Details
Rent Duma Key
Author:
Narrator: Stephen King
Format: Unabridged-CD
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Audio
Published: Jan 2008
Genre: Fiction - General
Retail Price: $49.95
Discs: 18
Synopsis
A terrible construction site accident takes Edgar Freemantle's right arm and scrambles his memory and his mind, leaving him with little but rage as he begins the ordeal of rehabilitation. A marriage that produced two lovely daughters suddenly ends, and Edgar begins to wish he hadn't survived the injuries that could have killed him. He wants out. His psychologist, Dr. Kamen, suggests a 'geographic cure,' a new life distant from the Twin Cities and the building business Edgar grew from scratch. And Kamen suggests something else.
Edgar leaves Minnesota for a rented house on Duma Key, a stunningly beautiful, eerily undeveloped splinter of the Florida coast. The sun setting into the Gulf of Mexico and the tidal rattling of shells on the beach call out to him, and Edgar draws. A visit from Ilse, the daughter he dotes on, starts his movement out of solitude. He meets a kindred spirit in Wireman, a man reluctant to reveal his own wounds, and then Elizabeth Eastlake, a sick old woman whose roots are tangled deep in Duma Key. Now Edgar paints, sometimes feverishly, his exploding talent both a wonder and a weapon. Many of his paintings have a power that cannot be controlled. When Elizabeth's past unfolds and the ghosts of her childhood begin to appear, the damage of which they are capable is truly devastating.
The tenacity of love, the perils of creativity, the mysteries of memory and the nature of the supernatural -- Stephen King gives us a novel as fascinating as it is gripping and terrifying.
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Reviews
I've long been a fan of Stephen King, but some of his more recent novels have not been as enjoyable to me as his older stuff. The Stand has always stood out as a clear favorite. Until now. Now I'd have to say that Duma Key is very close to being on par with that classic. The characters are wonderfully drawn, the location is outstanding, the suspense keeps you guessing what is going on, and you never know what's going to happen next. I just loved this book. And even moreso listening to it being read, as it built its magic around me. A must listen.
I usually only listen to audio books during my comute to and from work - about an hour. I started out that way with Duma Key, but fininsed it up in my bedroom - listening to one disc after the other until it was through. I thought the book was extaordinaily well written and spellbinding. The narrator did an excellent job as well.
We can often see a lot of ol' Uncle Steve in his characters. Being a fan of his, I usually like that. Not so much this time. The main character in this book appears to BE Stephen King aside from certain details. I love you, Mr. King, but your politics are a little annoying, and do you really have to include your personal opinions about everything, including the taste and texture of ranch dressing? And for goodness' sake, can we please get on with it?! Duma Key is a great story his always are, but I was frustrated with how slowly things moved. Also, I didn't believe some of the characters especially his daughters and the relationship with his Duma Key BFFs was completely unbelievable and utterly, eye-rollingly dorky. Like, can you please not say man-law?! This novel was just hard to get through, period. I found it relentlessly self-indulgent. I'm going to reread the entire Dark Tower series to remind myself why I so adore him.
I hadnt ever read a Stephen King novel, but I know he has a large following so thought I would give him a try. This was an excruciatingly slow moving listen. Written in first person, most of it was the ramblings of a man struggling with anger management issues. I might have enjoyed it more if it had been shorter. I only found the end interesting.
Good point: sarcastic humor. Bad point: boring storyline until the 17th cd, almost the end of the book.