Full Dark, No Stars- Stephen King

#84. Full Dark, No Stars- Stephen King

I was first introduced to Stephen King when I was about 9 or 10. My mom had a copy of Skeleton Crew in the closet, and I pulled it out and read quite a few of the stories (I was a fairly precocious reader, and my mom never censored what I read. Fortunately, I wasn't overly sensitive). For my 10th Christmas, I asked for and received a copy of It (along with a PreComputer100; I learned to type 80 wpm on that thing during Christmas vacation while Pennywise leered at me from the cover of my new book). I didn't actually read It in its entirety until I was 13, but afterwards, I was hooked. I haven't read all of King's books, but I've read most of them, and I definitely have my favorites. It. The Stand (one of the reasons my son is named Stuart; I fell in love with the character of Stu Redman). Rose Madder. I'm definitely a Stephen King fan.

Full Dark, No Stars is a collection of four long stories (like Four Past Midnight and Different Seasons). The stories are twisted and sinister in the way only King can do. My favorite was probably the first one, "1922," about a man who murders his wife...but encourages his son to join in on the deed, and then everything in their lives just goes to pot afterwards. If you're sensitive to such things, "Big Driver" deals with abduction and rape. "A Good Marriage" was just downright spooky: a woman discovers that the man she's been married to all these years isn't quite whom she expected, and "Fair Extension" taps into man's desperation to prolong life, even at the expense of others. Creepy, creepy stuff, man.

What I love most about King's writing is his style. In interviews and essay-style writing, he's said that his goal as a writer is to tell the truth. "Don't bullshit your readers," I remember hearing him say, and he doesn't. He tells his characters' truths. They may not be my truths, or yours, but they belong to the character, and that's what makes the stories work. They may be gory, they may be gruesome, but they're never gratuitous (that's one of the reasons I hesitate to read any more of Pat Conroy; he's an amazing writer, but all of the books I've read by him have contained brutal, violent rape scenes that turned my stomach and were incredibly difficult to read). I also really enjoy King's way with words, too; he has such a natural cadence to his writing. It's real, and no matter how creepy it is, I'm drawn to it.

Lots of great words in this book.

Words:

ineluctable- adj- incapable of being invaded, inescapable. (I like this word. I've already been using it in daily life!)

ratiocination- n- the process of logical reasoning.

depredation- n- the act of preying upon or plundering, robbery, ravage.

eldritch- adj- eerie, weird, spooky.

immure- to enclose within walls; to shut in, seclude or confine; to imprison.

swain- n- a male admirer or lover; a country lad; a country gallant.

hectograph- n- a process for making copies of a letter, memorandum, etc., from a prepared gelatin surface to which the original writing has been transferred; a machine for making such copies.

cozen- v- to cheat, deceive, or trick.

prurient- adj- having, inclined to have, or characterized by lascivious or lustful thoughts, desires, etc.; causing lasciviousness or lust; having a restless desire or longing.

pyorrhea- n- (Pathology) a discharge of pus; Rigg's Disease (Dentistry) a chronic form of periodontitis occurring in various degrees of severity, characterized in its severe forms by the formation of pus in the pockets between the roots of the teeth and their surrounding tissues, and frequently accompanied by the loosening and subsequent loss of the teeth. (As someone with a severe dental phobia, this makes me want to weep. Also, if you've googled this term and come to my blog like a bunch of people did with the vocabulary word 'podagra,' which is a foot condition, you have my sympathies, but you're in the wrong place.)

propinquity- n- nearness in place, proximity; nearness of relation, kinship; affinity of nature, similarity.