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A review by alexandrabree
Holly by Stephen King
2.0
Writing this review breaks my heart.
I have read every single book that Stephen King has ever put out, and the only one I didn't like was Tommyknockers and after a begrudging reread I had to admit that while it was certainly not his best, it was over mediocre.
If we skip any political opinions, we are left with 50 pages of cat and mouse between cannibals and Holly. Along with a battle of wills between extreme carnivors and a vegan girl?
This is one the first book that made me really question King's state of mind, this is the man who also wrote Julia Shumway, republican, in Under the Dome and many books that without detailed combing you wouldn't even notice the politics. Others there was a political slant, leaning classic left. But in this book, King's, perhaps age, is showing? he is 76, and he was an alcoholic and an addict from 1965-1991, which is give or take a year, maybe two of sobriety in between the better part of 26 years. King has readily stated that previously, his demons were so intense that he wrote entire books he doesn't remember and has likely forgotten years of his life. While your brain likely looks more like a brain than swiss cheese. I am sure there was some permanent damage done.
I had hoped around chapter 21 after the pretty decent opening segment that we had addressed the COVID, I got the point, we wear masks, N95 masks, we get vaccines 1,2,boost, booster, yearly, we support the team! 6 feet apart is good, 12 feet apart is better, and Zoom is best. Don't touch, elbow bump, flu, death, mega, Trump was president, the possibility of his return! 2024!
One thing King forgot in his mania was to mention Holly's OCD and many signature traits that made her so loveable in her previous books. Was she only a Covid mania victim? Is she still smoking? It is insanity (literally) writ large. I am seriously questioning if there is even a story hidden in the middle of everything. Spoiler here, there really isn't. It was tedious work to pick up the thread
If King wanted to alienate half his American audience, lower is global popularity and frustrate and disappoint even his most loyal fans. Mission accomplished... I honestly could cry. I do feel like King was very sincere in everything he wrote. This is how his mind now functions. I am left thinking of my grandfather-in-law, who became fixated in his old age that his house was growing? and that all the rooms were just getting bigger and bigger all the time. It is the same kind of sad, focused, illogical paranoia illustrated in these pages.
While I made the decision to finish the book, I ended up returning it to the store, I literally don't want it on my shelves.
I have read every single book that Stephen King has ever put out, and the only one I didn't like was Tommyknockers and after a begrudging reread I had to admit that while it was certainly not his best, it was over mediocre.
If we skip any political opinions, we are left with 50 pages of cat and mouse between cannibals and Holly. Along with a battle of wills between extreme carnivors and a vegan girl?
This is one the first book that made me really question King's state of mind, this is the man who also wrote Julia Shumway, republican, in Under the Dome and many books that without detailed combing you wouldn't even notice the politics. Others there was a political slant, leaning classic left. But in this book, King's, perhaps age, is showing? he is 76, and he was an alcoholic and an addict from 1965-1991, which is give or take a year, maybe two of sobriety in between the better part of 26 years. King has readily stated that previously, his demons were so intense that he wrote entire books he doesn't remember and has likely forgotten years of his life. While your brain likely looks more like a brain than swiss cheese. I am sure there was some permanent damage done.
I had hoped around chapter 21 after the pretty decent opening segment that we had addressed the COVID, I got the point, we wear masks, N95 masks, we get vaccines 1,2,boost, booster, yearly, we support the team! 6 feet apart is good, 12 feet apart is better, and Zoom is best. Don't touch, elbow bump, flu, death, mega, Trump was president, the possibility of his return! 2024!
One thing King forgot in his mania was to mention Holly's OCD and many signature traits that made her so loveable in her previous books. Was she only a Covid mania victim? Is she still smoking? It is insanity (literally) writ large. I am seriously questioning if there is even a story hidden in the middle of everything. Spoiler here, there really isn't. It was tedious work to pick up the thread
If King wanted to alienate half his American audience, lower is global popularity and frustrate and disappoint even his most loyal fans. Mission accomplished... I honestly could cry. I do feel like King was very sincere in everything he wrote. This is how his mind now functions. I am left thinking of my grandfather-in-law, who became fixated in his old age that his house was growing? and that all the rooms were just getting bigger and bigger all the time. It is the same kind of sad, focused, illogical paranoia illustrated in these pages.
While I made the decision to finish the book, I ended up returning it to the store, I literally don't want it on my shelves.