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Desperation
2nd Round of King Books
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Desperation- Book 37
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Angie, Constant Reader
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Apr 30, 2021 09:20PM
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The beginning was very frightening. I watched the movie some months ago, although I don't remember it well some scenes I recover from memory.
Rafael wrote: "The beginning was very frightening. I watched the movie some months ago, although I don't remember it well some scenes I recover from memory."This is one movie I have never seen.
It has Steven Weber, Annabeth Gish, Tom Skerritt and Ron Perlman as the officer.
I feel like a lot of people don't like Desperation but I remember really enjoying it and having fun reading it.
i have no idea what this one is about but I checked it out from Overdrive and will be listening to it soon.
The audiobook I got from Overdrive is read by Kathy Bates so I’m sure it’s gonna be good.
Glad to see and to perceive a reference to another of his book. I am anxious to know why the officer is doing all of this and what the wolves mean.
Hi Fellow King Readers,I have finished reading the current book - "Desperation" and posted my review in the following link:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
I look forward to this month's discussion of this books as others complete their own reading.
Best wishes everyone and enjoy,
Scott.
Scott wrote: "Hi Fellow King Readers,I have finished reading the current book - "Desperation" and posted my review in the following link:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"
Another great review Scott. Thanks. Also I agree, this book seemed like a total gross out, and I really didn't care must about the characters. It's at the bottom of my list.
Nick wrote: "Scott wrote: "Hi Fellow King Readers,I have finished reading the current book - "Desperation" and posted my review in the following link:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......"
I remember really liking Cynthia.
I’ve been trying to figure out if Cynthia was in Rose Madder. It mentions she came from a shelter after the lady that ran it died. But I can’t recall.
Nick wrote: "Scott wrote: "Hi Fellow King Readers,I have finished reading the current book - "Desperation" and posted my review in the following link:
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show......" I can understand your feelings. This is a tough book to love. the last two-thirds to half of the book is such a struggle in many ways... On to the next one...
Latasha wrote: "I’ve been trying to figure out if Cynthia was in Rose Madder. It mentions she came from a shelter after the lady that ran it died. But I can’t recall." And the answer I believe is... Yes, you are correct.
I finished it. I thought it was just ok.
Maybe you'll like The Regulators more....
Finished. I liked. It's a King book, of course.I have a question: is there some chance that David has the shining? If it is discussed somewhere I don't saw it in the book. Maybe he was not talking with God, but with someone else?
Why the number 5 is so important in this book? It has 5 Parts, each one divided in 5 chapters (except the Part V that is only divided in 5 sections.), and each chapter is divided in 5 sections.
Ohh! Those are good questions!
Rafael wrote: "Finished. I liked. It's a King book, of course.I have a question: is there some chance that David has the shining? If it is discussed somewhere I don't saw it in the book. Maybe he was not talkin..."
I think David DEFINITELY has "the shining", and it's just that he doesn't have the same ways to think and talk about it that Dick Hallorann and Danny Torrance did, so he "reads" contact with God into the shining-experiences he has in the book.
The number five: VERY interesting; I couldn't find much to illuminate this, although I'm surprised I haven't seen it come up before. For what it's worth, there are a few other connections to "five" in Desperation. Most importantly: The three Carvers, Mary Jackson, and Johnny Marinville form a fivesome that constitute the human counterforce to the Tak-creature Entragian. And there are also Marinville's five commandments. But beyond that, who knows? I can't imagine King was unaware of this, right? So it pretty much had to be deliberate.
If he was unaware of this it must be unconscious for him. If someday I met him I will ask him.
Rafael wrote: "is there some chance that David has the shining? If it is discussed somewhere I don't saw it in the book. Maybe he was not talking with God, but with someone else?"Maybe, but his experiences go beyond talking with someone else:
Miracle 1: (view spoiler)
Miracle 2: (view spoiler)
Miracle 3: (view spoiler)
Miracle 4: (view spoiler)
Now, does this mean he does not shine? Not necessarily. Perhaps it was his shining that opened up this conduit and line of communication with God.
The first could be a coincidence. I still don't get the unlikelihood of the second miracle. The third and the fourth could have had a good explanation but as the story is told by the characters impressions is hard to analise them.
Rafael wrote: "The first could be a coincidence. I still don't get the unlikelihood of the second miracle. The third and the fourth could have had a good explanation but as the story is told by the characters imp..."For the second one, (view spoiler)
Oh, ok. Thank you for explaining it.
Michael wrote: "Rafael wrote: "The first could be a coincidence. I still don't get the unlikelihood of the second miracle. The third and the fourth could have had a good explanation but as the story is told by the..."I think even the second can be explained. People often look for and see miracles where they do not exist.
Since King has said himself he is not religious, I feel he may have written these miracles as seeming to be so to David, but not really. Or, some unexplained force for good, not necessarily a Christian God, helped.
Michael wrote: "I really wanted to give God his due in this book. So often, in novels of the supernatural, God is a sort of Kryptonite substance, or like holy water to a vampire. You just bring on God, and you say ‘in his name,’ and the evil thing disappears. But God as a real force in human lives is a lot more complex than that. And I wanted to say that in Desperation. God doesn’t always let the good guys win."Great quote!
Kandice wrote: "I think even the second can be explained. People often look for and see miracles where they do not exist."
Indeed.
King's mythology is not organized as a traditional mythology. In Traditional mythology, sometimes, people know what they are facing, If is a specific god or a specific being, but as King develops his mythology he makes us feel in despair because we don't know what to expect. It would be like in real world. And this approach is different from the traditional stories. Is God or the Devil, simple, but King don't play like this. This could explain the miracles, probably there's no only god, and even the Only God is not a single being. When people get a act of god it could be an act of a supernatural being, intentional or not, derived from a prayer or not. We will never know.
I've read this book three times, disliked it every time, but never even considered the theological implications that you guys are talking about. And with 16 years of Catholic schooling under my belt, you'd think I would have. I'm at a loss to comment on your discussion, but I do find it fascinating. I did appreciate the fact that King decided to believe in God, and looked for interpretations of that fact in all his works. But the storyline and the underlying subtext you're talking about just missed me.
I've read about King's beliefs and the quotes you guys posted, but had forgotten the one about King saying he wanted to give God his due in this book. Makes sense, but what I was trying to convey is that most people think "God" has to be the Christian version. I don't think that is necessarily true, even in this book. God can be any Supreme Being. I'm also sure that any Supreme Being doesn't really care what we call it.
Kandice wrote: "I've read about King's beliefs and the quotes you guys posted, but had forgotten the one about King saying he wanted to give God his due in this book. Makes sense, but what I was trying to convey i..."Amen.
