary Edition.

Ten years? That couldn't be right, I thought. It can't have been ten years. But I counted back and indeed it has been. Time flies when you're having fun. I picked up the book and stroked the cover lightly, letting the memories flood back into my consciousness.

It was not lost on me that I found myself in much the same situation as I did ten years ago: Staring at the gorgeous white cover with little money to my name but knowing that I would leave the store a few dollars poorer but all the more richer with that book under my arm.

And what a book it is. Bag of Bones reads as fresh ten years later as it did ten years past. What I love most about the novel, I think, is its gothic nature. Mike Noonan, trying to find the power to write again by delving into his past. As a writer myself, I identify with Mike, with his struggle. With his search for peace.

There is some bonus material enclosed: we get to read an interview about why Stephen King wrote Bag of Bones and learn a bit more about what he thinks of the novel. We also get a short story, The Cat From Hell, from Kings upcoming collection of short stories Just After Sunset which will hit the shelves on November 11th.

But for me, it's not the bonus material (though great it is) that makes the new edition of Bag of Bones so incredible. For me, then and now, it's about the story, the power of words and redemption from the ghosts of your past.

For, in the end, we are all bags of bones.

This book was a definite page turner. A ghost story entwined with a love story and a mystery to be solved. This book really hooked me, and parts of it where so eerie it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I have a whole new respect for Stephen King.

The story is about an author Mike Noonan who has suffered from writers block for four years after the tragic death of his wife. He moves to their summer house which turns out to be haunted by several spirits while he tries to get to the bottom of a secret his wife was keeping from him before she died, a secret that the whole town seems to know about but has been hiding for generations.

This book surprised me in that I enjoyed it so much. I mean I have always loved King's work but this one resolidified me as a fan and more proof that King knows exactly what he's doing when he writes.

The book surrounds Mike Noonan, a writer, who's young wife dies suddenly. After four years of writer's block and never being able to move on Noonan goes to stay at their summer cabin Sara Laughs in a small (you guessed it) Maine town. What follows is a story about lost loves, new friendships and love, haunted houses and a secret that the town has had hidden for over 100 years. For some it might be long (732 pages) but I found its pace to be so good you end up reading it into the wee hours of the night. This is one of those books I just couldn't put down because I wanted to know the solution to the mysteries.

Definetly read this book, in a way it's so unlike King's normal ventures because it has a whodunit feel, that is not common to his novels.

In true King fashion, Bag of Bones is a literary masterpiece and a tale to scare you out of your wits. The cover jacket gives this description in the opening paragraph: "Stephen King's most gripping and unforgettable novel, Bag of Bones, is a story of grief and a lost love's enduring bonds, of a new love haunted by the secrets of the past, of an innocent child caught in a terrible crossfire." This book mixes the supernatural with reality and fate with coincidence, giving you a terrific ride and bringing you to a startling conclusion.

I am continually impressed with the way King's mind seems to work. Every page in each of his books is carefully and strategically planned out. It doesn't take much to write a book, but it takes a lot to write a good book. Without fail, King continually provides his audience with good books that are entertaining, moving, and fulfilling.

Released in 1998, Bag of Bones is Stephen King's 28th novel.

After Stephen King's previous releases, "The Green Mile" and "Wizard and Glass", many "Constant Readers" were relishing in all the high-quality novels Stephen King was releasing, and they were expecting a lot from this release.In addition to "Bag of Bones", Stephen King was also at the same time working on his two novella collections, "Hearts in Atlantis" and "Everything's Eventual", so he was sort of bogged down with work, but he managed to finish writing this novel and release it to a frenzied response. As usual, "Bag of Bones" shot to #1 on the New York Times Book charts, and it was met with great reviews, and bad reviews, but none of the fans took notice of the bad ones. In my review, I will give you a basic overview of the story(With no spoilers), and tell you how Stephen King's writing was, and how they mix overall. So was "Bag of Bones" one of Stephen King's strongest or a mixed bag? Read on to find out!

Story: After Johanna Noonan dies in the middle of a Parking Lot of a brain tumor, Mike Noonan's wife, popular author Mike Noonan is thrusted into a world where lonliness is his only friend and he is unable to write without breaking down. Soon the realization that his career was quickly dwindling because of his inability to write dawned on him, so he saught solace and peace for a new place to write, his fabled summerhouse Sara Laughs, named after the 1920's musicians Sara and the Redtops. Upon getting to Sara Laughs, Mike begins to hear weeping and crying noises during the night, and most horrifying, he begins to hear people scream. As he learns more and more of what's happened since he was gone, he learns that his wife(Nicknamed) Jo was down here without him knowing, and that she was planning to write a story about the TR's (Where Sara Laughs is located) illustrous history, and Mike begins trying to piece together what she found out and why she didn't tell him. Then, as if to answer Mike's lonliness, he stumbles on a girl walking down the middle of the street named Kyra. He then meets her beautiful mother Mattie after picking up Kyra of the Street(Out of the way of danger), Mike Noonan is unknowingly thrusted into a world of hell that he wanted no part of. Soon after that incident, Mike is questioned by local billionare and elder Max Devore about the incident, and Mike immediately feels apprehensive at the situation and angrily hangs up on him. He then learns that Max Devore has been trying to get custody of Kyra from her perfectly capable mother Mattie just because he wants her. Mike begins to feel a bond between Mattie and Kyra, and he devotes himself to helping her and letting her keep custody of Kyra. After hiring a lawyer and personally helping her with his own money, many people in town think that he's just buying out Mattie Devore, and they begin to be cold and heartless towards him. All the while, as Mike begins to dig up more information about the TR's past, he also uncovers more Ghosts of the past on his way. What ensues is a bitter battle between Mike Noonan and Max Devore for custody of Kyra, and it even cascades into a legal battle that may be deadly. As Mike ventures furthur into the TR's past, he's plagued by ghosts that are trying to keep him from the truth and will even kill to do so.

Writing: After writing so beautifully and creating such memorable plots with "The Green Mile", Stephen King would undoubtedly create one of the most memorable stories ever, right? Well, yes.Yes, because it's most memorable for being one of his worst, because it's the most boring Stephen King book I've ever had to read. Although his writing is descriptive and professional enough, it seems to be lacking the inventiveness of such masterpieces as "Cujo", "Needful Things", and "The Shining". While the writing might be interesting enough, the plot sadly isn't. For over 700 pages, we learn all about the TR's history and how it connects with the ghosts Mike is experiencing, but the reason for them is disjointed and idiotic, almost verging on the point that I almost stopped reading because the plot was so laughable. The book is fine for the first 600 pages, good if not a little boring, hence the 3 star rating, but the last 130 pages are incredibly stupid. When Mike finally discovers what Jo found out, it isn't surprising and it seems a little childish for a plot twist from such a great author as Stephen King. I was really disappointed with what eventually happened with Mattie and Kyra, and also dissappointed with the "Ghost" story behind the TR's past, and how dum the last 50 pages are.

Overall: For once, this was the first Stephen King book that genuinely bored me. For most of his books, I would finish them in about 2-3 days because I was so entranced with the story, but with this book, it took me a MONTH. The reason it did so was because I would frequently put the novel down because it was so tedious. The plot is good in the beginning, but the overall ending and explanation of all the loose ends was childish and not reasonable. Although Stephen King writes horror/fiction and his novel's may be weird at times, his endings are never "Stupid" , which "Bag of Bones" unfortuneatly is.

RECOMMENDED ONLY FOR DIE-HARD STEPHEN KINGS. NOT RECOMMENDED IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A NOVEL WITH A GREAT PLOT. FOR THAT I WOULD HAVE TO RECOMMEND "IT", "NEEDFUL THINGS", "THE SHINING", "CUJO", OR PRETTY MUCH ANY NOVEL BUT "BAG OF BONES". I'M A DIE-HARD STEPHEN KING FAN AND I WAS DISSAPOINTED, SO I'M AFRAID YOU MAY BE TOO. Thanks for reading!

Stephen King is the best writer of the 20th century..Fact. I personally cannot connect with the ancient stories of Dickens, Steinbeck, Faulkner, Hemmingway etc..etc..etc....So to me, Stephen King is the best novelist well...Ever. SK can write about any topic and do it better than most anyone. A hundred years from now, he will be considered the Dickens of our time....Bag of Bones is the 35th SK book I have read. It is one of the best. I lost sleep over this one because I couldnt stop reading. Great Plot, great characters. A real good ghost story.

This book was a definite page turner. A ghost story entwined with a love story and a mystery to be solved. This book really hooked me, and parts of it where so eerie it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. I have a whole new respect for Stephen King.

The story is about an author Mike Noonan who has suffered from writers block for four years after the tragic death of his wife. He moves to their summer house which turns out to be haunted by several spirits while he tries to get to the bottom of a secret his wife was keeping from him before she died, a secret that the whole town seems to know about but has been hiding for generations.

Stephen King proves he can still scare the socks off you with this one. I bought this one afternoon and was up till twelve midnight reading it. Then I stayed up till two because I was afraid to go to sleep afterwards. But there's much more here than just scares.

All good ghost stories have a mystery at the heart of them, and this one is no different. The revelation of what happened to the turn-of-the-century singing group Sara Tidwell and the Red Tops, woven in with the supernatural manifestations Mike Noonan is experiencing in his present-day cabin of Sara Laughs (named after the aforementioned singer), coupled with King's textured exploration of small-town life, are what give this book substance and make it more than just a superficial slasher fic.

King revisits many of his favorite themes, such as themes of insiders vs. outsiders in community life, the way a community's buried past reaches out to affect its present, and the idea that loving connections between human beings are necessary to stand in the face of evil. Interwoven with subthemes on sexism, racism, power, and social inequality, this is far from a melodramatic, soulless Hollywood-esque production and is instead a book with interesting commentary, richness, and some real heart (as well as being scary as all get out). I wish more authors were capable of writing with this kind of detailed, balanced richness.

The story opens to a 40-year-old man by the name of Mike Noonan. He is talking about how his wife, Jo, died and how that she never told him that she was pregnant with their daughter. He can't shake the feeling of shock off, and he seems to have writer's block. This becomes apparent when he can't stand to look at his computer and all he does is drink and do crossword puzzles at the kitchen table. Throughout the first couple of chapters, Mike starts to have dreams about Manderley, their cabin in Maine, but all he can do in his dream is stand at the beginning of the driveway and not move, just staring down the driveway towards Sara Laughs (the name of the cabin).
As time goes on, Mike is expected to give a new manuscript of his latest book to his publishers. Since he has had writer's block since about the time Jo died, he kept a large folder of manuscripts in a safe deposit box in the local bank in Derry, where he lives. He had one manuscript left in the box. He sends that one to the publishers. Not long after, Mike decides to go to Sara Laughs. The dreams (or nightmares) that he has been having have just about driven him over the edge. He discovers that Jo had been going to Sara Laughs many times without him knowing. He meets a two young ladies, who he becomes enamored with, and an old man, who has never talked to him before, is now making threats towards him to leave Manderley or mind his own business. He soon uncovers a mystery that pulls everyone in that he knows and holds dear.
Mike is the main character in the novel. Everything comes from his point of view. The reader is put into his place and can kind of see everything from Mike's own eyes. The detail in this book is really extraordinary. The description paints a picture in the reader's mind about where everything is and how it appears. The development of the novel is very interesting. It starts out like it is just telling you about a dead woman and how her husband is trying to cope with that fact. As the novel progresses, the idea of just Mike trying to cope with something is turned into something more.
I highly recommend reading this book. I loved it. The imagery and how the characters were placed in this novel are on the overwhelming side. When you think that one thing is going to happen or someone is going to hook up with another, the story takes a twist and something happens to make that thing that you expected to happen, not happen. The book will definitely keep you sitting on the edge of your seat and never wanting to put the book down. When the end comes, you want to scream in frustration because it seems that there should be something more in the end of the book. Like I said before, I highly recommend reading this book.

Stephen King has always been underrated as a writer. Realistic and engaging characters have always been the backbone of his tales, giving the supernatural elements the base necessary to for us to accept. But do we really need to read about such details as the contents of the main character's garbage can or each and every random digressive thought that pops into the narrator mind? Nuance begins to feel self-indulgent when it strays so often and so far from the relevant story-line.
To be fair, I'm only half way through the book, and I do indeed like what I'm reading, but I find myself skipping over the ADD-like observations the main character can't seem to help but share with us, no matter how removed it is from the direction of the plot. It reminds me of that Steve Martin line in PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES... "Not everything is an anecdote. You have to pick and choose!"
Again, I am enjoying this book, but I wish the editors had sharpened their knives a bit when cutting the fat off this book.