Skip to main content

Thinner by Richard Bachman (Stephen King)

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers)
Billy Halleck has a good life- great income, large house in a nice neighborhood, happy teen daughter, loving wife. And he has grown "comfortable" around the waist (spare tire). His doctor warns of entering heart attack territory, but he's not putting any serious effort into taking care of himself. One ride home on one afternoon changes everything, and Billy ends up thinner- much thinner.

Category
Thriller

Why I chose this book
I'm a closet Stephen King fan. I like to feel the thrill of the thought, "Is this horrific thing actually possible?!?" I say "closet" fan, because I'm not supposed to like this kind book. He's a potty-mouth (uses foul language) and quite often some "adult" themes, and this book is no different. But sometimes some of King's novels end up relatively clean.

My personal opinion (the review)
I give it an F for my review, for language alone. I didn't even finish a novel previously for that very reason, but I give Stephen King a bit of slack in that one area. Several of his stories are really good and not too bad in language, so I was hoping this would turn out that way. It didn't.
The language was awful, there were "adult" situations, and the end will make you scream, "Oh, no!" But I don't take away any points for an unhappy ending- it's a thriller/horror! You know what you're getting into here- you get horror, not happy endings.
If you hate "bad" endings, then steer clear of this one. If you block out the language and if you don't mind an unhappy ending, then this one's okay. Not amazing, but okay.

Warnings
Language - rampant
Violence - some, but pretty minor
Adult situations - several, not graphic
Death - yes, and of major characters

Movie rating equivalent
R, at least. King uses the F-word like Billy uses butter on his bread

Protagonist description
Billy is a good man, and has a strong ability to measure people up, to hear what they're not really saying, or what they're thinking. It leads to funny, internal, virtual dialogues. He's just trying to make a good life for himself and his family.

Point of view of story
Third, focused on Billy

Book length
Long, more than a week

Story flow
Excellent, no dragging parts. Typical Stephen King

Grammar and spelling issues
Some misspellings

Character connection (no spoilers)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Tap the Magic Tree by Christie Matheson

By
Summary: Every book needs you to turn the pages. But not every book needs you to tap it, shake it, jiggle it, or even blow it a kiss. Innovative and timeless, Tap the Magic Tree asks you to help one lonely tree change with the seasons. It begins with a bare brown tree. But tap that tree, turn the page, and one bright green leaf has sprouted! Tap again—one, two, three, four—and four more leaves have grown on the next page. Pat, clap, wiggle, jiggle, and see blossoms bloom, apples grow, and the leaves swirl away with the autumn breeze. (Amazon) Attention Span/reading level: Perfect for my three year old. I would say that ages 2-10 would really enjoy something like this. It really keeps kids engaged and makes them feel like part of the story. There is one word to one sentence per page. Good uses for book in teaching: Interaction, that the reader takes part in making the story, what a tree can do (leaves, blossoms, fruit) Favorite part:      Child: The fact that ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Balancing Act by Ellen Stoll Walsh

By
Summary: Two mice make a teeter totter. Soon a frog comes along and wants to join. Can the mice balance all the friends who want to play with them? Attention Span/reading level: 3-6 years old, usually 5 or less words on a page Good uses for book in teaching: Balance, science Favorite part:      Child: When the frog joins in     Mine: That the mice keep playing at the end  Least favorite part: None:   W arnings/negative feedback: None.  Review: This is a really simple but fun way to introduce the idea of balancing and weight to kids. It's fun to show them how it must be equal on each side to balance. Showing that size can affect weight is shown on the page where all the animals are on one side with the big bird on the other. This could be a fun activity to replicate with toys if doing a science lesson at home. 
Post a Comment
Read more

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

By
Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Vin relies on her fighting skills, and a little extra "luck" to survive in the thief's world. Then comes Kelsier, a master thief and planner, showing her that what she calls luck is really much more. Kelsier and his crew plan to use a variety of special powers to free an entire population of slaves, including themselves, from tyranny. But, as always, there's far more to the story. Category Science Fiction or Fantasy Why I chose this book Rated highly on the library site My personal opinion (the review) Definitely the best story I've read in the past year. I'm really looking forward to the next book in the series. Special abilities, fighting, romance, social justice - this has it all. And not a single bad word or uncomfortable situation. Warnings Language: None Violence: frequent, some mildly graphic "Adult" situations: None Death: Some, and of major characters Movie rating equivalent PG-13 Protagon...
Post a Comment
Read more