Teresa West từ Liederschiedt, France

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11/22/2024

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Teresa West Sách lại (11)

2018-11-23 22:31

Trên Mảnh Đất Người Đời - Tái bản 31/03/2015 Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn

Sách được viết bởi Bởi: Anatoli Stepanovich Ivanov

** spoiler alert ** Stephen King's afterword for this book begins, "The stories in this book are harsh. You may have found them hard to read in places. If so, be assured that I found them equally hard to write in places." In my personal opinion, this might've been a better foreword. I am generally not squeamish but I honestly could've used a trigger warning or two with this book. I found myself having to set it aside and take deep, calming breaths in three of the four stories. Sometimes multiple times in a story. It is very dark, even for Stephen King, and contains some of the most vile characters I've ever encountered anywhere. Nevertheless, I really liked this collection. According to Uncle Stevie's website, it is "a collection of four novellas linked by the theme of retribution." The novellas are as follows: 1922 - "The story opens with the confession of Wilfred James to the murder of his wife, Arlette, following their move to Hemingford, Nebraska onto land willed to Arlette by her father." This was my least favorite of the four pieces in this book. I had a hard time getting into it because ... well ... I mean, it's told from the POV of a 1920s Nebraskan farmer. There's a fair bit of language and attitudes that made me bristle a little, even though it's all in the context of fiction. But I also see that as sort of a good thing in this case because if the characters had all been progressive and modern, it just would've been stupid. Once the wife was actually dead, the story definitely picked up. The couple's son fascinated me and the ending is exactly the right kind of ambiguous, letting the reader decide if Wilf was delusional from being driven mad with guilt or if his story was true. And if you don't want to choose one, that's fine, too! You can keep on wondering forever, if that's what tickles your fancy. So even though it was my least favorite story in the book, I still liked it. Big Driver - "Mystery writer, Tess, has been supplementing her writing income for years by doing speaking engagements with no problems. But following a last-minute invitation to a book club 60 miles away, she takes a shortcut home with dire consequences." This was the 'worst' story in the book. It's graphic and intense and completely unrelenting and it really should come with a warning label. I had to stop to gather myself no fewer than four times. But I was still compelled to pick it up and keep going every single one of those times, and I think that's really saying something. Fair Extension - "Harry Streeter, who is suffering from cancer, decides to make a deal with the devil but, as always, there is a price to pay." This story was my favorite. There was nothing in it that upset or disturbed me enough to make me need to stop while I was reading it but I think perhaps its the one that will stick in my head the longest. The moral questions it raised for me really pushed my philosophical buttons. I suspect I'll be thinking about it for years during my sleepless hours, the way I think about stories like LeGuin's The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas and Asimov's The Winnowing. I think Harry Streeter is a horrible person but in his situation I don't know if I'd think/feel/do anything different. And so, despite being the least triggery and the least graphic story of the bunch, it's the one that I found the most profoundly unsettling. A Good Marriage - "Darcy Anderson learns more about her husband of over twenty years than she would have liked to know when she stumbles literally upon a box under a worktable in their garage." Stephen King said he was inspired to write this story by the BTK killer, and his wife of thirty-something years' claim that she didn't know about his ... hobbies. Bob Anderson is the sort of monster that scares me, far more than ghoulies and ghosties and long-legged beasties. He's completely psychotic but he thinks he's perfectly sane (his incredibly calm and good-nature confession/retelling of his sins to his wife reminded me quite a lot of the narrator in The Tell-Tale Heart) and not only that but he interacts in society in such a way that everyone else thinks he's charming and sane, as well. These people exist, and it's terrifying. Anyway, to me, the triumph of this story wasn't the creation of the sort of badguy who'll creep in my dreams for months. The real triumph was Darcy. It's pretty rare for me to identify with female characters at all, let alone this strongly, but Stephen King managed to make me feel so in tune with her that I actually cried along with her when she had to kill Bob. Really great work there, Uncle Stevie.

Người đọc Teresa West từ Liederschiedt, France

Người dùng coi những cuốn sách này là thú vị nhất trong năm 2017-2018, ban biên tập của cổng thông tin "Thư viện Sách hướng dẫn" khuyến cáo rằng tất cả các độc giả sẽ làm quen với văn học này.