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View Full Version : The Long Walk - Let's Discuss! *SPOILERS*



different_seasons
07-06-2008, 06:30 AM
I think the benefits of weight reduction in a pack vs. longevity are minimal. Therefore I would be inclined to overpack at the onset of the Long Walk, were I to indulge in it.

Some packables-

Food-

beans, raisons, candy, jerky.

Electronics-

Cell, mp3 w/audiobooks.

Optional-

Glock 36 (hey, you never know, at the conclusion of my Walk, I'm not going down easy, or alone))
duct tape (shoe repair)
socks
Although I am completely sober at all times, I'd be inclined to bring some strong pain reducing drugs. I mean effective.

Discuss.

sarah
07-06-2008, 07:03 AM
edited by maerlyn

Jean
07-06-2008, 11:27 AM
maerlyn - are you sure you're talking about the same Long Walk as different_seasons? I don't think you would have much use for a blanket or books, let alone money.

sarah
07-06-2008, 01:06 PM
:lol: you're right Jean. I came back here to edit my post. :doh:

mia/susannah
07-06-2008, 01:16 PM
I have not read the long walk. But I imagine I would bring the bare necessities. Non perishable foods, extra pair of clothes, cellphone, if I had one. I would probably want to carry lite

ManOfWesternesse
07-06-2008, 03:03 PM
Extra shoes & socks I guess - though you'd have to be willing to give up a warning or two to change them!
A light rain mac.
Not too much food - the rations were enough to keep anyone going - but maybe a small treat or two.
& I don't imagine they'd let you have the glock d_s :lol:

jhanic
07-06-2008, 03:15 PM
I think I'd want a full suit of body armor! :P

John

Ves'Ka Gan
07-06-2008, 05:09 PM
i guess I'd say an MP3 player with an outstanding battery. It would help to keep my mind off things and keep me moving.

Maybe the Nike+ipod combo so I could track my walking speed.

ManOfWesternesse
07-07-2008, 02:50 AM
I think I'd want a full suit of body armor! :P

John

:lol: - nice one!

Míchéal
07-13-2008, 05:13 PM
i guess I'd say an MP3 player with an outstanding battery. It would help to keep my mind off things and keep me moving.

Maybe the Nike+ipod combo so I could track my walking speed.

Tip 6: Don't wear trainers. :nope:

stone, rose, unfound door
07-14-2008, 02:41 PM
the mp3 thing seems essential. I'd also take loads of shoes, sleep-ons preferably so you don't waste your time changing and I don't like sneakers anyway :) I walk a lot faster in Converse or Ben Simon than with these huge sneakers which weigh a lot :)

Randall Flagg
07-15-2008, 07:14 AM
Baby powder. It's hard to walk fast with a chafed butt.

Seymour_Glass
07-23-2008, 03:23 PM
I just reread it. I love that book. So share your thoughts on it here.

Also, what do you think the "dark figure" that beckoned to Garraty at the end was?

Míchéal
07-23-2008, 03:26 PM
I was assuming it was the Major but maybe it's deeper than that?

William50
07-23-2008, 03:26 PM
I have never read it. Is it any good?

Míchéal
07-23-2008, 03:27 PM
It's great!!!

Woofer
07-23-2008, 03:38 PM
I also always thought it was the Major. I understand that some folks think it was RF, though.

Míchéal
07-23-2008, 03:42 PM
I cant imagine why because as far as i can remember the Major's truck pulled up just before this

Seymour_Glass
07-23-2008, 03:43 PM
But I always thought that the hand on his shoulder was the Major.

Míchéal
07-23-2008, 03:45 PM
Hmmmm...I only read this like 2 weeks ago and it's a blur now...I might read the end when I finish work...

Jean
07-23-2008, 10:16 PM
I always assumed Garraty just lost his mind. The dark figure doesn't exist, but it will becon to him, forcing him to go on till he drops dead. There's nothing in the world that is worth paying the price those boys paid, and the final reward can never be obtained.

ManOfWesternesse
07-24-2008, 12:42 AM
I've read that book so many times, but still I'd have to reread again to refresh.
But I think the figure was just indicitive of the fact he was still in the walk, and not alone. Whether he thinks Stebbins is still walking, or McVries or one of the others, I don't know. But I think that in his mind all he wants is to keep on walking and the figure is just hi self-justification for that.

what
07-24-2008, 02:27 AM
I also believed the hand on his shoulder was the major and I figured that the dark figure was his "light at the end". I figured he was walking death at that point and King was showing us Garraty's version of dieing... although I had never imagined RF would show up there!

Heather19
07-24-2008, 07:23 AM
I just reread the end again because it's been awhile since I've read the story. But like Jean, I saw it as kind of a symbol of him losing his mind. The figure isn't really there, it's just in his head. And at this point he'll just continue to walk until he dies.

Matt
07-24-2008, 07:51 AM
I agree with that and also the idea that there is no winning the Long Walk...it's the death of you no matter what.

Woofer
07-24-2008, 10:18 AM
Hrm, it's been quite a while since I last read it, and I think you guys are correct. The Major's hand falls on his shoulder, so he must be seeing a phantom/delusion. More when I finish this again.

Re: There is no winning. I believe that's correct, and I also believe it is intentional. It's an excellent form of population control - both from a mental and physical standpoint.

Daghain
07-24-2008, 11:06 AM
I have to agree with Jean as well. I think he had finally lost his mind - how could you not?

Seymour_Glass
07-24-2008, 11:44 AM
I agree with Jean.

stone, rose, unfound door
07-24-2008, 05:44 PM
I always assumed the "dark figure" was Garraty becoming mad. After he's spent so long on the road (well, it's not actually a long time, but he has lots of experiences that he wouldn't have had that quickly in everyday life), he starts seeing the crowd as one entity, so I first thought the "dark figure" was another way of seeing the crowd, but I ended up thinking it must be madness overtaking him and he knows he can't escape it because he's become too weak to fight back.

The Lady of Shadows
07-24-2008, 06:08 PM
he's definitley gone mad. i think that's the hidden secret of the long walk. there is no prize. not really. because you are insane by the time you finish the walk.

i don't think it was flagg beckoning to him, i think it was his own perception of his madness. he couldn't deal with the fact that he had literally walked everyone else into the ground. on a journey where he had begun to care for these total strangers, he had in the end beaten them all - to the death. his mind couldn't cope with that. his humanity couldn't cope with that. maybe his soul couldn't cope with that. he couldn't face the major, he couldn't face the crowd, all he could do was keep walking. and maybe run - away from what he had done.

Míchéal
07-24-2008, 08:53 PM
Man, I hated the Major.

The Lady of Shadows
07-25-2008, 12:32 AM
i was thinking about this when i was reading the novella.

++absolutely my ipod (but how would i charge it?)
++definitely some chocolate
++a gazillion of those crystal light peach tea things to put into my canteen
++i love my crocs so an extra pair of those, and some extra socks
++some toilet paper
++a lightweight raincoat
++hat
++jacket


but seriously, can you guys see me going without starbucks for that long? :lol:

ManOfWesternesse
07-25-2008, 01:14 AM
Man, I hated the Major.

Yeah, he was one seriously fucked-up dude, was the Major.
First time I read it, and found out about Stebbins..... and then figured that tha Major KNEW - and did nothing. What a bastard.

The Lady of Shadows
07-28-2008, 01:44 PM
the major knew and used it to his advantage. but stebbins could have pulled out at either of the deadlines so he was looking for something too. and i don't think it was just the prize. he was looking to give him a giant "fuck you" maybe. it was still sad. i remember reading that part and just closing my eyes and thinking "god, what the fuck is the going on with these people?"

kirin
08-14-2008, 11:57 AM
is the redone long walk the same book as in the collection "the bachman books"? or has it been altered?

Brice
08-14-2008, 11:59 AM
It's not redone at all. It's just published seperately. It's the same story. :)

kirin
08-14-2008, 12:34 PM
thanks and oh good thats one i dont need to go buy then

Odetta
08-14-2008, 12:35 PM
I always assumed Garraty just lost his mind. The dark figure doesn't exist, but it will becon to him, forcing him to go on till he drops dead. There's nothing in the world that is worth paying the price those boys paid, and the final reward can never be obtained.

that's what I always thought as well.

JQ The Gunslinger
08-31-2008, 04:15 PM
I loved the book. I thought the dark figure was just him dieing. Because if u remember, when he touches Stebbins at the end, he was about to tell him that he was done and was gonna sit down, and then Stebbins died when he touched him. So yes, i believe the dark figure was death on the open road.

JQ The Gunslinger
08-31-2008, 04:18 PM
Toliet Paper

Extra Shoes

Hat

Dirty magazines ;)

gsvec
08-31-2008, 04:24 PM
Futuristing enough that I imagine they'd have solar iPods?? ::shrugs::

Old Man Splitfoot
09-01-2008, 01:25 AM
A freaking teleportation device so I wouldn't have to die when I got my third warning.

NeedfulKings
09-01-2008, 12:20 PM
Lots of beef jerkey
A few pair of slip on shoes
A copy of The Stand, uncut. I can read and walk pretty well. :thumbsup:

JayFarson
09-28-2008, 06:22 PM
Probably my favorite non-DT SK book, maybe even my favorite SK book in general (it's neck and neck with The Wastelands/Wizard and Glass). I guess I just have a thing for dystopia.

taheen74
10-01-2008, 07:28 AM
I always assumed Garraty just lost his mind. The dark figure doesn't exist, but it will becon to him, forcing him to go on till he drops dead. There's nothing in the world that is worth paying the price those boys paid, and the final reward can never be obtained.


This right here.
On my first read, I misread something because I had thought it was the Major.

On the second read, i thought maybe it was his father (because I really don't recall if it was stated on whether the squad executed him or not).

But upon my third read, I have to agree with Jean here and say that death is beckoning him. I'm also convinced that Garraty is still walking in the great beyond.

JQ The Gunslinger
10-01-2008, 06:39 PM
Who honestly would want to sign up for that

jhanic
10-02-2008, 03:45 AM
Someone who was so desperate that they figured they had nothing to lose.

John

The Lady of Shadows
10-03-2008, 01:14 PM
nobody really believes it's going to happen that way. if you read the story closely they all have their dream about what it's going to be like for them to win even though they know what it was like for the other winners (in particular the one who kept walking screaming "i can't" each time he put a foot down).

does anyone ever believe it will end a particular way for them? no. they always believe this time it will be different. i'll make it different. i'll do it better. or whatever. plus, when you're desperate, you'll do just about anything. or when you're stupid enough, for whatever reason, not to take the outs that are given you.

i find the idea that the image he sees is his father very intriguing. we don't really know what the squads did to his father - although it's heavily implied that they killed him. could it be an image of his father that he sees. death as his father? that's an interesting concept.

razz
10-03-2008, 01:22 PM
Who honestly would want to sign up for that
It's actually pretty interesting. After i finished reading the novel, i asked a few fellow pupils at school if they would be willing to participate in such a walk, where there is only one winner, and everyone else died. I explained the walk in detail, even explaining that the losers die, even their friends. A good many of the people i asked still said they would.
I think it's because it's the ultimate challenge of endurance. they want to know they they are better than everyone i nthe past THEY will come out smiling and sane. THEY will be skipping when it's over. THEY will be the best. Hint: they never are.

The Lady of Shadows
10-03-2008, 02:41 PM
exactly my point. thank you razz.

Jean
10-03-2008, 11:31 PM
there's more to that, though. It's not that you yourself will die that is out of the question; you don't really believe those other guys will die, because you don't really know what death is. What you have in your mind before the race starts is that they will somehow be taken away, disappear, - compete with you no more. That's the most precious part of the book for me: when the deaths start, the boys start actually helping each other, against all common sense. They hadn't really known what they bought into, because of some things there is no knowing but first-hand; now they knew, and their humanity prevailed over their rationality.

Heather19
10-05-2008, 06:54 AM
Very well put Jean. I believe it's something that they can't fully imagine before hand, and it's not until they start to experience it first hand (being on that side of the race) that they really grasp what is going to happen to them.

Darkthoughts
10-05-2008, 06:57 AM
Wonderfully put, Jean :thumbsup:

JQ The Gunslinger
10-05-2008, 06:00 PM
Exactly

razz
10-05-2008, 06:03 PM
indeed :clap:

Archangel(tjk)
06-19-2009, 09:22 AM
I just finished the Long Walk 2 weeks ago for the first time. I would say what happened to Garraty was what Stebbins meant when he was talking about how nobody ever really won, and the prize was a farce. I can see where the RF reference comes from, Garraty compares the monster that he dubs "crowd" as a crimson spider coming out the ground, but I think that we are seeing Garraty's death and not RF.

candy
06-20-2009, 11:08 AM
i need to re read this, i loved it first time.

before i do though a few thoughts and then i can let you know if i still think the same way after the re-read.

now then - 2 points
1. i beleive the dark figure is one of his friends who had died along the way (cant remember names at this moment) but the friend is beckoning him to walk on to his death. i dont think he has lost his mind, i think he is dieing and his vision is decreasing. therefore he can not say who the figure is
2. who would sign up for this you ask> well let me tell you a story.

ARE YOU SITTING COMFORTABLEY?
here on the isle of man we have what is known as the parish walk, which funnily enough has been going on today. Now it may sound all cute and sunday afternoonish. But its not

its an endurance walk all around the parishs (towns) of the island, its 85 miles long and includes 18 towns. all done in 24 hours.
here comes the kicker, if you dont get to a specific town within time lines, the time keeper leaves. so the last ?? miles you have walked dont get counted. (nice eh?)
its done in all weather and last year had hailstones, torrential rain fall and gale force winds.

people still sign up for this as a sign on endurance and to say they have done it. so to me the premise of the long walk is only one step further (see what i did there) along the endurance chain.

WeDealInLead
06-06-2010, 05:57 PM
This is my favourite Bachman. Rage seemed a little too naive and Roadwork too bland. Decent reads but I don't see any potential re-reads in near future. Anywho... I don't think that the walk has so much to do with population control (it seems to be a totalitarian society already, people are "squaded" for speaking out and never seen again). To me the point seemed to be to further desensitize the population. To make death a national past time and have people cheer at deaths of teenagers means to take an even stronger hold of the population. If people will give up their children to this and the crowd cheeres at bloodshed, what does that tell you about the human spirit and condition of the country? If murder is legal, what else are they getting away with?

Roland of Gilead 33
01-31-2011, 11:50 PM
i think i read this in 2 & a half days or so? i LOVED IT! i didn't expect to cause growing up my brother was never much of a 'Bachman" fan & always said outside of "Thinner" that was the only really good one. this is before "Blaze" came out which he loves by the way.

so i in short kept my expecations low cause of that. & i'm glad i did cause it made me love the book even more. i think i've read it a 2nd time since. but i don't think i read it as fast as i did the 1st time. he he

Odetta
02-01-2011, 08:25 AM
I've read this story multiple times. I am a huge fan as well!

Roland of Gilead 33
02-01-2011, 06:58 PM
i love it cause it's not like anything KING was writing at the time. or most writers since. it sounds like a weak story if you really think about it. & it also sounds like someone else has already done it, this is of course if you haven't read the book. but upon reading it it feels like an original idea. & not like nobody had written before or since.

Patrick
02-01-2011, 09:39 PM
I just finished reading this story again for the first time in probably over 18 years. It had been so long that I couldn't even remember how it ended.

What a freaking fantastic book! I love it as much today as I did then.




... That's the most precious part of the book for me: when the deaths start, the boys start actually helping each other, against all common sense. They hadn't really known what they bought into, because of some things there is no knowing but first-hand; now they knew, and their humanity prevailed over their rationality.
Perfect.


In regards to the discussion about the dark figure (an imaginary walker) that Garraty sees at the end of the story:

Obviously Ray is delirious to the point that he doesn't realize that the Walk is complete and that he has won. What is unclear is whether his delirium is a permanent or a temporary effect. I don't think death nor madness for him is a given. I think King intentionally left it for each Reader to decide for themselves whether he dies, goes permanently insane, or eventually regains his senses.

Roland of Gilead 33
02-01-2011, 11:09 PM
that's something i'd be curious to know about that character. even if it's just mentioned in one of his books briefly. to my best of knowledge it hasn't been. unless i'm of course wrong?

Odetta
02-02-2011, 07:42 AM
I don't recall anything mentioned... I always thought the walk drove him mad permanently.

Roland of Gilead 33
02-03-2011, 01:38 PM
i got that impression as well. but than one thing i think is funny is "Kevin Smith" saying "The Lord of the rings' is really a story about people walking, he's right actually. so is the "DT" series essentially as well. & so is 'The Long Walk" all good stories. & i'm actually surprised no one has done a film of this great book yet. as for "Rage" i thought they would have done one years ago. i don't expect anyone to do one of that one though. cause

on how he's since pulled it out of print. it's also kinda surprising that his "Bachman" stuff hasn't really been made into films. yes we have 2 of them as films. but only 2. & two of my favorite films. 'Thinner" i actually prefer the film over the book which is actually a RARITY! & i love the film 'The Running Man' the thing he Arnie S. rides in at the start of the film or whatever it's called always reminds me of

the ride at "walt disney world'; "Space Mountain" i think is the name? the ONLY difference is of course it's safer & you don't go upside down in it.

Odetta
02-04-2011, 07:30 AM
I wonder if SK was basing this story on the death walks the Nazis forced the Jews to take at the end of WW2

Roland of Gilead 33
02-04-2011, 01:41 PM
ya know it really wouldn't surprise me. isn't he a history buff? trying to write that bio on i forget who in the 70's but being unable to do so cause it was just to damn hard. plus i believe he's taken that them & used it to a LOT of his books.


the theme being shit that's happened in society & so on. the good & the bad. & how people respond to it. "George A. Romero" does that with his films. in various ways.

Ricky
02-15-2011, 05:34 PM
I just finished this for the first time and came in here to see what everybody thought about the ending. I read the last few paragraphs paragraphs a couple times before I came to the conclusion that either: the dark figure at the end was Garraty's father (the thought came to me that the Major might be his father as well. Stebbins made a comment like, and I'm paraphrasing here, I heard he's got dozens of 'em [refferring to other children] or, the other thought I came up with was that the figure didn't exist, simply a figment of his deteriorating mind. You could even go as far as to say that Garraty died near or at the end of the Walk and is doomed to walk forever in his own personal hell.

Bethany
02-15-2011, 05:39 PM
I always assumed Garraty was insane at the end and would never be able to stop walking for fear of being Ticketed.

TCCBodhi
03-08-2012, 10:18 PM
I've thought for years that this would be a great character-based movie, it may not be the most action packed, but I loved the characters so much. Given the awful stories that have been translated to video, I'm really surprised that they haven't done this one.

Jean
03-08-2012, 10:21 PM
Given the awful stories that have been translated to video, I am not in the least surprised.

TCCBodhi
03-08-2012, 10:26 PM
lol, very true.

mtdman
03-08-2012, 10:41 PM
I always assumed Garraty was insane at the end and would never be able to stop walking for fear of being Ticketed.

I'm down with this. The figure he sees is in his mind.

divemaster
03-09-2012, 06:53 AM
I think the figure he sees represents "Death" and the strength that he found to run was him passing over, as it were. He walked himself to death and his last living thoughts were tinged with insanity. No white light, no peaceful "clearing at the end of the path," just a dark, insane death. Grim, I know, but very effective! (I really like this story)

Dan
03-15-2012, 03:48 PM
I listened to the entire audiobook on a long road trip yesterday. I went into this with no knowledge of the plot or premise of the book. Although I should have seen it coming, I was shocked when the first walker "bought his ticket". I didn't quite understand the ending, but after reading through these posts I think that was kind of the point. It seems that Bachman/King wants you to interpret as the reader. I would rather be told, but that's just me.

Still, I really enjoyed the book.

greenhorn1
01-09-2013, 08:33 AM
The long walk is one of my favorite King stories and I've read it tons of times but the only thing that bothers me about it is the 4 mile per hour speed that they can't drop below. 4 miles per hour is a VERY fast walking pace. Like speed walking pace almost. It just doesn't seem to match up with the descriptions in the book.

Other than that....I love it!

Dan
01-09-2013, 11:24 AM
I thought the same thing while reading this. There is no way I could walk that far at that speed. I would probably have gladly stopped for.......

Ben Staad
09-17-2014, 12:48 PM
Finally re-reading this after 15 years and it is amazing. I'm about 15 pages from the ending and loving every line. It is funny how the control by authority and the reaction to it repeats itself generation after generation and how perfectly King captured that underlying emotion that most feel.

I'm not that good at expressing my thoughts so sorry...:wink1: I tried.

Br!an
09-17-2014, 02:42 PM
The long walk is one of my favorite King stories and I've read it tons of times but the only thing that bothers me about it is the 4 mile per hour speed that they can't drop below. 4 miles per hour is a VERY fast walking pace. Like speed walking pace almost. It just doesn't seem to match up with the descriptions in the book.

Other than that....I love it!

That is a fast speed for me as a 6'3" man. Never mind for a child.

Odetta
09-17-2014, 02:55 PM
I always wondered about that speed as well. I'm doing a slow jog at 4 mph...

Kingfan24
05-04-2015, 08:11 AM
Just finished the long walk for the first time. I thought it was fantastic - although like others have expressed 4 mph is pretty fast.

I thought stebbins could have been written a little better and it would have been interesting to see how the major took the news. I thought his death was a little weak as well.

Overall though, great story.

zelig
11-24-2015, 01:05 PM
I also just finished the book for the first time. Reading the comments here has really helped clarify the ending for me. I thought it was a great book but was a little lost at the end. The possible outcomes discussed here make sense. Sometimes you just have to trust the author and give yourself over to the story. I think this is the sort of book where you would benefit from a re-read. Great story and well executed.

Letti
05-01-2016, 12:19 AM
I read this book not a long time ago and I have no idea how I could exist without it. A perfect read. I was afraid of the ending. I knew they all had to die, there was no way out, so I wasn't afraid of that. I was afraid the end would be corny or banal despite the greatness of the story. But the ending couldn't be better. It seems to be open... but if we dare to face the reality we all know what the end is.

Heather19
05-02-2016, 04:35 AM
Well said Letti. It's one of my favorite endings to any of his books, and one of my favorite stories.

togepi90
05-05-2016, 07:27 PM
A few days ago, a fellow worker asked me "What is the most frightening story that you have read by S.K.?"
I had no hesitation in answering, "The Long Walk!".

Jon
05-05-2016, 09:30 PM
I read this book not a long time ago and I have no idea how I could exist without it. A perfect read. I was afraid of the ending. I knew they all had to die, there was no way out, so I wasn't afraid of that. I was afraid the end would be corny or banal despite the greatness of the story. But the ending couldn't be better. It seems to be open... but if we dare to face the reality we all know what the end is.

Oh... Hi Angel!!

Aronstg
05-12-2016, 08:39 PM
I just read this for the first time. I really enjoyed it. I love how King is able to keep you captivated with what seems like something unexciting. They are just walking!

Really loved the internal dialogue and was fascinated by the popularity of the long walk. This book predates the hunger games by about 30 years but sort of follows the same premise.

Cwalker
05-13-2016, 08:52 AM
One of two or three stories that I read once every year. For years I felt kinda hosed by the ending, but as I have gotten older I have come to appreciate the.... ambiguity?.... If I am in a good mood when reading it, Ray survives. If it has been a bad day, then I accept the alternative.

I have often thought that Frank Darabount could do an amazing movie of this. Black and white, minimal casting using relatively unknown actors. Just tell the story. I think it could be very powerful. It would of course need to be filmed on location here in Maine. :)

DoctorZaius
05-14-2016, 06:09 PM
This is one of my favorite King titles. I am a high school English teacher and each spring in my junior honors class the kids form book clubs. The Long Walk seems to get picked at least every other year. For a month of so the kids blog with each other on kidblog.org as they read the novel. I love reading their entries each year. It's exhilarating to see young readers enjoying King so much, many for whom are reading him for the first time. I have hooked so many King readers over the years. And yes, I too long for a Darabount version of King's novel.

Constant-Reader
05-21-2016, 06:38 AM
I feel each character in the long walk could have been someone I became in the story. I could really relate or at least understand where each character was coming from. Brilliant book.

Jon
06-17-2016, 10:30 AM
I feel each character in the long walk could have been someone I became in the story.

You mean you have a shoe deal?? (See, because it is the Long Walk... shoes...awww N/M.)

Cwalker
06-17-2016, 11:23 AM
I feel each character in the long walk could have been someone I became in the story.

You mean you have a shoe deal?? (See, because it is the Long Walk... shoes...awww N/M.)


This year's Long Walk is brought to you by ADIDAS!!!

Remember Long Walker's, Avoid Dying In Despair, Agony, and Suffering with ADIDAS shoes!!

Sad thing is, I could see it happening......

Machine's Way
09-29-2016, 07:23 AM
One of my absolute favorite King stories. I mirror alot of the above comments about this story. Like many King to screen movies that have failed I think this particular story done properly would translate very well to the big screen. With the popularity of pre-teen and teen post apocalyptic movies these days, now would be the time to make it. It should be rated R, and DO NOT change the ending. Also I seen a poster above that mentioned that it predates the hunger games by 30 years, of course thats true but if you want to see the movie that the Hunger games truly ripped off check out "Battle Royal".
Anyways, loved this story and it is one I will always re-read and recommend to others.

As for what I would bring on my long walk.
I would say energy drinks, but I guess that would have to be substituted with something much more lightweight such as that energy gum or some sort of pill that keeps you up. (I hate drugs but this might be a situation where some sort of thing like that could be helpful)
Very lightweight running shoes, and socks of course.
Loaded ipod with an extended battery.
I would also attempt to bring a gun. (just in case)
Small snacks that give extended energy, like peanut butter
None of these are great new ideas of things to bring, but I think you dont need much more than your STAMINA. Id definitely bring that. And the expectation that if I am going to win aka LIVE everyone else has to die.

Jon
09-30-2016, 08:17 PM
I'm thinking a walking stick would be in order.

mae
10-19-2017, 09:06 AM
Here's the link to The Losers Club podcast discussion of the book:

https://consequenceofsound.net/podcast-episode/episode-18-the-long-walk/

Heather19
10-19-2017, 12:42 PM
:thumbsup: Listened to this one a few months ago after we did our own bookclub on it. They have some great discussions on these.