Lisey's Story

I just finished reading Stephen King’s novel Lisey’s Story, and I think I can say with authority (I’ve read about 90 % of his stuff) that this is his greatest work. By far. If you have never read any of King’s writings, this is the one you can’t do without.

Stephen King is often categorized as a “horror fiction” writer. And certainly, many of his novels and short stories fit that label well. But what exactly is “horror fiction” anyway? Isn’t it the vicarious experience of life and death as we fear it to be like but can’t bring ourselves to admit it? We’re all alive and fear death and suffering. But they are nonetheless inevitable facts of our lives.

Lisey’s Story definitely has “horror” elements to it, but it is much more than that. It is a story of a woman’s grief and love for her deceased husband. And how the worlds that we all create with our imaginations can sometimes overflow from ourselves and enter the real lives of others.

I have done a lot of reading over the past few years, and much of what I have read has been forgettable. I mean IMMEDIATELY forgettable, from the moment I finally put the book down after reading the last word on the last page. Lisey’s Story is a “keeper“, a complex story that will stay with you and challenge you on many levels: what is love, what is truly real, and .....why does Stephen King always seem to end up in western Maine?!!