Joyland
Published: 4, June 2013
Author: Stephen King
Genre: Anthologies, Coming Of Age, Fiction, Ghost, Hard-Boiled, Historical, Horror, Murder, Mystery
Check the summary of this book here:
Joyland Summary
The Review
Stephen King's novel Joyland was originally published by Hard Case Crime. Following The Colorado Kid, it is Stephen King's second novel for the label. The initial edition was exclusively available in paperback, with cover art by Robert McGinnis and Glen Orbik. A week later, a limited hardback version was released. The novel was nominated for an Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original in 2014.
This narrative takes place in 1973 and is mostly set at Joyland, a small amusement park. We get to spend the summer with Devin, a 21-year-old who works at Joyland. Devin has a broken heart after being dumped by his college sweetheart, but he dives headfirst into his new career.
I like how we get to see so many different sections of the park because Devin seems to work everywhere.
This book's characters were wonderful. I enjoyed getting to know Devin, and at the conclusion of the book, I felt like I knew him well.
This book's narration approach is as if Devin were telling us a story years after these events occurred, and he would wander and move forward a little at points. This manner, in my opinion, made the narrative feel more natural and added a lot of appeal to it.
Devin's park friends, coworkers, a small kid, and his mother all played key parts in this novel, and I believe Stephen King did an excellent job of pulling each of them to reality.
The tale moved slowly at the opening, with the first half of the novel focusing on character development. The pace quickened in the second part of the novel, and I was eager to know more about the girl who had been slain in the park years before.
I believed I'd figured out the puzzle, only to discover that I was completely wrong. Devin and Mike's bond, I believed, brought a lot to the plot.
In this shorter composition, a lot of diverse parts came together to produce a very fantastic tale.
This isn't your standard Stephen King novel with an unusual conclusion. I wish he'd continue to publish books like this.
There was a supernatural aspect weaved in, after all, it's Stephen King, but it's more of a narrative of a 21-year-old man getting over his first heartache, meeting friends for life, occurrences that would alter him, and a mystery.
This book took me two and a half days to finish. There were a few elements that were out of date, but we can overlook them, such as the minimum salaries of the period we're reading about and the fact that no amusement park in the south would have a no-smoking policy in those days, but then again, it's Stephen King's novel.
So anything is possible, and he can construct and tell us a reason, or maybe it was about an alternate reality that he didn't reveal so he can reconnect it in another novel or series, similar to how we met and discovered other people from his many novels in the Dark Tower series.
It's a bit misleading to include this under the "Hard Case Crime" series because there's no genuine hard crime in this. Other volumes in the series have a more noir feel to them, but this one is more of a coming of age narrative.
It reminds me of "Adventureland" or "The Way, Way Back" because it takes place in an amusement park.
Basically, a youngster graduates from high school and spends the summer working at Joyland, a North Carolina amusement park. Along the way, he falls in love, as one would expect from a heartbroken person, and learns about love and other things.
Because it's Stephen King, there's a ghost, as well as psychic skills, or something from The Shining, to put it another way.
The majority of the narrative is quite well-written. The scene where the girl in the red hat chokes on a hot dog hit me like a punch in the stomach personally.
Despite the fact that this novel contains murder, I felt it to be the weakest component of the story.
Nonetheless, it is an excellent book in general. More like Stephen King's "The Green Mile" or Richard Bachman's horror tales than "The Stand" or "It." As a result, don't expect a horror narrative.
A little note for readers who are unaware, Stephen King and Richard Bachman are the same person.
There is no need to read any reviews and simply buy the books since Stephen King is reliable and dependable!
If you're a fan and a voracious reader, you already know what to anticipate from a Stephen King book. If you haven't read any Stephen King novel before, this is a fantastic place to start.
The park's staff are a mix of intriguing locals, summer temp workers like the main character, and veteran carnies.
Throw in an unsolved crime from years ago, and you're in for a treat. It's a quick book that entertains and leaves you, like most vacations do, feeling satisfied yet a bit melancholy that it's over.
Final Thoughts
Stephen King has always been one of the greatest at placing me right in the heart of the plot, out of all the authors I've read through the years, and there have been many, both authors and years.
I can see, feel, and recall precisely how it was, whether it's a cool fall day or the last day of school, right before the bell rings for summer vacation. I'm at a loss for words. He simply seems to get it perfect every time.
As summer draws to a close, the beach takes on a new look. The novel takes place in this kind of setting, and anybody who has spent a summer or falls near a beach will know the experience of the seasons changing.
This is Stephen King at his best once more. The characters in this narrative entice you to keep reading.
I've never read another author who is so good at creating realistic characters. This is a simple, unpretentious story with no frills or gimmicks, just superb writing!
And while the premise is excellent, it is the personalities that catch and hold your attention.
While this novel has supernatural themes, it is not a horror story. In many respects, it's a detective narrative, but it's also a coming-of-age story.
This is a book that I would suggest to others. I felt this was a well-written narrative with engaging characters, a compelling mystery, and a hint of the weird.
Synopsis
“Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.
"I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. That combo made Hard Case Crime the perfect venue for this book, which is one of my favorites. I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we’re going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book." –Stephen King”
Useful Search Related Words & Keywords
Age Story, Amusement Park, Case Crime, Character Development, Coming Of Age, Devin Jones, Hard Case, Highly Recommend, King At His Best, North Carolina, Quick Read, Really Enjoyed, Well Written
Rating: 90/100
Recommended: 90/100 Yes.
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