Thursday, April 16, 2015

Revival by Stephen King

From the hardcover:
   In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing in the yard with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Reverend Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs-including Jamie's mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.
   Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family's horrific loss. In his mid-thirties - addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate - Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and Jamie discovers that "revival" has many meanings.
   This rich and disturbing novel spans five decades on its way to the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written. it's a masterpiece from King, brilliantly illustrating why he "is right at the center of an American literary taproot that goes all the way down...to Hawthorne, to Poe, to Melville" (Margaret Atwood The New York Times Book Review.)


   I should tell you upfront, I like Stephen King. I haven't read every book he has written, but I've read quite a few and love them all. Revival is no different. I didn't want to put it down. King has created one creepy (fictional) human in Reverend Jacobs. There really wasn't a moment in this whole book that I trusted him even a little.
   I expected an interesting ending after reading a few reviews on Goodreads.com and even the synopsis on the book. The ending is definitely haunting. One of his best ever? I'm not sure, but I finished this book about a week ago and I'm still thinking about that ending.
   I know this recommendation isn't a lot to go off of, but the synopsis sums up the book extremely well so I don't have much to add to it. I'd recommend this to fans of science fiction. Also, if you haven't yet read Stephen King or are a casual reader of his works, I'd choose this to be one of the books you read. It's a great stand alone book and while being exceedingly eerie it isn't particularly scary.

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