DEPRESSION!

6 Reviews = Depression - Stephen King - Lisey's Story
I have never been a fan of horror nor of fantasy -- No, not even the Harry Potter series...likely because I am too old and instead grew up on The Bobbsey Twins, The Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, Silver Wings for Vicky...but I digress.

Stephen King, although loved by many, was an author I had not read -- although in my youth, I did read a lot of Robert Ludlum, Ken Follet, and even, I must confess, Danielle Steel. Stephen King simply did not write the kind of novel I was interested in -- although I did enjoy a few of the movies based on his books such as The Shining and Misery. Despite being cajoled by many of King's fans, I had successfully avoided his novels until the Critical Monkey Challenge made me face my fears.
Lisey's Story was on sale and without researching it, I bought it. It is not horror, much to my relief (although at times it is, in its own way, quite terrifying). It is instead, I guess, what some would call Fantasy. Quite frankly, I think it is very odd.

In terms of plot, I will borrow from the front jacket flap as it is much more eloquent and succinct than I could ever hope to be. "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 temptation of madness and the secret language of love."

I found this book difficult to read (and not only because I read part of it while walking on a treadmill). In terms of narrative order, it jumps around a lot which sometimes became confusing. I think King does this because as readers we spend a lot of time in Lisey's mind which tends to flit around like a sparrow (and to my mind a sparrow who got into some seriously weird weeds) rather than a cautiously moving swan. Further, quite often, in Lisey's very bizarre inner world, she uses an unfamiliar lexicon consisting of a shorthand used by the couple during their marriage. "Woodbody could never grasp the inside meaning of everything the same. Lisey could explain it all day and he still wouldn't get it. Why? Because he was an Incunk, and when it came to Scott Landon only one thing interested the Incunks." p. 7 I am guessing that "Incunk" means someone who lacks the imagination and or intellect necessary to fully comprehend Scott Landon's writing. (I am also guessing that Stephen King might find me to be an "Incunk" where his writing is concerned...Oh well.) Nonetheless, the novel was full of these private words which, while creating a realistic image of an intense and intimate marriage, also often left me confused and impatient.
On a more positive note, I was moved by King's perceptive and realistic portrayal of their emotional relationship. This is best illustrated through Scott's words when he tells Lisey that he would never want to have children. "'Lisey, if we get married, we can't have kids. That's flat. I don't know how badly you want them right now, but you come from a big family and I guess it'd be natural for you to want to fill up a big house with a big family of your own someday. You need to know that if you're with me, that can't happen. And I don't want you to be facing me across a room somewhere five or ten years down the line and screaming 'You never told me this was part of the deal.'...His face is very pale, his eyes enormous. Like jewels, she thinks, fascinated. For the first and only time she sees him not as handsome (which he is not, although in the right light he can be striking) but as beautiful, the way some women are beautiful. This fascinates her, and for some reason horrifies her. 'I love you too much to lie to you, Lisey. I love you with all that passes for my heart. I suspect that kind of all-out love becomes a burden to the woman in time, but it's the only kind I have to give. I think we're going to be quite a wealthy couple in terms of money, but I'll almost certainly be an emotional pauper all my life. I've got money coming, but for the rest I've got just enough for you, and I won't ever dirty it or dilute it with lies. Not with the words I say, not with the ones I hold back." p. 221
There were passages which were also bone-chilling concerning both Lisey's and Scott's families. Both Lisey's sister and Scott's father suffer from mental illness. This continues to have a significant impact on their lives as adults. Further, mental illness is explored in two other characters, one who attacks Scott and another who attacks Lisey.
I think that Stephen King is a very insightful and skillful writer. His depiction of families, relationships, and our interior lives are all frightfully accurate and fascinating. Unfortunately, this is simply not my kind of story although, if I had unlimited time, I probably would reread it in order to fully savour all its interwoven symbols and nuances.