Welcome back to Inconstant Reader, the feature column that explores Stephen King’s books in the order they were published — sort of! Warning: spoilers are a constant.
Nothing says inconstant like missing your last two columns. To paraphrase one of King’s other characters, sometimes you either get busy reading, or get busy writing. The former has been the case for this Inconstant Reader, with a large dose of the cinematic and televisual to fill in the gaps. Life is what happens while you’re busy catching up on bingeable television it would seem.
So, here’s something of an experiment. In lieu of writing full pieces for these three books, I’ve collected together some thoughts based on the notes and mini-reviews I wrote for each of these at the time of reading. Think of it of an Inconstant Reader anthology that covers the years 2002 – 2005.
From a Buick 8
Released in 2002, the novel follows the recollections of Troop D, a group of cops in the State Police barracks somewhere in Western Pennsylvania. When one of their number is killed by a drunk driver, his son comes to visit the barracks. The Troop tells them the tale of the “Buick 8,” an object that resembles a vintage car — but appears to be something connected to another world.
At the time of reading this, I managed to get down a few thoughts before they slipped away. It’s probably because King’s Buick feels so comparatively ephemeral. The second of his ‘evil car’ books, it shares more with The Mist (in that we’re looking at something like a ‘thinny’ between the worlds) and strangely The Green Mile. Like the latter, it’s effectively about a group of uniforms sitting around keeping watch over something or someone, lensed through a series of recollections. However, unlike that series of novellas, very little happens along the way. There’s no sense of urgency, very little atmosphere to speak of and ultimately, not much in the way of pay-off. Yet, as we learn in The Colorado Kid, some mysteries were never meant to be solved.
Faithful: Two Diehard Boston Red Sox Fans Chronicle the Historic 2004 Season
In 2016, the Chicago Cubs broke a 108 year curse by winning the World Series for the first time since 1908. I got to share in a little of that joy with my partner, who originally hails from Illinois.
So, coming into this book, I had some sense of the mindset that a perceived multigenerational curse can have on fandom. O’Nan and King chose 2004 to share their diaries and emails for the entire Red Sox season, a year they happened to break their own long dry spell. O’Nan takes lead, and his passion is detailed to the point of obsession. Indeed, if you know nothing of baseball, much of this will seem like random words on paper. Yet as the year rolls on, we start to live and breathe a season with these Maine men. You can picture King with his book in hand, taking notes and reading chapters in between innings, whether it’s at Fenway, an away game or somewhere in front of a TV in Bangor. (Sidebar: the Internet is full of King spottings and snide commentary about ‘who brings a book to a ballgame?’)
We get rocked by the defeats, and celebrate the victories. Hell, I can rattle of names of Sox players from 2004 now without batting an eyelid, which says something. It’s a heartfelt book but it won’t be for everyone. The title says it all. Here’s to the faithful – and at least there is baseball. As for the Cubs — maybe next year?
The Colorado Kid
A curious outing from King, mirroring From a Buick 8 in that it’s a collection of veteran professionals sitting around telling a story. In this case, on a tiny island off the coast of Maine, the news staff of The Weekly Islander test out the new intern Stephanie McCann with a mystery that doesn’t have an answer. It’s about the titular body found on a beach years before with no ID and no visible signs of foul play. The crew have tried to solve the mystery multiple times, but have always run into a dead end.
There’s a lot to like here, principally the central mystery. Yet from the start, it is presented as something wholly unknowable, making for an intriguing but ultimately frustrating read. Yes, the point is that not everything has an answer, and that’s just fine, but as a novella it makes for a terrific short story, the kind that would normally round out so many of King’s anthologies. Still, I always enjoy his journeys into other genres — and there’s allegedly a clue in this one that links it to the Dark Tower series.
When Inconstant Reader returns in its full and majestic form, it will be with the ‘zombie’ thriller, Cell.
