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A review by mavisbird
'Salem's Lot by Stephen King
2.0
I have been encouraged by friends for years to try out King. And I have always been hesitant too, one because horror is not really my genre, and two because I've heard some horrible things. But since I have been trying to branch into horror, I knew I needed to give him atleast a try, and discussed with a friend I trusted on which book it should be, which was Salem's Lot. I LOVE vampire stories so it seemed a good fit.
I will say the writing is fine for the most part, King has a way of writing prose that is very pretty and elegant...however it often happens in the middle of the build up and takes away all the momentum of the scene. There is also no reason for this book to be this long, and this ultimately what killed it for me. I love long books, when there is substance, and there was not enough here to sustain it into an interesting book worth of a full 650 pages.
My biggest problem with King is that the pages are just full of unnecessary abuse just for shock factor, horrible depictions and characterizations of women. Most of the violence, outside of the vampires being women and children. And his incredibly classist view on small towns. There is a difference between reading a book where there are setting appropriate injustices. It is important for things to have realism to give credit to the people who lived through them and give a full scope of what they have gone through. It is completely different when you just get it from the author because they're classist.
I will not be revisiting King but I can atleast say I tried.
I will say the writing is fine for the most part, King has a way of writing prose that is very pretty and elegant...however it often happens in the middle of the build up and takes away all the momentum of the scene. There is also no reason for this book to be this long, and this ultimately what killed it for me. I love long books, when there is substance, and there was not enough here to sustain it into an interesting book worth of a full 650 pages.
My biggest problem with King is that the pages are just full of unnecessary abuse just for shock factor, horrible depictions and characterizations of women. Most of the violence, outside of the vampires being women and children. And his incredibly classist view on small towns. There is a difference between reading a book where there are setting appropriate injustices. It is important for things to have realism to give credit to the people who lived through them and give a full scope of what they have gone through. It is completely different when you just get it from the author because they're classist.
I will not be revisiting King but I can atleast say I tried.