Bag of Bones insulting?

Spook · May 23, 2008

I know I'm a bit behind, but I'm currently reading Steven King's Bag of Bones. Although he's a talented writer and has great story lines, he's a bit longwinded for me. I was bored, broke, and looking through my stash of "rainy day" books and decided what the hell. I'll give it a whirl. After all, it sounded quite intriguing.

As I read further into the book, I find his character to be a bit brash, even insulting. He makes comments about poor mothering skills, which I find appalling. Sometimes a child needs a swat on the ass... like when they're wandering aimlessly in the middle of a busy byway known for large trucks that go well beyond the speed limit. (I think back to another of his books, Pet Cemetary... if you've read it, you know how well that turned out.)

The protag's dialog seems inconsistant as well. He seems like a good guy, then, wham. Out of nowhere he's dropping the "F" bomb, or explaining sexual frustration in vivid detail. I'm just not feeling it.

Is it just me?

With that said... I'm enjoying the plot so far. I plan to continue reading it, so long as I can ignore these irritations I've developed.

Any thoughts?

James81 · May 27, 2008

Spook said:
I
The antag's dialog seems inconsistant as well. He seems like a good guy, then, wham. Out of nowhere he's dropping the "F" bomb, or explaining sexual frustration in vivid detail.

Hold the phone here...

Good guys can't drop f-bombs and be sexually frustrated?

My suggestion to you is if these kinds of things bother you, don't read anymore of Stephen Kings work. Just wait until you catch one of his rants using the word "cunt" in it. That'll really bake your bananas. :tongue

Shadow_Ferret · May 27, 2008

James81 said:
Hold the phone here...

Good guys can't drop f-bombs and be sexually frustrated?

No.

James81 · May 27, 2008

Shadow_Ferret said:
No.

Cool. Thanks for clearing that up.

Deleted member 42 · May 27, 2008

I'm only just now reading Stephen King's novels--I read Carrie in the back of music class ages and ages ago--so this is interesting. Right now I'm reading Dead Zone, but I've got a reading list and regimen of others after that.

maestrowork · May 27, 2008

Spook said:
Although he's a talented writer and has great story lines, he's a bit longwinded for me.

Same feeling here. It seems rather difficult for me to actually finish reading his books, no matter how interesting the plots are. I don't know why.

Matera the Mad · May 27, 2008

I'm just not the -- erm -- common denominator he writes to.

Liam Jackson · May 27, 2008

James81 said:
Hold the phone here...

Good guys can't drop f-bombs and be sexually frustrated?

yes

triceretops · May 27, 2008

Uh, it was not the good guy (protag) talked about here dropping the F-bomb and being sexual frustrated. According to the OP is was the "antag", so that would more than likely fit.

Just saying.

And oh, yeah. I find King very entertaining, but profusely bloated. I call him Mr. Run-On. Not technically, but just for the way he extrapolates beyond my willingness to hang with the story past the point of sheer tedium. I do admire his vivid skill at characterization. He has a familiar buddy-buddy style that draws me into his people. Not all of the time, but most of it.

Tri

Vincent · May 28, 2008

triceretops said:
U

And oh, yeah. I find King very entertaining, but profusely bloated. I call him Mr. Run-On. Not technically, but just for the way he extrapolates beyond my willingness to hang with the story past the point of sheer tedium. I do admire his vivid skill at characterization. He has a familiar buddy-buddy style that draws me into his people. Not all of the time, but most of it.

Tri

Yes, what I most admire about King's writing is his characters. Even a throw-away see once never again character can be fascinating.

maestrowork · May 28, 2008

James81 said:
Hold the phone here...

Good guys can't drop f-bombs and be sexually frustrated?

Shadow_Ferret said:
No.

Liam Jackson said:
yes

You're all very confusing.

Ray, trying to find himself again

cletus · May 28, 2008

maestrowork said:
Ray, trying to find himself again

Try looking under a bridge.

Elodie-Caroline · May 28, 2008

I had been an avid Stephen King reader since the mid 1970s. I haven't read Bag of bones, as I gave him up in the early 1990s because he was getting boring to me by then. But, Stephen King has always written bad language, violence, weird and bad people etc., in his books, because that is what he writes. Some of his stories and the people in them are still brilliant to me.
I honestly can't believe, that someone could pick up a S.K book and be surprised or horrified by it, as that is just what he does and always has done.

Elodie

JimmyB27 · May 28, 2008

Elodie-Caroline said:
I honestly can't believe, that someone could pick up a S.K book and be surprised or horrified by it, as that is just what he does and always has done.

But how would you know that if it's the first of his books you've read?

KTC · May 28, 2008

I am constantly amazed by King's skill at character. Reading his books has always felt like a character workshop for me. Bag of Bones stands out as one King book I didn't particularly like.

johnnysannie · May 28, 2008

I've read Stephen King since I was a teenager. I don't care for his more recent work - like Cell - at all. But Bag of Bones remains one of my favorites and I am, in fact, re-reading it now. I started it last night after rotating some of my many paperback books around and still find it very enjoyable.

I don't have a problem with Mike Noonan being a good guy who drops the "F" bomb. In the real world outside novels, good guys - some of them - do.

I've never felt insulted by Noonan's comments on "poor mothering skills" even as a mother since I never let a three year old run down the middle of a busy road on the Fourth of July. If you read farther into the book, I think you'll find that Noonan finds Mattie anything but a poor mother.

It must just be you

but there are few if any novels that have a broad, total appeal to everyone.

James81 · May 28, 2008

JimmyB27 said:
But how would you know that if it's the first of his books you've read?

It's not like he's some sort of unknown author here. We're talking about Stephen King, who is pretty much a STAPLE in our society for weird, violent, and cursing.

Elodie-Caroline · May 28, 2008

Yep, and then there's all of the films based on his books; I can't think of one that doesn't have the f-word or violence of some sort in it.

James81 said:
It's not like he's some sort of unknown author here. We're talking about Stephen King, who is pretty much a STAPLE in our society for weird, violent, and cursing.

DWSTXS · May 28, 2008

Quote:
Originally Posted by James81
Hold the phone here...

Good guys can't drop f-bombs and be sexually frustrated?

No.
__________________

well then, I guess I am a bad guy then.

F***!

Southern_girl29 · May 28, 2008

Bag of Bones is probably one of my favorite King books. I love the character of Mike Noonan because he is so conflicted. He's a good guy who might have to do a bad thing. His comments on parenting don't really bother me, because I agreed with a lot of it.

Paichka · May 29, 2008

I LOVE Bag of Bones. It's probably my favorite of his books, honestly. (Well, aside from The Stand, which is the book by which all other books are judged

)

The funny thing is, I HATED it when I first picked it up. I think I was...oh, 14 or 15, and I was already an avid SK reader -- it wasn't LIKE his other books, and I kept thinking, "Hold the phone, why hasn't anyone DIED yet?"

But I tried again when I was in college, and now it's one of my go-to books when I want to read something awesome.

But he's not for everyone -- he's bloated, his prose goes extremely purple at times, he goes on these long-winded digressions that MY beta would slice through in a heartbeat with her magic red pen, and a lot of times his nutty digressions don't really add anything to the story except window-dressing. I wouldn't change a thing about him, though -- I love it all. Every curse word, every f-bomb, every random foray into some random dude's psychological state.

My goal in life is for him to read one of MY books or short stories and say, "Dude, I thought that was brilliant." Well, him and Neil Gaiman.

Kate Thornton · May 29, 2008

I am always surprised and delighted at Stephen King. Always something different, always with the same human elements, nostalgia, childhood remnants and a repetitive mantra somewhere.

I liked BoB so much that I read it in one night - stayed up until dawn. But I have to say that Duma Key has affected me more than any other of his works.

ChimeraCreative · May 29, 2008

I find his work kinda dull. After reading On Writing, I have a handle on why I don't like his stuff, why I find it dry and not engaging. I also think he reuses the same characters but with different names for his books (opinion). Bag of Bones wasn't one of the better books of his either (but it still kicks the crap outta Rose Madder). ^_^

-An

Thrillride · May 29, 2008

Southern_girl29 said:
Bag of Bones is probably one of my favorite King books. I love the character of Mike Noonan because he is so conflicted. He's a good guy who might have to do a bad thing. His comments on parenting don't really bother me, because I agreed with a lot of it.

Bag of Bones was one of my favorites.

As far as the character traits you don't like in his protag, well...that's his character. You may not believe in swatting a kid, but that character does. I don't think the specific traits are as important to me as long as the character intrigues me. Look at Hannibal Lecter. He may be one of the most fascinating characters of all time - certainly right up there. Not a very nice guy - probably spanks kids...wait, maybe not, probably some kind of mental abuse is more his style.

Anyway, I don't care for S.K.s new stuff...just too drawn out for me, but he is brilliant.

I loved Gerald's Game, too. Not very many writers can have a story that takes place with a lone character (tied up, even) in one room and hold your attention for every page. That's talent.

A lot of his books I couldn't get into, but some were incredible. The Shawshank Redemption, The Green Mile, The Long Walk...

There is a definate audience for his work. It can offend delicate sensibilities. I know people who won't read what I write (fiction - wise). I kill things...I am not as crass, but just as violent. What can I tell ya?

Elodie-Caroline · May 29, 2008

Shawshank Redemption was my favourite story of all, right back from the very early 1980s, when it was in the four story novel, Different Seasons.
The dead zone and Christine are also two of my favourites of S.Ks.
I got bored with, Talisman, and stopped reading S.K. I still love some of the films done of his later books; Delores Clairborne, Misery etc. I don't like Dreamcatcher though, it's too sci fi for me, although I do like the bit where matey keeps all his thoughts etc., in a library inside his head.

Elodie

Bag of Bones insulting?

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