just finished ‘Lisey’s Story’ last night and I have to say I really enjoyed it!  Not at all what I expected.  It starts out as a mild-mannered tale: Lisa Landon is going thru her husbands old things, trying to sort thru it all two years after his death.  While going thru the bits of paper and photographs, she starts to reminisce about their time together. 

But this is a Stephen King story, so things are not quite as normal as they first appear. 

I really enjoyed this book.  I had tried to pick up ‘The Cell’ earlier this year and it was a bit too gruesome for me (I tend to read while eating or before bedtime, and books with zombies eating dogs just don’t work well in those two places).  I probably would have passed over ‘Lisey’s Story’ if my mom hadn’t mentioned the positive reviews that were rolling in for it.  So I figured, what the heck.  We’ll give it a spin. 

I don’t want to spoil anything, but this book reminded me of ‘The Girl who loved Tom Gordon’, another King tale from a few years back that started out very innocent and turned into something a bit strange.  But still very enjoyable! 

My only issue with ‘Lisey’s Story’ was that King was trying to write from a woman’s point-of-view, and there were a few moments that I felt he had her say or think something that felt very un-womanly to me.  I know that sounds silly.  And everyone is different, but it yanked me out of the story a couple times.  Buuut once I let that go, it was smooth sailing.

King also enjoyed his dialects in this book.  Lisey’s husband had TONS of cute little catch phrases (substituting “smuck” instead of  the “f” word, sayings like “Strap On When It Seems Appropriate, which is then shortened down to SOWISA).  He also enjoyed exaggerating the locals accents (“puffickly ha-yooge”).  Lisey is constantly commenting on the Maine accent, especially when she’s talking to the sheriff’s department.  But all of these little nuances gave the characters some depth and made them feel more real. 

King really does capture the feeling of a true, long term relationship.  Lisey doesn’t gush about her husband in the book.  Or their marriage.  She remembers the ups and downs, the times she wanted to run screaming and the times that they were together but still so very far apart.  There are some very beauitful moments in this book. 

But, if the beautiful moments don’t do it for you, there’s also a crazy person or two, “bad gunky”, and…

well, I don’t want to spoil it.  Definately worth picking up, even if you’re not a big fan of King.