picture credit: Robert Staley, http://www.paintingsilove.com/image/show/177456/mark-twainedgar-allen-poe-stephen-king
.
Stephen King's new book has hit the bestseller list. But he has some stiff competition; Mark Twain! Yes, I do know Mark Twain is dead. So is Samuel Clemens. But he has a new books out, and you might have trouble getting your grubby hands on it.
.
Julie Bosman at the New York Times writes, "The first print run of “Autobiography” was for 50,000 copies. Thomson-Shore, a small printer in Michigan that is producing the books, has been working overtime and is now producing 30,000 copies a week. To speed up delivery, the printer found bigger-than-usual trucks to carry books to warehouses in Richmond, Calif., and Ewing, N.J. — the trucks carry 10,000 copies instead of the usual 7,000." http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/20/books/20twain.html
.
No, the new Twain book does not give us even further adventures of Tom and Huck. No more stories of Yankees and King Aurthur. It is his auto biography -- published a century after his death.
.
Larry Rohter at the New York Times wrote, "Whether anguishing over American military interventions abroad or delivering jabs at Wall Street tycoons, this Twain is strikingly contemporary." http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/10/books/10twain.html
.
Why wait a hundred years to write your autobiography? Because Twain wanted to speak freely. The Daily Home gives this explanation, "The strict instruction that these texts remain unpublished for 100 years meant that when they came out, he would be "dead, and unaware, and indifferent" and therefore free to speak his "whole frank mind." http://www.dailyhome.com/view/full_story/10551453/article-Mark-Twain-s-new-bestseller?instance=home_opinion
.King And Twain
.
Obviously Twain has had a huge impact on the work of Stephen King. In particular, The Talisman comes to mind. (Hello, Jack Sawyer!) More than just making connections between the two via King's work, they also share a lack of excitement about adverbs. I know that will stir your heart! Also, both are frequent visitors to the banned books list.
.
Note this question from The Daily Home, "Who else among current authors could hope to accomplish such a feat? Could any living author be on the bestseller list in 2110? John Grisham? Stephen King? Dennis Lahane? Bob Woodward? Twain relished his celebrity and confidently ensured its longevity by dictating the publication year of his autobiography. Who among today’s celebrities will still elicit the interest of the masses when a century has passed?"
.
Will Stephen King be read a hundred years from now? I think he will. Not as much because of his story content, but because of his stories settings. that is, King will be read for the portrait of America from the 1970's to the present that his novels give us. He skillfully weaves culture and story together, giving the future a time casual while at the same time unfolding a great tale.
No comments:
Post a Comment