Review of Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne

12 Feb

	I have avoided reading this book for a long time, which is interesting because Stephen King is my favorite author. Many books I saved away so that I would have something to read in the dry spells, but I had read one other book in King’s “women in bad situation” era, Rose Madder, and was not overly impressed. Then, I picked up this book and couldn’t put it down. By the middle I realized that I loved the book, by the end I had decided that the book was an undiscovered American classic on the par with Huckleberry Finn and Catcher in the Rye. This dark tale is told by an abused house-keeper in mid-twentieth century Maine after she has been accused of murder. To call Delores “abused” almost undercuts the strength of this unforgettable character. By the time I was a few pages in, I had a hard time believing that a man had written this book. There is very little if any supernatural aspects to this story, but it is pure literary gold. I was moved and entranced by this story. If you don’t like reading Stephen King, read this book. If you like Stephen King, than read the book. Just read the book! What a gift King has to be able to fully plant you in some other person’s experience and look out at the world with new eyes, gaining a bit of wisdom from an experience that was not your own, but you swore it was. Magic. It’s because of this kind of work that King will be known as the literary genius of our time.

I have avoided reading this book for a long time, which is interesting because Stephen King is my favorite author. Many books I saved away so that I would have something to read in the dry spells, but I had read one other book in King’s “women in bad situation” era, Rose Madder, and was not overly impressed. Then, I picked up this book and couldn’t put it down. By the middle I realized that I loved the book, by the end I had decided that the book was an undiscovered American classic on the par with Huckleberry Finn and Catcher in the Rye. This dark tale is told by an abused house-keeper in mid-twentieth century Maine after she has been accused of murder. To call Delores “abused” almost undercuts the strength of this unforgettable character. By the time I was a few pages in, I had a hard time believing that a man had written this book. There is very little if any supernatural aspects to this story, but it is pure literary gold. I was moved and entranced by this story. If you don’t like reading Stephen King, read this book. If you like Stephen King, than read the book. Just read the book! What a gift King has to be able to fully plant you in some other person’s experience and look out at the world with new eyes, gaining a bit of wisdom from an experience that was not your own, but you swore it was. Magic. It’s because of this kind of work that King will be known as the literary genius of our time.