Joyland Discussion - SPOILERS

[jhanic]

I've decided to start a thread dedicated to Joyland. A number of posts in Calvin's Corner should be moved here.

John

[becca69]

Thanks

[Brian James Freeman]

Thanks!

[Dan]

I just finished. First of all, I loved it. I think back to something said in Hearts in Atlantis, some books have good writing, some have good stories and some have both. This has both. For me a book gets a good rating when I feel an emotional attachment to the characters. This has that. Dev is a very likable person. I wish I was able to describe what I'm thinking. The best I can say is that the "ride" of reading through this book was so enjoyable that I wanted it to go on. There are some books where once you know how they end, that's it. They might be clever or action packed but nothing more than just a cheap thrill.

Right now I don't have much in way of discussion. Although I do wish that Dev had had the opportunity to see the ghost.

[subie09lega]

I agree with your review, the characters are likable and seem real, not flat. I blew through it in two days which doesn't happen often, it is a fairly short book but it grabbed my attention and held it. A couple things tipped off the culprit. The white hair and the tipped hat. I don't try to figure things out before I get to the end, but these two clues tipped it off for me.

I just finished. First of all, I loved it. I think back to something said in Hearts in Atlantis, some books have good writing, some have good stories and some have both. This has both. For me a book gets a good rating when I feel an emotional attachment to the characters. This has that. Dev is a very likable person. I wish I was able to describe what I'm thinking. The best I can say is that the "ride" of reading through this book was so enjoyable that I wanted it to go on. There are some books where once you know how they end, that's it. They might be clever or action packed but nothing more than just a cheap thrill.
Right now I don't have much in way of discussion. Although I do wish that Dev had had the opportunity to see the ghost.

[subie09lega]

I think that this can happen when the right personalities are thrown together and they know that they will be together a lot in the future. I've met people and our personalities just click so that it seems that we've known each other for years. I felt that this was the case with the Joyland trio, they just clicked. Other people that I've known for years and it seems I hardly know them at all.

(from another thread) I enjoyed the book.....I think my only complaint was the relationship between Jonesy and Annie & Mike seemed a little too friendly a little too fast...other than that I enjoyed the read.

[Bryant Burnette]

I thought it was great. My favorite King novels of the last decade are Duma Key, The Dark Tower, and 11/22/63, and this one sits beside those pretty damn comfortably.

[Ricky]

Just finished it and loved every page. I really didn't have any expectations one way or the other before I started, but was really surprised with how good it was. I haven't come across too many books lately that are both emotionally satisfying AND an exciting page turner, so that was a treat.

And just when I thought SK might let Mike live.

[Dan]

I actually had thought there would be a little more story of Dev trying to "save" Mike. Early on and a few times during the book it was mentioned that Dev can't save them all, so that is what I was expecting.

[Brian James Freeman]

I wasn't sure which thread to post this in, but here's some news from the Publishers Weekly daily email today:

"A trade paperback that has no e-book available, Stephen King’s Joyland, from Hard Case Crime, sold about 74,000 copies last week, making it the third bestselling print title in the week trailing only Entwined and Inferno."

Brian

[Ricky]

Does that number seem kind of low to anyone else? Especially for King?

[Brian James Freeman]

Does that number seem kind of low to anyone else? Especially for King?

I've heard a lot of reports of people only finding 5 or 10 copies of the book in their local Barnes & Noble, with those copies back in the fiction section or on an endcap instead of out front. Random House handles the US distribution for Titan, so maybe they didn't want to pay for the prime real estate at the front of the stores and that hurt sales?

Brian

[Ricky]

Definitely possible. I know I wouldn't have found all the copies I did unless I went searching all over BN. I mean, there weren't even any in the Stephen King section.

[Brian James Freeman]

Definitely possible. I know I wouldn't have found all the copies I did unless I went searching all over BN. I mean, there weren't even any in the Stephen King section.

Richard actually helped a little old lady find a copy in our local B&N because the employees didn't know where they were.

Brian

[Ricky]

Same thing happened to me. Your nearest one isn't White Marsh, is it?

[Brian James Freeman]

Same thing happened to me. Your nearest one isn't White Marsh, is it?

The Bel Air store, actually, but it's sounding like a very common issue.

Brian

[jhanic]

I found my copies at the B&N on the "New in Paperback" table. They had 10-15 copies there.

John

[Ricky]

Maybe people in Ohio are more literate than Maryland? It wouldn't surprise me.

[mtdman]

I enjoyed the book, it was a fun read. I was surprised as to how short the book was, but yet it was very concise, and a complete story.

I thought King did a good job describing the inner world of the Joyland park, and the life of working in the park, the life of being a carnie. He made it seem very romantic. Yet he didn't get too involved or add too much unnecessary information or side stories that weren't pertinent to the main plot. Devon and the rest of the characters were very likeable, even the bit players like the costume lady and the landlord.

I was surprised by the 'twist' and how the book ended. Overall it was a great read. The narrator of the audio book wasn't so great, but it didn't spoil the book for me.

One complaint. King couldn't resist his jabs against Dick Cheney and the Christian faith. I get tired of his politics making its way into his books. His recent books would be much better if they didn't include his political jabs. It's pretty tiresome.

[Merlin1958]

One complaint. King couldn't resist his jabs against Dick Cheney and the Christian faith. I get tired of his politics making its way into his books. His recent books would be much better if they didn't include his political jabs. It's pretty tiresome.

Gotta agree with you on that point.

[Kingfan24]

One complaint. King couldn't resist his jabs against Dick Cheney and the Christian faith. I get tired of his politics making its way into his books. His recent books would be much better if they didn't include his political jabs. It's pretty tiresome.

Gotta agree with you on that point.

That's why I almost had to rip up under the dome - I mean look at the illustration of Jim rennie. I'm tired of the politics and bashing of religion as well. I know we all have our views but c'mon.

[BROWNINGS CHILDE]

I am of the opinion that it is his story, I guess he should be allowed to tell it however he wants too.

[Stebbins]

John, thank you for starting this thread, I've been looking for this for the past few days.

I loved this book; the hard-boiled style, the nods to Donald Westlake, all of his messages about growing up and being the person you are meant to be.

I agree with Brownings on the debate point. I'm Catholic, and Libertarian but I lean towards Republicans on the majority of issues, but I think it's the author's right to write the story how he or she sees fit. Every piece of writing is going to have the author's opinions in it one way or another, even if it's the polar opposite. I don't think it was overdone, or tarnished the story in any way.

[Steve]

I really dug this one. Breezed through it in a day. King really knows how to get to the meat of a coming-of-age tale, and this is no exception. I had the killer pegged by the halfway point, though, but it really didn't matter because it played out so wonderfully. I also found it to be quite cinematic.

[mtdman]

One complaint. King couldn't resist his jabs against Dick Cheney and the Christian faith. I get tired of his politics making its way into his books. His recent books would be much better if they didn't include his political jabs. It's pretty tiresome.

Gotta agree with you on that point.

That's why I almost had to rip up under the dome - I mean look at the illustration of Jim rennie. I'm tired of the politics and bashing of religion as well. I know we all have our views but c'mon.

Under the Dome is a horrible book because of the political bitterness. King's best books are those which have none of that in it.