This post will be a little different from my usual format
and is more of a stream of consciousness kind of thing.
Based on reviews and statements made by several BookTubers
who I highly regard, I chose not to read Stephen King’s Sleeping Beauties (2017) until very recently. Against this were many
comments from ordinary readers on Amazon.com. They overwhelmingly claimed the
book was very good. It had flaws of course, all works do, yet, for the most
part these comments were very positive.
How was I supposed to reconcile this preponderance of
positive comments with the statements from the reviewers whose opinions I
value? I was torn by my decision to pass on the book. I hemmed and hawed about
it for a long time; months and months, in fact. Finally, I decided to trust my
instincts and make up my own mind. I bought the book and read it.
I was happily surprised by just how much I liked it.
Even though I don’t consider myself one of King’s “Constant
Readers” (Hell, I haven’t even read IT
yet!), I do consume and enjoy a lot of his writing. Nor am I an obsessive
completist when it comes to his catalogue of works. I have stated in previous
posts however, that in my opinion, as a writer and story-teller, Stephen King
is among the best (though his endings, more often than not, leave a bit to be
desired).
I know that Stephen King is politically active on the left
and is vocal about it. However, having it be so in-your-face that it negatively
impacts the plot and storytelling is where I personally draw the line. And this
is precisely what those reviewers I regard claimed Stephen King was guilty of
in Sleeping Beauties. And yes, the
anti-male, pro-female sentiments are present, but I feel that while overt, it
wasn’t really all that bad. In fact, I was surprised by the degree to which
there were represented good men and bad women, petty men and violent women,
honorable men and psychotic women. Strength became weakness and weakness became
strength for both men and women.
The character development and the setting where the story
takes place were developed to a depth and degree common in a Stephen King
novel. Having not read any Owen King prior to Sleeping Beauties, I cannot say who wrote what or how much was written
by father versus son. I can say the melding of the two authors was excellent. I
could not tell where one stopped and the other began.
All in all, I felt that Sleeping Beauties was not a bad novel. Certainly not on par with 11/22/63; but 11/22/63 is masterpiece of the storyteller’s art, after all. It
maybe that I am just easily entertained; but this experience reaffirmed a valuable
lesson for me: consider the thoughts and opinions of those you respect, but
make up your own mind.
Good night.
