The Green Mile by Stephen King
Happy Sunday! For this week’s Sundays with Stevie Giveaway and challenge, I thought I’d feature the book(s) I plan on re-reading this week.
 Buy on Amazon |
| The Green Mile – Six Volume Box SetBy: Stephen King Published by: Signet ISBN: 0451933028 Author’s Website: Recommendable for people who enjoy: |
Synopsis (from Amazon):
When Stephen King originally wrote The Green Mile as a series of six novellas, he didn’t even know how the story would turn out. And it turned out to be of his finest yarns, tapping into what he does best: character-driven storytelling. The setting is the small "death house" of a Southern prison in 1932. The Green Mile is the hall with a floor "the color of tired old limes" that leads to "Old Sparky" (the electric chair). The charming narrator is an old man, a prison guard, looking back on the events decades later. Maybe it’s a little too cute (there’s a smart prison mouse named Mr. Jingles), maybe the pathos is laid on a little thick, but it’s hard to resist the colorful personalities and simple wonders of this supernatural tale. And it’s not a bad choice for giving to someone who doesn’t understand the appeal of Stephen King, because the one scene that is out-and-out gruesome (it involves "Old Sparky") can be easily skipped by the squeamish. The Green Mile won a 1997 Bram Stoker Award for Best Novel; and Tom Hanks stars in a film of the novel by Frank Darabont, the director of The Shawshank Redemption (from King’s collection Different Seasons). –Fiona Webster
Thoughts:
I remember picking this up when it first came out and not really caring about it too much. I sat it aside and went on to read other things. I think I was disappointed that it was King, and yet not scary-King.
A few years later, we were on the road traveling the US with my Mr’s job and I, being bored, picked up another set. LOVED the second time around. I don’t know if it was just because I was older or what but I couldn’t believe how much much I liked them after having given them up the first time around.
I know this is going to make me cry. Probably from the very beginning since I know how it’s going to end, but I don’t care. I can’t wait to flip back through this story, emotional basketfry nor not. =)
My Collection:
Even though my copy of this book is the serial paperbacks and I would love to have the hardback single novel of it…I have no plans to get rid of my paperbacks copy. I love that it came out in several installments. (Plus mine are in excellent condition!)
OTHER:
Read this article from the LA TIMES about Stephen King, King of the Thrill by David Ulin – written from the set of the movie THE GREEN MILE!