Lezersrecensie
The Awakening
The life of Edgar Freemantle, owner of a construction company in Minnesota, changes quickly and brutally after an accident at a work site. He loses his right arm and suffers from aphasia after having also experienced memory loss for a while. This accident changes his life so drastically that his marriage falls apart and he loses everything. His psychologist recommends a change of scenery, and Edgar temporarily moves to one of the Florida Keys, a small island called Duma Key. There, he moves into a house, Salmon Point, which he himself nicknames “Big Pink.” During his stay there, he discovers a forgotten talent for drawing. He spends his days walking along the beach to rebuild his shattered body—each day a little farther—and drawing and painting. His only company is his therapy doll Reba, named after the country singer. Reba is his outlet when he can’t find the right words; he can vent his frustration on the doll instead of on the people around him. Besides Reba, he also receives help from Jack, a local resident who assists him whenever needed.
He soon befriends a neighbor on Duma, someone he gradually gets closer to thanks to his daily walks, until eventually he can drop into a beach chair next to him. Wireman is the caretaker and companion of the woman who owns the large house on the beach, and who also owns “Big Pink” and a large part of Duma. The elderly lady, Elizabeth Eastlake, grew up on Duma Key and has many stories to tell, but her memory fails her completely, and conversations with her often end in a jumble of thoughts.
"The only fly in the ointment is the sound the tide makes when it comes in. {...} My first thought... was skeletons on parade. Hundreds, marching around the house."
But Elizabeth does warn Edgar, especially about his two daughters. Duma Key is not good for daughters! And Elizabeth would know, as she lost two sisters at a young age after they drowned. Duma Key harbors quite a few secrets. One of those secrets is tied to the talent for drawing and painting—the very talent Edgar has just discovered in himself. Because during his painting sessions something miraculous happens: his right arm seems to return at those moments. And all of his paintings contain some kind of hidden message. What Edgar doesn’t realize, however, is that through his paintings he has awakened something that has lain dormant on the Key for years, something malevolent that is out for revenge! Together with Wireman and Jack, Edgar must try to restrain this strange force and lull it back to sleep—but that won’t be easy, nor will it happen without bloodshed.
Duma Key first appeared in 2008, at a time when I had just started reading Stephen King’s books in English and no longer bought them in Dutch. When I first read this one back then, I didn’t consider it one of his best works, but rereading it now (in Dutch for the first time), I found it much better than my original experience with it.
It is also one of the few books King wrote that does not take place in Maine, and the first one set in Florida, where he himself also spent part of the year after his 1999 accident. Minnesota also appears for the first time, although this location plays only a small role in the overall story.
The story is somewhat in the same spirit as Bag of Bones, in which a vengeful force/spirit manifests itself and terrorizes a small community, with the past playing a role in explaining it, and where a small group of confidants must find a way to put the spirit back in the bottle, so to speak.
Duma Key is one of the few Stephen King books that have not yet been turned into a film or TV series. Although I am convinced that the story would form an excellent basis for one—provided they stay close to the original book and do not change too much (but that’s what I think for every book adaptation, unless the changes truly improve the story).
The novel is a suspenseful and intense story about sorrow, grief, but also about persevering and not giving up, even when life slaps you across the face. And if you see a heron flying upside down, get out of the way—or take the thing down!
He soon befriends a neighbor on Duma, someone he gradually gets closer to thanks to his daily walks, until eventually he can drop into a beach chair next to him. Wireman is the caretaker and companion of the woman who owns the large house on the beach, and who also owns “Big Pink” and a large part of Duma. The elderly lady, Elizabeth Eastlake, grew up on Duma Key and has many stories to tell, but her memory fails her completely, and conversations with her often end in a jumble of thoughts.
"The only fly in the ointment is the sound the tide makes when it comes in. {...} My first thought... was skeletons on parade. Hundreds, marching around the house."
But Elizabeth does warn Edgar, especially about his two daughters. Duma Key is not good for daughters! And Elizabeth would know, as she lost two sisters at a young age after they drowned. Duma Key harbors quite a few secrets. One of those secrets is tied to the talent for drawing and painting—the very talent Edgar has just discovered in himself. Because during his painting sessions something miraculous happens: his right arm seems to return at those moments. And all of his paintings contain some kind of hidden message. What Edgar doesn’t realize, however, is that through his paintings he has awakened something that has lain dormant on the Key for years, something malevolent that is out for revenge! Together with Wireman and Jack, Edgar must try to restrain this strange force and lull it back to sleep—but that won’t be easy, nor will it happen without bloodshed.
Duma Key first appeared in 2008, at a time when I had just started reading Stephen King’s books in English and no longer bought them in Dutch. When I first read this one back then, I didn’t consider it one of his best works, but rereading it now (in Dutch for the first time), I found it much better than my original experience with it.
It is also one of the few books King wrote that does not take place in Maine, and the first one set in Florida, where he himself also spent part of the year after his 1999 accident. Minnesota also appears for the first time, although this location plays only a small role in the overall story.
The story is somewhat in the same spirit as Bag of Bones, in which a vengeful force/spirit manifests itself and terrorizes a small community, with the past playing a role in explaining it, and where a small group of confidants must find a way to put the spirit back in the bottle, so to speak.
Duma Key is one of the few Stephen King books that have not yet been turned into a film or TV series. Although I am convinced that the story would form an excellent basis for one—provided they stay close to the original book and do not change too much (but that’s what I think for every book adaptation, unless the changes truly improve the story).
The novel is a suspenseful and intense story about sorrow, grief, but also about persevering and not giving up, even when life slaps you across the face. And if you see a heron flying upside down, get out of the way—or take the thing down!
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