Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband, Scott, two years ago, after a twenty-five-year marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, bestselling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey had to learn from him about books and blood and bools. Later, she understood that there was a place Scott went -- a place that both terrified and healed him, that could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it's Lisey's turn to face Scott's demons, Lisey's turn to go to Boo'ya Moon. What begins as a widow's effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited. Perhaps King's most personal and powerful novel, Lisey's Story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love.
Since his first novel was published in 1974, Stephen King has stretched the boundaries of the written word, not only bringing horror to new heights, but trying his hand at nearly every possible genre, including children's books, graphic novels, serial novels, literary fiction, nonfiction, westerns, fantasy, and even e-books (remember The Plant?). With Lisey's Story, once again King is trying something different. Lisey's Story is as much a romance as it is a supernatural thriller--but don't let us convince you. Who better to tell readers if King has written a romantic thriller than Nora Roberts? We asked Nora to read Lisey's Story and give us her take. Check out her review below. --Daphne Durham
Guest Reviewer: Nora Roberts Nora Roberts, who also writes under the pseudonym J.D. Robb, is the author of way too many bestselling books to name here (over 150!), but some of our favorites include: Angels Fall, Born in Death, Blue Smoke, and The Reef. Stephen King hooked me about three decades ago with that sharply faceted, blood-stained jewel, The Shining. Through the years he's bumped my gooses with kiddie vampires, tingled my spine with beloved pets gone rabid, justified my personal fear of clowns and made me think twice about my cell phone. I've always considered The Stand--a long-time favorite--a towering tour de force, and have owed its author a debt as this was the first novel I could convince my older son to read from cover to cover.
But with Lisey's Story, King has accomplished one more feat. He broke my heart.
Lisey's Story is, at its core, a love story--heart-wrenching, passionate, terrifying and tender. It is the multi-layered and expertly crafted tale of a twenty-five year marriage, and a widow's journey through grief, through discovery and--this is King, after all--through a nightmare scape of the ordinary and extraordinary. Through Lisey's mind and heart, the reader is pulled into the intimacies of her marriage to bestselling novelist Scott Landon, and through her we come to know this complicated, troubled and heroic man.
Two years after his death, Lisey sorts through her husband's papers and her own shrouded memories. Following the clues Scott left her and her own instincts, she embarks on a journey that risks both her life and her sanity. She will face Scott's demons as well as her own, traveling into the past and into Boo'ya Moon, the seductive and terrifying world he'd shown her. There lives the power to heal, and the power to destroy.
Lisey Landon is a richly wrought character of charm and complexity, of realized inner strength and redoubtable humor. As the central figure she drives the story, and the story is so vividly textured, the reader will draw in the perfumed air of Boo'ya Moon, will see the sunlight flood through the windows of the Scott's studio--or the night press against them. Her voice will be clear in your ear as you experience the fear and the wonder. If your heart doesn't hitch at the demons she faces in this world and the other, if it doesn't thrill at her courage and endurance, you're going to need to check with a cardiologist, first chance.
Lisey's Story is bright and brilliant. It's dark and desperate. While I'll always consider The Shining, my first ride on King's wild Tilt-A-Whirl, a gorgeous, bloody jewel, I found, on this latest ride, a treasure box heaped with dazzling gems.
A few of them have sharp, hungry teeth. --Nora Roberts
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
How many ways are there to say it differently?:
King brings the horror to your homes, ladies. (and gentlemen) This is the type of book my wife avoids as her OWN imagination is bad enough. She can imagine the WORST possible scenarios to kidnapping, assault, abduction or home invasion but King is, of course, king. Unsettling and a bit monstrous, the title is a subterfuge to relax the reader before the hammer falls. (or axe, or blade...)
Longtime King reader:
I have read almost all of King's books, and Lisey's story is one of my favorites. I think he really crosses into some great literature here. It starts out a bit slow, but gains serious momentum. I thought the backstory was the most engaging part of the story. King always does seem to have alot of backstory. In a way, I think its the "real story" in his books, with a more simple sort of "boogie man" story happening in the present. In this book, the two flow together perfectly. If you enjoy most of his books,... more info
A Rich Read:
I see many people complaining about the language. I think the use of the personal intermarriage lexicon is a further rebuttal of the modern shallow manner in which people interact just as Cell was a comment on what he deemed to be the detrimental impact of the ubiquitous gadget phone on public life. Mr King embraces characters who are in touch with visceral experiences rather than carefully packaged prefab interaction. The wry humor and worldly wisdom throughout the novel is a fitting antidote to the... more info
Lisey's A Dud:
Stephen King is the master of characterization with contemporary American characters. I read his books for that, I don't buy the supernatural part, but enjoy them anyway. Not LISEY'S STORY. Lisey is a dud. Even though she is reliving her life with her dead husband, Scott, two years after he died, she displays no other interests in her entire life BUT Scott. This is not normal or believable, and makes her irretrievably dull. King skillfully peels back petal after petal of flashbacks about their lives... more info
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