Pet Sematary

by Stephen King

Genres: Horror

Audio Cassette

Published February 1, 2001

About the author

Stephen Edwin King was born the second son of Donald and Nellie Ruth Pillsbury King. After his father left them when Stephen was two, he and his older brother, David, were raised by his mother. Parts of his childhood were spent in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where his father's family was at the time, and in Stratford, Connecticut. When Stephen was eleven, his mother brought her children back to Durham, Maine, for good. Her parents, Guy and Nellie Pillsbury, had become incapacitated with old age, and Ruth King was persuaded by her sisters to take over the physical care of them. Other family members provided a small house in Durham and financial support. After Stephen's grandparents passed away, Mrs. King found work in the kitchens of Pineland, a nearby residential facility for the mentally challenged.

Stephen attended the grammar school in Durham and Lisbon Falls High School, graduating in 1966. From his sophomore year at the University of Maine at Orono, he wrote a weekly column for the school newspaper, THE MAINE CAMPUS. He was also active in student politics, serving as a member of the Student Senate. He came to support the anti-war movement on the Orono campus, arriving at his stance from a conservative view that the war in Vietnam was unconstitutional. He graduated in 1970, with a B.A. in English and qualified to teach on the high school level. A draft board examination immediately post-graduation found him 4-F on grounds of high blood pressure, limited vision, flat feet, and punctured eardrums.

He met Tabitha Spruce in the stacks of the Fogler Library at the University, where they both worked as students; they married in January of 1971. As Stephen was unable to find placement as a teacher immediately, the Kings lived on his earnings as a laborer at an industrial laundry, and her student loan and savings, with an occasional boost from a short story sale to men's magazines.

Stephen made his first professional short story sale ("The Glass Floor") to Startling Mystery Stories in 1967. Throughout the early years of his marriage, he continued to sell stories to men's magazines. Many were gathered into the Night Shift collection or appeared in other anthologies.

In the fall of 1971, Stephen began teaching English at Hampden Academy, the public high school in Hampden, Maine. Writing in the evenings and on the weekends, he continued to produce short stories and to work on novels.

Reviews

[Olivia Zackrisson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vet inte hur jag ska recensera. Den va spännande och läskig på slutet! Men det är en skräckis från 80-talet liksom fattar att den va toppen då men känns inte som en wow-upplevelse direkt

[Niar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ini tuh buku karya beliau yang pertama kali aku baca. Sebebnernya udah tertarik dari lama buat baca karya-karya beliau, tapi sebenernya aku kurang suka sama cerita horor ala barat, soalnya gak begitu nyeremin, gak ada hantunya. Cerita horor ala barat tuh biasanya lebih ke 'ngeri' yaa.. dari pada 'menyeramkan', makanya aku kurang suka. Yaa tapi aku juga kurang suka sama genre horor sih >.<
Buku ini tuh alurnya lambaaatt banget, pantesan ada 300+ halaman. Hal yang aku suka dari buku ini tuh ada satirnya, dan deskripsi tentang perasaan yang dialami tokoh utamanya tuh detail banget. Bikin aku bisa ngerasain gimana 'ngeri' dan 'takut' nya si tokoh utama. Dan deskripsiinnya itu looh, tepat banget! Apalagi mengenai 'kematian' dan buat apa acara setelah 'pemakaman' orang yang meninggal tuh.
Jujur, aku kurang suka sama akhir ceritanya, rasanya kayak kurang puas. Ibarat makanan, kayak makan bakso tapi kurang gurih. Mungkin karena aku menolak ide si tokoh utama di akhir yaa.. makanya kurang ngerasa puas. Tapi buku ini bagus buat nemenin bulan November yang 'spooky-spooky' gimanaaa gitu.

[Hoshi Literature Club · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wasn't sure what I was getting into when I began this book. It was a very, very slow build-up, but it takes a build-up like this to reach an ending it had.

I really enjoyed this book, despite waiting for what felt like forever for "something" to happen. Its stories such as this are about the journey it takes you on, but the ending is where the real intensity lies.

I loved the character building in this novel. The characters felt real and believable. Jud felt like an old, caring relative to me, and his character brought me a lot of comfort. There is a lot of tragedy with moments of friendship sprinkled in.

... maybe I'll play a hand or two of solitaire. I might beware of the Queen of Spades, however.


"You think you are screaming, but it's only the sound of the loons, down south, in Prospect. The sound carries. It's funny."

[Ala Pona · Rating 4 out of 5]

My FIRST EVER Stephen King book! I absolutely loved this full circle story and the themes that it tackles. Don't get me wrong, a lot of the parts were unsettling, creepy, and not fun to read but it was SO captivating! I love the concept. The horror genre in general loves to play off grief and the emotions that come with that but this book stood out to me as more unique than that. A breeze to read through and I can't wait to read my next book by him. I'm just nervous I may have started with one of the best ones! We shall see..

[Annie Nikolaus · Rating 3 out of 5]

The build up of this book was long, almost too long. All of the action takes place in the last 100 pages, leaving the ending feeling a bit rushed. But definitely an interesting and gruesome story line. Classic King.

[Kate Raun · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an incredible book. I haven't read much King yet, but this is one of my favourite horror stories overall. Incredible, thrilling, psychological, tragic, and horrific all at once.

[Hillary Wallace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horrifically sad and scary and traumatizing but as it’s usual with Stephen king it is well written and impossible to put down.

[Brie LeCheese · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Hey Ho, Let’s go”

Truly the king of storytelling. This wasn’t very scary but I was fully immersed in the characters and their experience. Such a long big build up but worth it.