11.22.63 Journal #2: Derry Doesn't Welome You

I don't know how many novel's Stephen King has written.  Do you count Blockade Billy?  Why is the Mist a novella, but The Girl who Loved Tom Gordon is a novel ?  Whatever the number -- it's a lot.  In fact, King has written a whole lot of novels.  Every one of them have been entertaining.  Each novel is also practice.  Put another way, King's writing keeps getting better.

I weary of people who suggest that King's greatest novels were the first dozen.  While I enjoy those novels a lot, I think it is naive to think that King's writing has not strengthened with time and experience. 

King has said that he tried to write 11.22.63 years ago, but discovered he was not ready to take on such a monumental challenge.  The novel is different from other King novels just by the amount of research and historical data required to build the story.  What is not different is King's crisp, entertaining and often lively narration.  While the book is long, King does not belabor scenes or commit the sin of boring the reader! 

That sign from the IT mini-series ought to read "Derry Does Not Welcome You."

King skillfully weaves history and fiction.  For instance, we all know Derry is really Bangor.  But it's a messed up Bangor!  A city where a monster roams and kills little kids.  In 1/22/63 King lets us in on a side of Derry we missed in IT.  He reveals what the city and it's adults are enduring as its children are killed.  How do child murders darken a city?  Makes me think of Atlanta. 

Derry is a city where people are not just guarded, they are down right unfriendly -- suspicious. 

In his wonderful book, "Stephen King Country", George Beahm writes

"In reading King, the sense you get is that his literary landscape -- a geographic jigsaw puzzle -- is an ongoing exploration, for not only was IT set in the mythical Derry, but so is Insomnia and, most recently, Bag of Bones." (Stephen King country, p.107)

Beahm also notes:

"Equipped with a street map of Bangor, you would be able to identify on a walking or driving through much of the geography found in IT.  In addition, the references to Bangor and the greater Bangor area dot the novel's imaginative landscape."  (p.104)

Beahm then takes us on a tour of real world / fictional world linkages.  I have added notes at the end of Beahms comments to connections I spotted in 11/22/63. (Beahms list is on pages104, 106-107)  Beahm's writing is in yellow and my notes are orange. 

The Barrens:

There are several photo's of the Barrens HERE.

 "[A] messy track of land about a mile and a half wide by three miles long.  It was bounded by upper Kansas Street on one side and by old Cape on the other."  (In the novel, this is where the sewer pipes lead underground to IT's lair.) 

This is also mentioned in 11/22/63.  Where half a dozen murdered kids were discovered.  There is a grassy pic-nic area between a fence and the drop into the barrens where Jack encounters a couple of the children from IT.  This meeting is a particularly magical scene for readers of IT.

Bassey Park:

 In IT, this is the park that flanks the high school.  Real-life Bangor has a Bass Park. 

In 11/22/63, this is where the "so called" kissing bridge is.  There are a lot of carvings on the bridge, including the words, "I will kill my mother soon" and someone else has carved, "not soon enough, she's full of diseeze."

Derry Library:

For two of the Losers -- Ben Hansomb and Mike Hanlon -- this library was especially significant: It was Ben's favorite place as a child; and as a adult, it was Hanlon' place of employment.  (He also kept in its vault his manuscript, "Derry: An Unauthorized Two History."  Real-life Bangor's Public Library is situated on Harlow Street. 

In 11/22/63, Jack visits the library to try and find census records.  Also at the Derry library, Jack researched the murders that took place between 1957 and 1958.  In 2011 Jack used the Derry library system to do research online.

The Derry Mall:

 In IT, Dave Gardener had one of his Shoeboat retail stores in this mall.  Bangor has Bangor Mall, now the major shopping area of the city. 

In 11/22/63 Jack uses the cover that he is scouting for a mall.  Though he never quite says this, he just says he's there on business.

Mount Hope Cemetery:

photo credit HERE
The empty spot in the middle is where Stephen King presided over the funeral in the movie Pet Sematary

In IT, this is where George Denbrough was buried.  (Readers of Pet Sematary will probably notice that this was where Gage Creed was buried.)  In Bangor, the Mount Hope Cemetery is where, for the film version of Pet Sematary, Stephen King, as a minister, presided over Creed's funeral at this real life cemetery in Bangor. 

In 11/22/63 the Cemetery is Longview -- where Frank Dunning visits his parents grave, and where some sweet justice is delivered.

The Standpipe:

 A prominent landmark in Derry, a water tower that holds almost two million gallons. Real-life Bangor's Standpipe, on top of a hill, is one of its most prominent landmarks, towering over the city. 

In 11/22/63 there are decorative pillows with the Standpipe embroidered in gold thread on them.


The Paul Bunyan statue

The statue is mentioned in 11/22/63 -- small replica's are sold in Benton's drug store.

The University of Maine:

Two of the losers -- Bill Denbrough and Mike hanlon -- graduated from here. . . Stephen and Tabitha King -- and Stephen's childhood friend Chris Chesley -- are graduates of this university. 

In 11/22/63 the narrator, Jack Epping has a B.S. from the University of Maine. He also says that Carolyn Poulin went to the University of Maine as a Business major. Frank Dunning seems to have a sweet spot for the school. It was his school of choice, but he got a girl pregnant and life took other turns. Dunning also took his kids to the football game at the University of Maine.

Penobscot County & River

Fictinal Derry as well as real-life Bangor are located in this county.  Penobscot River: The sewers in Derry empty into the Penobscot; running east-west, it bisects Bangor and Brewer.

St. Joseph Hospital:

After she broke her leg in a car crash, Cheryl Tarrent was taken here.  In reality, located in Bangor.

West Broadway:

The street in Derry known for its mansions and Bangor's most famous street historically, where the lumber barons at the turn of the century made their homes. The King's home is on West Broadway. 
Also:

• Shawshank (fictional): A Maine prison where an Air Force colonel is sent after getting Cheryl Lamonica pregnant.  (This is also where Andy Dufresne was incarcerated, in "Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption.")  In 11/22/63, Harry's dad was sent to Shawshank, and died of stomach poisoning.  There are about 3 references to this prison in the novel.
• The Viking Press: The publishing house in New York City where Bill Denbrough submitted his first novel, a horror story about ghosts.  before King defected to Scribner, he was published in hardcover by Viking.  There is no mention of the Viking Press in 11/22/63.  What a surprise!
• The Frati Brothers Pawnshop: In the novel, this store was replaced in 985 by a Trustworthy Hardware Store. In Bangor, not far from Betts Bookstore, you'll find the Frati Brothers Pawnshop.  In 11/22/63 it is called "Chaz Frati's Mermaid Pawn & Loan."  I was unable to locate this.

Other places in 11/22/63 that I don't think are actually in Bangor:

• Machen Sporting Goods.
• Derry Townhouse.
• The Lamlighter (a bar and grill.)
• The Center Street Market

George Beahms book "Stephen King Country" can be purchased HERE.