Back in December, on beautiful Thai islands, I read two
books.
The first was Hilary Mantel’s Beyond Black, read on sitting on the beach in between paddles in
the sea and naps in the hammock on the balcony. The second was Doctor Sleep by Stephen King, read pretty much on Christmas and
Boxing Day, nursing an almighty hangover.
Doctor Sleep is the follow up to 1977’s The Shining, which I first read in the early 90s, on holiday in
Cornwall. I remember that it was blazing hot that year, but I was there in the
snow bound Overlook Hotel with little Danny Torrance and his insane dad. Jack
Nicholson was on the cover – (an illustration of that famous Here’s Johnny scene from the Stanley
Kubrick movie. In that scene, Shelley Duvall’s terror seems so real I have to
watch it from between my fingers) I LOVED
The Shining. I love the movie version, too, and rank it in my Top 5, even
though it takes serious liberties with the original source material.
I loved how Stephen King was able to make fictional
characters so real and so believable, so well-drawn and fleshed out they could
be people you know. I loved the spooky twin girls and Dick Halloran and how
feisty Wendy was. I loved the whole back story of Jack’s alcoholism and the
dark history of the Overlook.
Doctor Sleep finds
Danny (now Dan) Torrance some 35 years later. He’s a piss-head, just like his
dad, and we come into his life as he’s ‘hitting bottom’. The first chapter of
the book is classic SK to me, no messing around, pulling you right into the story. Danny wakes up in a strange place with a strange
woman, and he behaves appallingly.
Soon he finds himself with an Al Anon mentor, who sets him on the straight
path. This is where Dan’s story gets a bit dull. I would have liked to have
followed him a little more as a boy, teenager and young man, other than the snippets that King gives us.
Once he’s in recovery, he becomes a very one
dimensional character, and becomes so perfect and saintly, it’s irritating. He
also does not speak like someone in their late 30s/ early 40s would, coming
across as much older. Maybe this is because I am an immature late 30-something,
but the way he spoke just didn’t ring true. I didn't really feel Dan as a fully formed character. King is very, very good at writing children, and perhaps I couldn't get to grips with 'adult Dan' because I remembered 'child Danny' so vividly.
Dan has found himself work in a hospice, where he has earned
the name ‘Doctor Sleep’ because of his ability to help the dying cross to the
other side.
Meanwhile, across town, there’s Abra, a girl with remarkable
shining powers. Over the course of ten or so years, she gets in touch with Dan via
their ‘shine’, until they meet in person. Stephen King could have held back a
bit on the internet / grooming aspect of their meeting, but it’s referred to
repeatedly and made me feel uncomfortable. Sure, Dan is 38 or so, and Abra is
12, and Dan is so obviously not a sexual predator, but referring to Abra’s
‘long legs’ and ‘masses of blonde hair’ and then inserting that he’s worried
about being thought of as a paedo was just a bit confusing. I wasn’t sure if Abra was supposed to have a
bit of a crush on Dan or not.
We meet the True Knot, a group of travelling ancient vampires,
who feed off the ‘steam’ that shining children expel when they die. They
discover Abra, and decide that they must have her.
We are introduced to Andi, a vulnerable young woman who was
abused by her father for many years. She also has a remarkable talent, but
sadly, Andi and her talent are discarded very early on. SK only picks up on
Andi in the book’s closing chapters, which is a great shame, because she is by
far one of the most interesting characters in the whole novel.
Abra is so powerful we feel no fear for her in her final
show down with the True Knot. The ending feels rushed and hashed together. This
is a common problem with Stephen King books – I feel that he writes himself
into corners he can’t get out of and this is a prime example.
I was so disappointed with this book, especially as I’d
chosen to lug it in my suitcase, weight that wasn’t really needed. I’m a long
term SK fan. Saving this book for my trip was a bit of a let-down…I’m sorry,
Steve. I still love you, but boy you better make it up to me.
Beyond Black was a
different matter. Morbidly obese spiritual medium Alison tours the Home
Counties with her bitchy assistant Collette. Alison is genuinely physic, unlike
her tarot card reading colleagues. But she is also literally haunted by her
past, in particular the foul-mouthed, perverted spirt guide Morris.
This book is so creepy it makes you feel a bit queasy. The
descriptions of Morris and his ghostie mates sliding behind walls and hiding in
pipes feel as sinister as they sound.
Morris is mates with a few other dead men, and as the story
progresses, their link to Alison and her horrific past becomes clear. Hilary
Mantel is very skilled at ‘showing, not telling’ and it’s largely left up to
the reader to piece her awful history together, though it’s also fairly clear
why Morris and his mates have sought her out and continue to taunt her.
Other departed souls visit her, mostly those that don’t
understand that they are dead and are looking for their long lost friends.
No, it’s not like The
Sixth Sense, even though Alison does see dead people. I really liked
Alison’s charlatan medium friends, but hated Collette – she was a total dick
and really irritating. The story stayed with me for a long time after I’d
finished it – perhaps reading it in a foreign country, suffering from jet-lag added to the
strangeness of it. Only two criticisms; it was a bit too long and I didn’t
really understand what Mantel was trying to say and what it all meant. Perhaps
that we are all haunted by our pasts, in one way or the other, (which kind of
ties in nicely with Danny Torrance.)
Maybe, as has been said
of David Lynch’s work, it might not mean anything at all.
 |
| This is going to require Danny Torrance's eyes to change colour.... |
Aaand....Chloe Grace Moretz as Abra (she's already played Carrie White in 2013's remake...)
Have you read Doctor Sleep or Beyond Black? Who would you cast?
