Secret Window, Secret Garden
By Stephen King
"You stole my story." the man on the doorstep said. "You stole my story and something's got to be done about it. Right is right and fair is fair and something has to be done."
By Stephen King
"You stole my story." the man on the doorstep said. "You stole my story and something's got to be done about it. Right is right and fair is fair and something has to be done."
Why I read this book: Short story, actually. I have a soft spot for short stories, especially horror stories and while this one isn't exactly that, it's by Stephen King which is just as good. I've talked to several people about Stephen King and it's always been agreed that there is just something about the way he writes. I always feel like Stephen King knows exactly what to say to make me get the perfect picture in my head of what he is thinking. Like what he is writing is just flowing off of the pages and into my brain, bypassing all processing mechanisms and feeding right into some kind of film projector in my brain playing out exactly what he wanted me to see. I have another book of his short stories, Everything's Eventual and really enjoyed it so I wanted another. I also loved the movie Secret Window and this story is what that movie was based on, so I bought the book of short stories that contained it, Four Past Midnight, and started in on the story.
What's the story?: The story is about an author named Mort Rainey who is recently divorced from his wife and living in a summer home of theirs in Maine. He finds a man on his doorstep one day calmly enraged and accusing him of stealing and publishing his story. Mort knows this is not true, as he published the story before the man claims he wrote it, but decides to humor him and obtain an original copy of the magazine it was published in. Meanwhile, the stranger gets angrier and more violent towards Mort. However, Mort increasingly finds similarities between the stranger and many aspects of his life, leading him to think that this guy might not be a stranger at all.
What did I think about it?: Here's the problem. I watched the movie first and I LOVED it. I was hoping that they hadn't changed anything between the story and film, but they did. The ending is completely different and in fact it puts a whole new meaning to the story. And I have to admit that I liked the film a lot better. The ending is more sinister and while the book is more supernatural (not exactly a spoiler here, with Stephen King as the author), the movie is more psychological which to me is just a lot more interesting. It's more effective to me when the story involves things that could actually happen. The movie is completely possible, the story is not. Not to say that the story isn't good. I enjoyed being "inside the mind" of the character, as you can only really do in a story. The usual Stephen King elements that I love were all there; the capitalization of significant words, the occsional interruption of italized, unrelated but significant thoughts... all of the things that just make Stephen King and excellent writer. So though I didn't love the story, I did enjoy it if only for the writing style.
Would I recommend it?: For people who like Stephen King- yes. If you have somehow managed not to read any Stephen King I would start with something else. My personal favorite Stephen King work is "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" in Everything's Eventual.
What's the story?: The story is about an author named Mort Rainey who is recently divorced from his wife and living in a summer home of theirs in Maine. He finds a man on his doorstep one day calmly enraged and accusing him of stealing and publishing his story. Mort knows this is not true, as he published the story before the man claims he wrote it, but decides to humor him and obtain an original copy of the magazine it was published in. Meanwhile, the stranger gets angrier and more violent towards Mort. However, Mort increasingly finds similarities between the stranger and many aspects of his life, leading him to think that this guy might not be a stranger at all.
What did I think about it?: Here's the problem. I watched the movie first and I LOVED it. I was hoping that they hadn't changed anything between the story and film, but they did. The ending is completely different and in fact it puts a whole new meaning to the story. And I have to admit that I liked the film a lot better. The ending is more sinister and while the book is more supernatural (not exactly a spoiler here, with Stephen King as the author), the movie is more psychological which to me is just a lot more interesting. It's more effective to me when the story involves things that could actually happen. The movie is completely possible, the story is not. Not to say that the story isn't good. I enjoyed being "inside the mind" of the character, as you can only really do in a story. The usual Stephen King elements that I love were all there; the capitalization of significant words, the occsional interruption of italized, unrelated but significant thoughts... all of the things that just make Stephen King and excellent writer. So though I didn't love the story, I did enjoy it if only for the writing style.
Would I recommend it?: For people who like Stephen King- yes. If you have somehow managed not to read any Stephen King I would start with something else. My personal favorite Stephen King work is "Lunch at the Gotham Cafe" in Everything's Eventual.
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