Wow, this book is great! These are random notes thus far.
.1. Lloyd trapped in the prison. He's captured a rat for dinner. The character development of Lloyd -- via a bunny -- is fantastic.
.
2. The walking dude has been introduced. His scenes are some of the few where King backs up and shows the larger landscape. In the complete edition, he added several overview scenes. They were, in some cases, heart breaking, but brilliant as they opened the movie up. Again, much like Lucas did when he re-vamped Star Wars.
.
3. The Stand has some of the most annoying characters in King history. Herold is one of them for sure. Greasy, icky and beyond simply socially awkward. Add to that the irritating, pill popping Rita. These characters are paired with "normies" who are quite likable. The pairing is brilliant from a literary point of view because it gives the book needed tension.
.
4. This book also has some of the best characters you'll ever encounter. Nick, for one, is a wonderful addition to the story.
.
5. The Stand also gives us the very emotionally unstable -- unstable nothin'! this dude is all out off his rocker -- Trashcan Man! Again, the background story is great. It's scary how easily King puts us inside the head of a crazy man.
.
6. Larry's long trip through the Lincoln tunnel is wonderful -- and very scary. It is one of the best scenes King has ever given us.
.
7. There aren't many "couples" in this book. By that, I mean, people who started out with a spouse -- even if they are knocked off by Captain Trips. Frannie, Larry, Stu, Lloyd, Trashcan and Nick are all single. Stu was married, but his wife died before the novel began. For both Frannie and Larry, the important relationship is a parent; Franny her Father, Larry his mother. But, at least for major characters, there is no loss of a spouse as a result of Super Flu.
.
8. There also are not a lot of children filling the landscape thus far. In the unabridged edition, a child falls down a well. I do not think that is in the 1978 edition. But for the most part, children are absent.
No comments:
Post a Comment