A Non-Horror Stephen King Masterpiece

When one mentions horror novels, one name that invariably comes to mind is Stephen King. While considered to be one of the most prolific horror novelists of our time, many do not realize that some of his greatest works were not of the horror genre at all.

The Green Mile is certainly one of the best books I have ever read. This tale is about John Coffey, an enormous man brought to death row at Cold Mountain Penitentiary for the rape and murder of two young girls. The narrator, prison supervisor Paul Edgecombe, has worked at the prison for many years. He treats most inmates the same way: He is kind to them if they behave, but is not afraid to punish them.

Resident prima donna on the ward is Percy Wetmore. The only reason he still has his job as a guard after years of sadism and incompetence is that his aunt married the Governor. Percy is a terrible person, and one of the worst villains in literary history. His thoughtlessness and his cruelty are his two great faults as he thinks he runs the ward with an iron hand.

When Coffey enters the ward, Edgecombe knows that there is something different about him. Something special. He knows that Coffey is a good man and would never hurt a fly. As the story progresses, he learns more about this man as he learns more about himself.

King writes this novel excellently. Though it is almost 600 pages, it never has a dull moment, and it is difficult to put down. As the reader learns more about the interesting characters of John Coffey, Paul Edgecombe, Percy Wetmore, and the other prisoners on the ward, the novel gets very interesting. The characterizations are interestingly subtle yet shocking. The Green Mile is most certainly one of the best novels I have ever read.

http://www.amazon.com/Green-Mile-Stephen-King/dp/0671041789/ref=cm_lmf_tit_22

Grade: 9

A Great Character in a Great Novel

Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye. Ender Wiggin, Ender's Game. Jack Merridew, Lord of the Flies. Randall Flagg, The Stand. Miles, The Turn of the Screw. Scout Finch, To Kill a Mockingbird.

These are some of the greatest literary characters of all time. Some for their intelligence and resourcefulness, others for their portrayal of society at the time, and others for their unique character traits.

Now I can add to that list another amazing character, definitely one of the best characters of all time: Randle Patrick McMurphy.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, by Ken Kesey, is, quite simply, an amazing book. Its portrayal of lunatics in an insane asylum was adapted into an Oscar-winning film in 1975, being the second of only three movies to win Best Picture, Best Director (Milos Forman), Best Actor (Jack Nicholson), Best Actress (Louise Fletcher), and Best Screenplay.

The novel is told from the point of view of Chief Bromden, a half-Indian who pretends to be deaf and dumb. He experiences hallucinations throughout the novel, making him a somewhat unreliable narrator. The novel takes place in the psychiatric ward at a hospital in Oregon. The two groups of mental patients in the hospital are known as the Acutes and the Chronics. The Acutes are patients who could still be "fixed." The Chronics, of which Chief Bromden is one, are patients who can never be changed from their insanity. These two separate groups live together yet separate in the hospital.

Enter Randle Patrick McMurphy. This cantankerous man was sent to a prison work farm for battery and gambling, and figured he might as well spend the rest of his sentence in the hospital, since it would be a lot easier than working every day.

R. P. McMurphy soon tries to change the way things work around the ward. The oppressive antagonist of the novel, Nurse Ratched, controls the patients with a dictatorial touch. McMurphy finds this control unfavorable to his wandering heart, so he challenges Nurse Ratched every opportunity he gets.

The novel is excellently written. McMurphy's and Nurse Ratched's battles throughout the novel display an excellent allegory of man against government. Kesey's One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest is certainly one of the best books ever written.

http://www.amazon.com/Flew-Over-Cuckoos-Penguin-Classics/dp/0141181222/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1270092735&sr=1-3

Grade: 9.5

A Disappointing Finale

Beginning with Ender's Game, Orson Scott Card created one of the best series of all time in his story of the life of Andrew "Ender" Wiggin, a boy who gets sent to outer space at the age of six to join the intergalactical army. He shifted to a more philosophical mood in Speaker for the Dead, before creating a more "hard science fiction" mood with Xenocide. All three were amazing books. The final novel in this quartet, Children of the Mind, had a large standard that it had to meet.

It is with great misfortune that I declare that it did not live up to its predecessors.

Don't get me wrong, Children of the Mind is a good book, but it cannot even cast a shadow when compared to the amazing work of literary genius Ender's Game. Orson Scott Card combined just the right amount of childhood with intellectual and brute strength into the boy called Ender and his life on a military spacecraft. In Children of the Mind, however, Ender plays a small role as an old, weak man trying harder to rebuild his marriage than to save the planet on which he lives, being satisfied to delegate this to his resourceful, if not occasionally annoying step-children and brain-children.

The planet on which Ender and his family live is called Lusitania, and Starways Congress is fixing to destroy it because of the horribly deadly virus vital to the survival of every native species on Lusitania, to which the humans on the planet have invented an antidote. The destruction of the planet, however, would kill many humans, as well making extinct three sentient species: the pequeninos, small pig-like creatures; the buggers, large insectoids; and Jane, a sort of supercomputer who lives in the networks all over the Universe. Starways Congress has sensed Jane, who was before known only to Ender and his step-son Miro, and is planning to shut off every computer simultaneously so as to destroy Jane.

Meanwhile, we are trying to find out about Peter and Wang-mu's mission to change Starways Congress's mind about their decision to destroy the planet, and Miro and Valentine's mission to save Jane's life. These young people out in space leaves the dying Ender with nothing to do but try to salvage the last strands of his marriage and await his own death.

The lack of focus on one of the best literary characters ever conceived is somewhat troubling. Why would Card make a sequel with the main character of the preceding novels as only a minor character? Not a smart move. This unintelligent decision made the novel not nearly as good as it could have been. Was it a good book? Yes. But in light of Card's previous successes, Children of the Mind did not meet my expectations at all.

http://www.amazon.com/Children-Mind-Ender-Book-Quartet/dp/0765304740/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266726635&sr=8-1

Grade: 7

Hail to the Chief

With Barack Obama now celebrating his one-year anniversary, I dedicate this review to the current president of the United States of America.

George Orwell's Animal Farm is an allegory for the death of Lenin and the rise of Stalin as he brought about totalitarianism in the U.S.S.R. In the very first chapter, the aged pig Old Major is dying. He represents Vladimir Lenin, the communist who essentially started the whole demise of the nation. He passes on his blessings to the farm, telling everyone to try to start a rebellion.

The rebellion occurs, and it works perfectly. The farmer, Mr. Jones, runs away, and the Manor Farm is changed to the Animal Farm. Two pigs, Snowball and Napoleon, soon take control. They write up the Seven Commandments of Animalism, the seven morals by which all animals should live their lives. The seventh and most important of these is "All animals are equal." The Seven Commandments represented the hope that the animals had for a better future.

Snowball starts teaching the animals how to read and write, while Napoleon makes speeches in front of the animals to instill principles of Animal Farm. The two pigs each try to gain more power than the other. One day, Snowball declares the idea of building a windmill, and Napoleon attacks his idea and chases him off with dogs. Soon after, he said that building a windmill was his idea all along, and Snowball just stole his idea. After this, things started getting worse around the farm.

Snowball is the character who represents Leon Trotsky, commander of the Red Army and one of Lenin's successors. Snowball's departure from the farm signifies Trotsky's exile from Russia to Mexico. His skill with writing reflects Trotsky's actual character as well. Napoleon represents the cruel leader Joseph Stalin. Stalin used his power to inflict cruel policies on the people of Russia, while Napoleon also did terrible things to the animals who trusted him.

Animal Farm is an excellent depiction of the fall of Russia and the rise of communism. Orwell's novel seems hauntingly realistic in the fact that everything starts out well, but eventually grows worse. It should be used as a warning to our government today. Mr. Obama should take heed so that America does not turn into a mess like the Manor Farm did.

http://www.amazon.com/Animal-Farm-Centennial-George-Orwell/dp/0452284244/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1264913449&sr=8-1

Grade: 9