Brooding on Existential Mysteries in Stephen King’s You Like It Darker, by J. Madison Davis

Brooding on Existential Mysteries in Stephen King’s You Like It Darker, by J. Madison Davis Book Reviews [email protected] Mon, 06/24/2024 - 15:20 Photo by Shane LeonardAs I wrote in World Literature Today some years ago, the quality of Stephen King’s writing abilities are all too frequently underestimated because of his popularity and several unfortunate movies made from his work (“Thoughts on a New Grandmaster,” May 2007, 16–19). Some reviewers grudgingly admit that he is a consummate storyteller or praise his grip on the public’s taste, but often even this praise is tempered with reservations about his being a “horror writer.” Judging a book by its genre is all too common, and not just by reviewers and readers—even publishers often present a book according to the category most likely to reinforce customers’ prejudices, not for what it is. King is a legendarily prolific writer and, as he proves with You Like It Darker (Scribner, 2024), an extremely versatile one as well. At first glance, the book seems to be one of those desk-drawer-clearing books that eminent authors produce simply because they can. Short-story collections are not usually high on publishers’ commercial lists except when the author has picked up a Nobel or is practicing authorship in the beyond. Well, if You Like It Darker is one of these, it certainly indicates that there’s a lot of gold left in Mr. King’s bureau. Several of these stories are deeply... Continue reading at 'World Literature Today'

[ World Literature Today | 2024-06-24 20:20:45 UTC ]
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