Finally finished it yesterday. Can't remember the last time reading SK was such a chore.
Finally finished it yesterday. Can't remember the last time reading SK was such a chore.
A hound will die for you, but never lie to you. And he'll look you straight in the face.
My Collection
I. Reread cujo and started Christine after reading sleeping beauties. I could not put them done! Sb is a hard readOriginally Posted by CyberGhostface
O.o
Interview with Owen: https://storgy.com/2017/12/03/interview-owen-king/
I dislike sycophantic interviewers. "STORGY: ‘Sleeping Beauties’ had me in stiches; whether that be talking about ‘trumped-up tax dodgers, emphasis on the Trump’; or ‘the Kardashians farting being breaking news’"
In stitches? Really?
Spoiler:
"A real limited edition, far from being an expensive autograph stapled to a novel, is a treasure. And like all treasures do, it transforms the responsible owner into a caretaker, and being a caretaker of something as fragile and easily destroyed as ideas and images is not a bad thing but a good one...and so is the re-evaluation of what books are and what they do that necessarily follows." - Stephen King
I've been feeling the same way. Been reading it since early October and still 200+ pages to go. Can't decide whether it's the plot itself, SK, or Owern that's to blame.
Reilly: "Hey, George, the ocean called. They're running out of shrimp."
George: "Oh, yeah, Reilly? Well, the jerk store called, and they're running out of you!"
I know the feeling. I felt the need as well. I opted to check out Mr. King's other son's latest book.I. Reread cujo and started Christine after reading sleeping beauties. I could not put them done! Sb is a hard read
O.o
Bev Vincent: With the audiobook version of SB, there's a conversation with Stephen and Owen at the end where, pretty much, the same information is revealed though is is just Stephen and Owen talking.
I completely agree. It took me over a month to read when I usually read a King book in a week or less.I've been feeling the same way. Been reading it since early October and still 200+ pages to go. Can't decide whether it's the plot itself, SK, or Owern that's to blame.
Not understanding the dislike for this book. I thought it was fantastic.
I agree!
HELP ME FIND
Insomnia #459
ANY S/L #459
SPOILER ALERTS IN THIS COMMENT. I found this by googling “Sleeping Beauties Stephen King disappointing”. Because I own everything he’s ever written, and love his stuff – even the co-authored novels, but this one was really disappointing. I agree with the comments here – too many characters, no real redeeming qualities to any of them (or anyone to root for) very biased, finding the worst in both sexes (I’m female – and while I love some of his writing addressing violence against women – Rose Madder, etc – I found this one pretty heavy-handed). But my biggest problem with it was (SPOILER ALERT) the huge holes in the plot: for example – WHY did time go faster in Our Place? Did the women age in relation (Warden Janice's hair grew FAST - would that mean shorter lifespans?) But the biggest one unaddressed was – what REAL choice did the women have? With their cocooned bodies on the other side, they would still live in fear, and at the whim, of the very men they were choosing to leave behind. Was there any doubt that if they did not return, they left themselves utterly vulnerable? If the men grew angry or despondent that they lived in a women-less world, what would stop them from burning all the cocoons, effectively wiping out the New World? Why would the men left behind care enough to safeguard all those bodies so that the women lived on, in another world? Especially if they were as self-centred, callous, mean, etc as they were all painted to be? Absolutely made zero sense at all.
SPOILER ALERTS IN THIS COMMENT. I found this by googling “Sleeping Beauties Stephen King disappointing”. Because I own everything he’s ever written, and love his stuff – even the co-authored novels, but this one was really disappointing. I agree with comments of disappointment here – too many characters, no real redeeming qualities to any of them (or anyone to root for) very biased, finding the worst in both sexes (I’m female – and while I love some of his writing regarding violence against women – Rose Madder is a fantastic example – I found this one pretty heavy-handed). But my biggest problem with it was (SPOILER ALERT) the huge holes in the plot: WHY did time go faster in Our Place? Did the women age in relation? Warden Janice's hair grew extremely fast, was aging accelerated? But the biggest one unaddressed was – what REAL choice did the women have? With their cocooned bodies on the other side, they would still live in fear, and at the whim, of the very men they were choosing to leave behind. Was there any doubt that if they did not return, they left themselves utterly vulnerable? If the men grew angry or despondent that they lived in a women-less world, what would stop them from burning all the cocoons, effectively wiping out the New World? Why would the men left behind care enough to safeguard all those bodies so that the women lived on, in another world? Made absolutely zero sense at all. I feel like if this had been a debut novel by a new author, it wouldn't have made it past the rejection desk. I'm finding myself re-reading the classic King novels lately, and that only reinforces my disappointment in this book.
I agree. When I saw them in NY, Owen indicated this started out as some type of TV project and then evolved into a novel. That raises a lot of red flags. It's a conceptual mess and very disappointing. I'm sure SK did this in part to advance the profile of OK as a writer. Oddly enough I really enjoyed "Double Feature" but this one is a real stinker. One of the few King novels that I wouldn't bother to read twice.
This. Big time.
Reilly: "Hey, George, the ocean called. They're running out of shrimp."
George: "Oh, yeah, Reilly? Well, the jerk store called, and they're running out of you!"
How does Owen's other stuff fare to those who read it?
On a related note I really wish King would write a full novel with Joe Hill as opposed to just the occasional short story. I actually asked Hill this at a signing but his response was (as I remember, this was back when NOS4A2 was out I think) that it probably wouldn't happen as their allotted free writing time together would only allow something short.
A hound will die for you, but never lie to you. And he'll look you straight in the face.
My Collection
Finished SB yesterday and really enjoyed it, reminding me of some of the best King “multiple characters in peril” stories, particularly Under The Dome.
For me, it was a return to his big story-telling and writing style that was missing from the Hodges trilogy.
Finally finished Sleeping Beauties today after three long months. It seemed like it would never end. I don't know if I've ever dreaded reading a King story, so this may be a first. Way too long, too many characters (and none I really cared about), and the most interesting part of the whole book, Evie, was just there. Glad I'm finally finished, but can't help but feel irritated at the wasted potential here. Somewhere in Sleeping Beauties is a good book.
Reilly: "Hey, George, the ocean called. They're running out of shrimp."
George: "Oh, yeah, Reilly? Well, the jerk store called, and they're running out of you!"
I really enjoyed Double Feature quite a bit. I read pretty much just sci-fi and horror and I found it to be a really fun departure from my normal readings. I thought it was a very funny and fun book.
Every time I laughed during Sleeping Beauties I assumed it was Owen's writing.
I just finished the audiobook this morning. Wow, what a borefest. I really struggled getting through it. There was a huge cast of characters, but I really felt no strong connection to any of them. There also seemed to be a lot of stuff that went nowhere.Spoiler:Seems like they could have greatly condensed this book down and made it a lot tighter and shorter. There was also all this buildup, but the end was pretty abrupt and nothing spectacular. I also had the question of why was it just the women of Dooling that get to make this choice. Seemed kinda odd that it wasn't all of the female population.
I felt the same way. Shame as it was a great story idea. Looks like the strange, abrupt, or fizzled ending is genetic. I was just waiting for the large strange spider or slave lord ants to pop up. Although I guess this wasn’t just a bad ending, it really was rough and splotchy throughout. I felt confused many times.
I feel as though, if a book is bad, ok it happens. But, when a super long tome-esq book is bad, that’s just mean.
For me it didn’t feel like a Stephen King book much at all. Even in some of his less liked works where the story isn’t that great or favored, I usually still enjoy the writing and characters. This time around I didn’t feel that way.
"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes they win." - SK
WTB:
-S/L First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (Subterranean Press)
Yeah, I don't think the ending was bad per say, but just very boring. That's kind of how I felt through the whole thing. It was very forgettable. I was actually really excited when I first heard the premise, so it was a bit of a let down. I think the idea was good, but not the way it was executed. Maybe if they trimmed it down it could be a much better story.
Yes, I felt that same way.
Reilly: "Hey, George, the ocean called. They're running out of shrimp."
George: "Oh, yeah, Reilly? Well, the jerk store called, and they're running out of you!"
I agree there, this book would definitely benefit from a trim. I think anytime a story starts to really feel bloated I begin to drift. But I still try to stay with it in hopes of improvement or something to change. I really wanted to like this one.
"Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too. They live inside us, and sometimes they win." - SK
WTB:
-S/L First Law Trilogy by Joe Abercrombie (Subterranean Press)
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