If you've finished Lisey's Story, talk about it here

[Stephanie]

If you have read Lisey's Story in its entirety feel free to post here about any part of the story.

Stephanie

[LizzieAnn]

I don't even know where to begin. I found this story mesmerizing, compelling, and totally different than anything I had anticipated. Makes me wonder about King's own "pool." I also really liked the fact that this story was centered around a mature and reasonable character, which made the story more intriguing. This wasn't a young naive girl, this was a grown woman with many years of life experience behind her.

When I first picked up the book, I thought the cover (under the book jacket) was beautiful. Now, I can't quite look at it the same way. The silver shovel that defeated the 2 men was similiar to a silver bullet killing a werewolf. And consider, a werewolf is a man who turns into a wild animal - the two man turned into crazy monsters.

Scott & Amanda - kindred souls. They way he took care of Amanda, bringing her back and arranging for her eventual care. It gave me the chills whenever Scott was telling his story and reverted back to his childhood speech, and then all of a sudden turn around to Lisey and talk normally. The bool that he set up for Lisey and reaching across time and death to show his love was extremely touching - if sometimes a little offbeat.

The whole story of his family, what the child Scott had to do and what he had to live with - both with his family and afterwards - Paul turning into a maneater. It did make me wonder how he was able to stay as sane as he was for as long as he was. I guess writing was his way of letting go - of cutting it out. The long boy - eeewwww! When its complete description was finally given, it was a horrendous image.

I was angry that the long boy marked Lisey and just hoped that what she did with dipping the afghan in the pool and cleansing herself - that maybe it might avoid her. When it said that she saw an eye in the drinking glass - another eewww! The creepiest part, is that King's imagery and description is so vivid and real - that I kept picturing everything in my mind.

Every time I heard the name Jim Dooley (once we learned that Zach was Jim), I kept hearing the tune "Hang down your head Tom Dooley.......poor boy you're bound to die" from that old 1950s Kingston Trio song. How could I help it, with all the country music throughout this novel. I'll never be able to hear Hank Williams Jambalaya the same ever again.

That was another thing that made for great details - King's use of real names: Brand name foods like Hamburger Helper (cheeseburger variety) and Lime Kool-Aid; Hank Williams songs; country music names like Big & Rich, Shania Twain, and Loretta Lynn; Jim Bean whiskey, and "The Last Picture Show" made everything seem more real. Even the biography on Lou Gehrig - Iron Man of the Yankees by Jackson Cole gives a ring of authenticity, although I wasn't able to ascertain if this book really exists...but it sounds as if it does and there is an author named Jackson Cole.

The greatest thing was that underlying this story was love. The love shared between Scott and Lisey was so strong - it transcended so many bonds and boundaries.

I'll leave off for now, though I know I'll return to add more!

[Stephanie]

Liz,

I completely agree that it the story was enhanced by Lisey's maturity and general level-headedness. It would have been much harder to suspend disbelief had she been a flighty young woman, prone to overactive imagination.

I love your analogy regarding the silver shovel and the silver bullet- the werewolf and the man turned monster.

I think King really outdid himself here- as you pointed out, Scott's telling of his story made the book a tremendous page-turner, and without his "slip" into his childhood speech patterns, I don't know if I would have gone all the way into that place with him. Also, having a central character who is dead and is not in "real time" (like the heroine in Lovely Bones) is a huge leap- and I think King created this character more successfully than I've seen other authors create characters that live and breathe and talk directly from the page. Astounding.

I did a little search for the Lou Gehrig book - but I didn't turn anything up- possibly I would have to do an extended out of print search.

Stephanie

[LizzieAnn]

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Stephanie wrote:

I did a little search for the Lou Gehrig book - but I didn't turn anything up- possibly I would have to do an extended out of print search.

Stephanie

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I even tried the Library of Congress, but couldn't come up with it either. Although I found a Jackson Cole and a Jackson A. Cole, none of whose books were related to Gehrig; and none of the Gehrig books I came up with were written by a Jackson Cole either. I myself have recently read Iron Horse, but it was by Ray Robinson. I also tried the B&N out-of-print search along with a couple of other out-of-print book sites without any results. Considering all the other real props in the catalog, this faux book disappointed me a bit.

[TeresaF]

Yipppeee, I finally finished Lisey’s Story! Here’s some of my nominations for the Best Of category.

BEST ADVICE FROM SCOTT: Ninety-eight percent of what goes on in people’s heads is none of their smucking business. p.318

BEST I CAN’T BELIEVE HE PUT THAT IN THE BOOK -TOO FUNNY-DEFINITELY NOT VERY GROWN-UP:
Lisey tried her best to hold back more laughter and failed. Because her throat was locked and her mouth was shut, it came out through her nose and she blew a large quantity of clear snot onto her finger.

“Euwww, charming, high tea is served, madam,” Amanda said. p. 392

BEST USE OF SMELL: “. . .The last thing she’d smell would be the curdling aroma of the surrounding trees as they changed to their more dangerous night selves . . .” p. 445

BEST USE OF DARK THOUGHTS: “For a moment the dark and fearsomely sad thoughts which inhabit her mind grow even sadder and darker; Lisey thinks they will either kill her or drive her insane. . . . Then, and suddenly, it’s there. Scott’s long boy. And she understands that once you have seen the long boy, past and future become only dreams. Once you have seen the long boy, there is only, oh dear Jesus, there is only a single moment of now drawn out like an agonizing note that never ends.” p. 449

[TeresaF]

Liz wrote 11-11-06 : . . . Makes me wonder about King’s own “pool.”

King’s “pool” in this book inspired me to pulled out my copy of Alice Flaherty’s book “The Midnight Disease: The Drive to Write, Writer’s Block, and the Creative Brain”(TMD). I’ve only read bits and pieces over the last year or two. If you’re not familiar with it, here’s a bit from the book jacket: “ . . . [Flaherty’s] understanding of the role of the brain’s temporal lobes and limbic system in the drive to write challenges the popular idea that creativity emerges solely from the right side of the brain. Finally, The Midnight Disease casts light on the brain functions and dysfunctions of writers past and present, from Dostoevsky to Conrad, from Sylvia Plath to Stephen King.” (Note: The Stephen King quotes in The Midnight Disease come from his book “On Writing”.)

Besides remembering Stephen King's reference to the Hemingway defense (page 136,TMD), I also had that page of TMD marked because of Flaherty’s comment that “Ultimately it is likely that so many writers drink because they have mood disorders and mood disorders correlate independently with alcohol and drug abuse.” Of course, calling Scott’s issues mood disorders doesn’t quite cover it, but it did get me flipping the pages and thinking about muses and such. Has anybody else read TMD or anything similar?

[TeresaF]

Yep, LizzieAnn, the country soundtrack running through Lisey’s story made for great details. Of course, every cowgirl knows that it is Waylon Jenning’s “I ain’t living long like this” on page 480. Excellent choice. Inasmuch as this was a love story, I was hoping to see my favorite love song of all time, George Strait’s “The Man In Love With You”. Of course, I was thinking that Tanya Tucker’s “It’s A Little Too Late (To Do The Right Thing Now)” was going to sneak in there somewhere too, but I was wrong again.

[Stephanie]

Teresa,

What great quotes you found! I do remember laughing out loud when I read the snot incident- very realistic!

Didn't you just love this book? I found myself thinking about thinking - a rare gift from a novel.

Stephanie

[TeresaF]

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Stephanie wrote:
Teresa,

Didn't you just love this book? I found myself thinking about thinking - a rare gift from a novel.

Stephanie

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Yes, I agree, Stephanie, it was a lovely book. I’m amazed at Mr. King's ability to keep looping back to the past while still making the reader feel like they are moving forward.

[TeresaF]

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Sensorymoments wrote:
I haven't read any of the Dark Tower Series, but Having read the Stand, I noticed he really likes to mention other books in his works. I read somewhere that Stephen King had been a High School Teacher, or studyed for it, or something of the sort, and it would make sense that someone like that would want to focus on more than just the plot of his book, but perhaps secretely get people interested in the other books as well.

I also think that by mentioning his own stories in his work, and connecting them, he does one of two things: 1) satisfies the avid stephen king reader who understands and searches for these references, and 2) get's new stephen king readers interested in his other works...

the only complaint i ever had with stephen kings books, is thier epic proportion! they are sooooooooooo long. the stand took me a month....with a broken leg!

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I’ve read very few of Mr. King’s other books, so I’m sure I missed a ton of references in Lisey’s Story. I did enjoyed Lisey’s visual of “. . . floating on a vast, moon-gilded piece of cloth with the words PILLSBURY’S BEST FLOUR printed across it again and again; the corners had been knotted like hankies.” (p.14) I just noticed that King’s mother was Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. Does he use that reference in other books?

Also, Janet Maslin noted in a New York Times review that “Surely Lisey’s smoking Salem Lights has something to do with the way that “Salem’s Lot,” the second King novel and great early hit, rocked Stephen and Tabitha King’s world.” (10/23/2006)

[TeresaF]

Stephanie wrote: . . . I do love the "sister thing" that King did with her - as one of six sisters, I know it all too well. :-)

Oh my, yes, I do remember, Stephanie, that you have me way beat in the sister department. I only have the one sister + 3 big brothers. My wonderful big sister has nothing in common with Amanda, I’m happy to report. The “Manda-Bunny” nickname though, that was worth a smile. For the last 35+ years I’ve called my big sister “Sissy-Poo”. Shhhhhh, don’t tell her, but she’s name after Witchiepoo from the H.R. Pufnstuf cartoon (1969).

[TeresaF]

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Sensorymoments wrote:

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Stephanie wrote:
I think I'll join this camp! I don't care for gore either, but a good thriller? Definitely right up my alley. The Hitcher springs to mind. Love Rutger Hauer.
Then there are other ways to gross us out ... My take on it is this- why does it have to be ugly in order to entertain? Consider all the computerized beasts in movies these days- having just seen HP4 again, I'm thinking of the Mer-People in that flick. Ugh! So, I could do without the grotesque monsters, too.

Stephanie

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Perhaps this is what makes stephen king so interesting and tantalizing. He creates suspense out of everyday fears- he creates fear of things that we almost believe could truly happen. He knows we never neeed to see an ounce of blood, or even have anyone die, to be scared....

I just watched the nightmare and dreamscapes miniseries-(shortstories made into little mini movies made for tv) It was soooooooo goooooddddd
I highly recommend picking it up!!!!

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My tolerance for mayhem is low-low-low, but I’m ok with the blood and such in Lisey’s Story because it seems to be necessary to carry a theme -- physical hurts can be quickly cured by something simple like tea bags, but it takes alot longer and something much stronger to heal the emotional / psychological hurts.

Blame Stephen King for my pulling out a Waylon Jennings CD. The sound track for this post: “I’ve Always Been Crazy (But It’s Kept Me From Going Insane)” written by Waylon himself.

[Stephanie]

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TeresaF wrote:
Stephanie wrote: . . . I do love the "sister thing" that King did with her - as one of six sisters, I know it all too well. :-)

Oh my, yes, I do remember, Stephanie, that you have me way beat in the sister department. I only have the one sister + 3 big brothers. My wonderful big sister has nothing in common with Amanda, I’m happy to report. The “Manda-Bunny” nickname though, that was worth a smile. For the last 35+ years I’ve called my big sister “Sissy-Poo”. Shhhhhh, don’t tell her, but she’s name after Witchiepoo from the H.R. Pufnstuf cartoon (1969).

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Teresa,

LOL! I promise not to tell your sister. Not sure what all my sisters (or which one) might have in common with Amanda, but the knowing that King shows is dead on. I can predict how each of my sisters will react in a given situation.

Stephanie

[TeresaF]

Of course, the biggest difference between Manda-Bunny and my Sissy-Poo would be the firearm thing. You put a rifle or other such weapon in my sister’s hands and she doesn’t miss. One shot and Dooley would have been history. Not nearly as suspenseful I suppose.

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Stephanie wrote:

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TeresaF wrote:
Stephanie wrote: . . . I do love the "sister thing" that King did with her - as one of six sisters, I know it all too well. :-)

Oh my, yes, I do remember, Stephanie, that you have me way beat in the sister department. I only have the one sister + 3 big brothers. My wonderful big sister has nothing in common with Amanda, I’m happy to report. The “Manda-Bunny” nickname though, that was worth a smile. For the last 35+ years I’ve called my big sister “Sissy-Poo”. Shhhhhh, don’t tell her, but she’s name after Witchiepoo from the H.R. Pufnstuf cartoon (1969).

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Teresa,

LOL! I promise not to tell your sister. Not sure what all my sisters (or which one) might have in common with Amanda, but the knowing that King shows is dead on. I can predict how each of my sisters will react in a given situation.

Stephanie

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[TeresaF]

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Fozzie wrote:

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Stephanie wrote:

I know what you mean about the slow start, but once in (and accustomed to the quirky language), I think you'll find it much more fast-paced.

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Quirky language is right! And the odd expressions Lisey and her husband use... I feel a bit perplexed sometimes by the language, but am not letting that stop me. King seems to be slowly revealing an important event in Nashville, and I just keep trying to figure out what happened (I think I am on page 35). This is such a different writing style, but I find I like books that do interesting things with structure, font, etc. Did anyone read Wickett's Remedy by Myla Goldberg? She did a lot of interesting things with structure in that book.

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At first, the quirky language was both fascinating and frustrating, but by the end, it worked for me. Part of my initial reaction was embarrassment at intruding into Lisey and Scott’s marriage -- I was hearing too much of their intimate language. But, then again, it was their fault. Adults know that this type of secret language is annoying or unfair to outsiders, so they usually refrain in public. The secret language eventually became a big clue that this was going to be an intimate story – for better or worse. If nothing else, King proves that a writer doesn’t have to tell everything at once. The reader doesn’t have to understand, or even like, every word to get hooked. In fact, it’s better if they don’t.

Please enlighten me on the one about the Incunks. The closest I could find was “incunabulum”.

p. 5. “The only one she completely understood was memorabilia , but there was another one, a funny one, that sounded like incuncabrilla . That was what the impatient people wanted, the wheedlers, and the angry ones – Scott’s incuncabrilla . Lisey began to think of them as Incunks.”

[Stephanie]

Teresa,

I think you found your own answer- incunabulum is the singular form, and incunabula is the plural - a rare word, it refers to works printed before 1500 (or 1501, technically). Lisey didn't know the word, it was one Scott used, and she mis-heard and therefore misspelled it. The people who collect such books are called incunabulists.

Stephanie

[LizzieAnn]

Stephanie, I read incunabulists and what should pop into my head but incubus, probably from reading all those vampire & supernatural books. LOL! An incubus is a spirit, ususally evil, that comes to persons while they sleep. Okay, Ghostbusters just popped into my head. I would guess that to Lisey, the Incunks were evil spirits as well.

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Stephanie wrote:
Teresa,

I think you found your own answer- incunabulum is the singular form, and incunabula is the plural - a rare word, it refers to works printed before 1500 (or 1501, technically). Lisey didn't know the word, it was one Scott used, and she mis-heard and therefore misspelled it. The people who collect such books are called incunabulists.

Stephanie

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[TeresaF]

Thanks. I’m relieved to know the word started with an the same vowel. If it didn’t, I’d never get there. Incunabulum plus incubus does make an interesting combination.

I keep hinting for this nice little 20 volume Oxford English Dictionary that B&N has in the big spender section, but I don’t think Santa can carry it. List Price: $3,000, B&N Online $895.00, Member $805.50. http://search.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbninquiry.asp?z=y&hgg=y&cds2Pid=12921&isbn=0198611862

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LizzieAnn wrote:
Stephanie, I read incunabulists and what should pop into my head but incubus, probably from reading all those vampire & supernatural books. LOL! An incubus is a spirit, ususally evil, that comes to persons while they sleep. Okay, Ghostbusters just popped into my head. I would guess that to Lisey, the Incunks were evil spirits as well.

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Stephanie wrote:
Teresa,

I think you found your own answer- incunabulum is the singular form, and incunabula is the plural - a rare word, it refers to works printed before 1500 (or 1501, technically). Lisey didn't know the word, it was one Scott used, and she mis-heard and therefore misspelled it. The people who collect such books are called incunabulists.

Stephanie

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[Stephanie]

Liz,

Funny what free associations we can have with words, isn't it?

Stephanie

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LizzieAnn wrote:
Stephanie, I read incunabulists and what should pop into my head but incubus, probably from reading all those vampire & supernatural books. LOL! An incubus is a spirit, ususally evil, that comes to persons while they sleep. Okay, Ghostbusters just popped into my head. I would guess that to Lisey, the Incunks were evil spirits as well.

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Stephanie wrote:
Teresa,

I think you found your own answer- incunabulum is the singular form, and incunabula is the plural - a rare word, it refers to works printed before 1500 (or 1501, technically). Lisey didn't know the word, it was one Scott used, and she mis-heard and therefore misspelled it. The people who collect such books are called incunabulists.

Stephanie

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[Stephanie]

Teresa,

I think if you conspired with ALL of your friends and family members, you might be able to receive that "little" 20 volume set! Someday an entire room of my house will be dedicated to books. Until then, I'm keeping my husband's heart healthy by purchasing no more than six at a time.

Stephanie