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Stephen King

At some point in his career, Stephen King took a teaching stint that necessitated moving to a new house.

The house marched up to an unusually busy street. Large trucks raced down the street; this area was so dangerous, pet-deaths were commonplace. Local children had redesigned a certain patch of land as a pet cemetery, and then they put up a sign, with little-kid spelling: "Pet Sematary."

Discovery is looking at the same old materials available to literally everyone--and then seeing something new.

Stephen King took his unusually-disturbing new town, and he took a memory of "The Monkey's Paw" (I think), and he made "Pet Sematary." (Remember "The Monkey's Paw"? It's about bringing a child back from the dead. It's a be-careful-what-you-wish-for scenario.)

King is celebrated for his character development, and you can see why, in "Pet Sematary." As a young-ish father, I can understand the protagonist, Louis, at his core. Louis has great fondness for his life, but also sometimes silently considers screaming in frustration. The car breaks down as plates crack in a mover's box as the older child shrieks about a bee sting. A little girl dreads going to Kindergarten at a new school, but comes home chatty and delighted, because "they do WHEELS ON THE BUS here, too, and it's the same version we did in Chicago!!!"

What a pleasure to read someone so lively and alert on the subject of ordinary life--and to know that unspeakable horrors are around the corner.

Also, it's worth visiting the NY Times, which has a useful essay on King's career right now. The critic--a real enthusiast--spotlights "Pet Sematary," as well as "Different Seasons," "Misery," "From a Buick 8," "Salem's Lot," "The Outsider," "The Stand," and a few others. I suddenly sense my summer-reading list is taking shape.....

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/05/04/arts/best-stephen-king-books.html

P.S. Very happy to see Daniel Radcliffe's statement against J.K. Rowling this week. Keep going, Mr. Radcliffe!
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