Finished: February 24, 2023
Why I read this
Whenever a new Stephen King book is released there is always a lot of hype about it in the media since he is just such a famous writer. So, when this book was released last year I saw it everywhere, and since Stephen King is one of my favorite writers I thought that I would have to like it.
What I learned
One thing I really enjoyed about this book was the constant focus that in each of us there is some good and some bad. Charlie states many times things along the lines of “I wish I could say I did it for X or Y reason, but honestly I just did it because I wanted to”. This depth of a character that they can do things that are normally considered bad, or evil, and yet still be a character that is good at heart was really a nice touch to the story.
Another aspect of the book that I found interesting was the impermanence of the changes. It was underlined multiple times that we cannot live in a fantasy world, and our fantasies cannot live in our world. How this can be extrapolated into our daily lives is an interesting question. Once a fantasy becomes a reality is it permanently out of reach? If for example you achieve all your goals as the hero, are you then doomed to become a no one because there is no longer a mission?
What I didn’t like
For me, this was not one of the best from King. Overall, the story was fine, but it felt dry and unengaging for me. I know it was done on purpose, but the heavy reliance of clichés and fairy tale tropes was a bit too much for me. It made the book feel a bit childish even though there were some extremely dark and adult moments. Moreover, I felt it followed a bit too much of the King formula that I’ve seen a lot now that I am pretty familiar with his works. Young person is introduced where things are going well, young person is exposed to supernatural events, young person overcomes all challenges through force of will, young person saves the day and they live happily ever after. I just feel this story is a bit played out, and that in some of his more original plots his stories are much more interesting (Billy Summers, Rage, The Stand, etc.).
Questions I asked
If we discovered another world such as Empis as a society would we be destined to exploit it, or could we live in Harmony with it?
If there was a way to live longer such as the sundial what would be the price you would pay to use it?
Relating to questions in Ender’s game, if Charlie has won his fights more decisively (killing Paulie, killing the gnome), would he have ended up better off?
My Favorite Quote
“Sometimes the most horrible things are what give us strength.”
Charlie Reid
Books I liked like this one
The Dark Tower (series): Stephen King (For a more engaging dark fantasy story)
Firestarter: Stephen King (For a similar story with more personality)
Book Reviews for Mom 