I just finished this a few weeks ago and thought it was great. Not his best work since it is very slow to get the story going, but I really enjoyed it by the end.
I literally gasped out loud at the blood bank when I discoveredDT7
I just finished this a few weeks ago and thought it was great. Not his best work since it is very slow to get the story going, but I really enjoyed it by the end.
I literally gasped out loud at the blood bank when I discoveredDT7
yes, it was amazing!
I have edited your post to specify what the spoiler refers to, because people might think it's an Insomnia spoiler (hardly anybody consistently remembers that we do not mark them in "spoiler" threads), and click on it thinking thery are safe!
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
My bad!
So much you did and so much more you would have done, aye, and all without a check or qualm, and so will the world end, I think, a victim of love rather than hate. For love's ever been the more destructive weapon, sure.
I just finished this last night - it seems like some things in the book would be totally random without reading DT first.
Also the image that popped into my head with the mention of the Green Man is the Greenman
I have a feeling that isn't what King meant though.It must be someone with a bright green aura - I like the Steven King theory. He could have been hinting at
DT 5
Just finished Insomnia about a week ago & wanted to jump in re: Atropos. I am actually taking a Death & Dying class & wrote a short essay about how the book deals with death, because I found it really interesting that although it is made very clear that Atropos has his role in the universe and is necessary, he's still painted as "the bad guy" and is a really nasty guy.
I though it spoke volumes about how King (and a lot of people) view the difference between an acceptable death and a tragic death...
YOU MUST CHILL. I HAVE HIDDEN YOUR KEYS.
that's right, but there's no denying, either, that he is a nasty guy, regardless of whether or not he is necessary in the order of things.
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No, I wouldn't argue that for a moment, I think though, that writing him as a really nasty guy, rather than someone who had a job to do & did it is as revealing about death attitudes as anything...ETA: What I mean to say, is that even being an agent of the random, it would be possible to go about the job in the caring, kind way that Clotho & Lachesis do, however Atropos does not, instead he acts more like a murderer than an agent of the universe...
Another interesting side note: today was the last day before finals in my death & dying class and we discussed/watched a film about near death experiences, I was surprised to see that many people see a cord that they describe much like king describes the "balloon strings" that connects them to their bodies as they "travel the tunnel" and one woman said she felt as though this cord is what pulled her back into her body at the time of her near death experience. Strange stuff, huh?
Last edited by Ves'Ka Gan; 07-13-2009 at 09:59 PM. Reason: clarification.
YOU MUST CHILL. I HAVE HIDDEN YOUR KEYS.
A Death and Dying class?I think this is one class I'd want to fail. I fear what passing means.
Its not a very creepy or cryptic kind of class at all. Really, it focuses on dealing with loss & grieving and how cultures around the world deal with it. It's more about finding your own understanding of what death, dying & grief mean to you than anything else. I would actually say someone with a fear of death & what it means would benefit greatly from the class, as it forces you to come to terms with what you believe.
YOU MUST CHILL. I HAVE HIDDEN YOUR KEYS.
Oh, I knew what it was meant to be. I was just kidding: passing a death and dying class means dying.
Oh duh!!! I thought you meant you feared what "passing away" meant....ignore the mush-brained pregnant lady.
YOU MUST CHILL. I HAVE HIDDEN YOUR KEYS.
Thanks for understanding... and to bring it full circle--the pregnancy is causing me INSOMNIA, which is why I started the book (some irony in using a novel about insomnia to try and get to sleep), but it's really making the little obvious things fly right over my head!
YOU MUST CHILL. I HAVE HIDDEN YOUR KEYS.
I took a Death & Dying class in college, it was actually fascinating.
Back OT, I thought Atropos was a neat representation of what can happen when those with power end up doing the "dirty job" - it became about watching the dying suffer rather than a necessary evil.
So much you did and so much more you would have done, aye, and all without a check or qualm, and so will the world end, I think, a victim of love rather than hate. For love's ever been the more destructive weapon, sure.
Haha--I guess so. But I think that Clothos & Lachesis "enjoyed" their job while being generally "good", it's just as possibly to take someone by the random and be respectful of them.
YOU MUST CHILL. I HAVE HIDDEN YOUR KEYS.
Re-reading this at moment and throughly enjoying it. Still think it's one of King's most underrated achievements, slow pace and elderly characters and bizarre supernatural fantasy elements all create a wonderfully unusual novel.
If this was made into a film, how about John Mahoney as Ralph and Marsha Mason as Lois? They already made a great couple several years ago in "Frasier"!
Ves'Ka Gan, very interesting point about the personality differences of Clotho and Lachesis as compared to Atropos, and how it reflects attitudes towards different kinds of death. Though I think we could all agree that not every "tragic" or untimely/violent/gruesome death automatically serves the random. Which is comforting in a way. Kind of reminds me of the part in Wolves when they briefly contemplate what it might mean to use Black 13 and the door to go to Dallas November 22, 1963 and save JFK. Sounds great, but who knows what might've been different in a bad way down the line?
I love Insomnia and have read it several times, but I never really thought about the little bald docs in quite that way. Stuff like this is why these boards are so much fun.
Totally dig the Operation Ivy avatar/quotes as well, btw.
I'm only 1/4 done with Insomnia and ...im actually struggling with that very problem ....but for me i cant get to sleep....once i get there im alright.....anyway...the book kinda slipped through the cracks on me ...i knew i should have read it before the last DT....at least... i thought i fucked up but i was so depressed by finishing the series that I'm grasping at any connections
....need to read black house again too.........i only read it when it came out....its been awhile for me
I'm nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with me. But when you drop that violence on me, then you've made me go INSANE, and I'm not responsible for what I do
Malcolm X
Finished this a couple of months ago, and I've gotta say that i LOVED the ending. I think what makes it work is that, if you stop before the epilogue, then you could have your ideal happy ending: evil's punished, our two heroes survive and they all live happily ever after. The epilogue, however, changes that completely, but thankfully avoids the horror cliche of having the main good guys killed off after all and goes for a much more tragic ending.
I can't help but think, at the end of the day, that that's the way to look at life: there's no such thing as a happy ending, only in stories, and that's because stories know when to stop. Brilliantly bittersweet way for King to end Insomnia, I think.
Never be cruel and never be cowardly. And if you ever are, always make amends.
You are a walking talking Doctor Who encyclopedia to me. - Melike
Sai King always ends his shit in that way 9 out of 10 times....from experience there is no happy ending for sure ...Originally Posted by DoctorDodge
I'm nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with me. But when you drop that violence on me, then you've made me go INSANE, and I'm not responsible for what I do
Malcolm X
half way through......i know im slow.....but damn im loving this book im so stupid ffor waiting this long to read it
I'm nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with me. But when you drop that violence on me, then you've made me go INSANE, and I'm not responsible for what I do
Malcolm X
just finished last night .....wow ...i should have read this along time ago.....man i would say top five at least
I'm nonviolent with those who are nonviolent with me. But when you drop that violence on me, then you've made me go INSANE, and I'm not responsible for what I do
Malcolm X
just finished last night .....wow ...i should have read this along time ago.....man i would say top five at least
Ask not what bears can do for you, but what you can do for bears. (razz)
When one is in agreement with bears one is always correct. (mae)
bears are back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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