Title: Duma Key
Author: Stephen King
Paperback, 769 pages
Published 2008 (first published 2007) by Simon + Schuster Inc.
Cover rating: C
Book rating: B
Goodreads:
Six months after a crane crushes his pickup truck and his body self-made millionaire Edgar Freemantle launches into a new life. His wife asked for a divorce after he stabbed her with a plastic knife and tried to strangle her one-handed (he lost his arm and for a time his rational brain in the accident). He divides his wealth into four equal parts for his wife, his two daughters, himself and leaves Minnesota for Duma Key, a stunningly beautiful, eerily remote stretch of the Florida coast where he has rented a house. All of the land on Duma Key, and the few houses, are owned by Elizabeth Eastlake, an octogenarian whose tragic and mysterious past unfolds perilously. When Edgar begins to paint, his formidable talent seems to come from someplace outside him, and the paintings, many of them, have a power that cannot be controlled.
My review:
From a very general point, I liked the novel. The scenery was fresh, the story was original, and he scared me a couple of times (oh oh and lots of cliffhangers too!!)
The story started all right with a good pace. It gets you a background about the guy and when strange things start to happen, the people he meets... I must say it leaves you with a feeling that things are not OK although in the book they seem to be all shiny and wonderful.
After that, (around the middle the book-3/4) slowed down. I felt that the sales and gallery part was never ending and it was kind of dull. The last quarter of the book is jaw-dropping. It is fastly paced, creepy, and very well written. I couldn't stop reading!!
There is a twist in the story in the last last chapter(s), although I expected a little more detail and action.
For example, that sth happened with the skeletons in the tank when Edgar was trying to drown Perse.. like starting to walk or that the dead guys appeared in the tank or something.
Besides that, I really liked the book and how he used creativity and art not only as a way of creating beauty but also as a powerful weapon.
