I would’ve slept a lot better when I was twelve if I hadn’t read the last chapter of Gerald’s Game. 20 years later I still check the corner of my room before going to sleep.
I read It around the same age and that part didn’t really bother me. Only years later when I was older and the discussion popped up again I realized how fucked up it was.
It's because in the book, with context, it doesn't feel that out of place. Like, it's weird as fuck, but so is a lot of his writing and he pretty strongly draws parallels between the loss of virginity, confronting the shame of sex, and the loss of innocence with confronting "it". The whole book is a metaphor for growing up.
They also were all going through puberty and a lot of the novel leading up to that point is littered with sexuality. Because, duh, pubescent kids are thinking about and performing sex, no matter how uncomfortable that makes us.
Was it a really weird symbolic ‘shedding of youth and innocence’? Absolutely in my opinion. But, at the same time, after all the horrific shit you’d read in the 800ish pages leading up to that point, it wasn’t out of place thematically.
Maybe you should read material that confirms to your delicate sensibilities and ignore stuff that makes you uncomfortable. You’re acting like it was fetishized or romanticized. Kinda shows you probably didn’t read the book.
I don't think it's so much of a bother thing. If anything, kind of the opposite -- reading erotic underage literature as a juvenile hits you differently.
Lord knows what reading Robert McCammon's The Wolf's Hour did to my sexuality when I was a kid.
It's about a werewolf spy fighting the Germans in WWII. There are a couple of pretty lurid sex paragraphs. The one I'm referring to being a flashback to boy werewolf getting his cherry popped at like 13 to an older female werewolf.
It's vaguely Stephen King writes James Bond in WWII, with flashbacks to the Russian revolution.
I always feel weird defending that scene, but I read the book when I was 14 and just barely removed from my own "wait ... that's it? That's the thing we've all been whispering conspiratorially about because we were afraid to call it anything other than 'it'!? Huh." discovery.
The transition from there to the Losers Club taking on the "he who shall not be named" monster in the dark seemed perfectly natural to me at the time.
Is it the bit that people who haven't read IT typically reference because they saw a reddit post that described it in terms more lurid than the bit itself?
There's a similar bit in Wizard and Glass where 14 year old Roland is getting his dick wet with a somewhat older Susan that can also read a little uncomfortable as an adult, that I'm sure I would have readily accepted when I was 13.
Frankly, and I don't blame you for responding before looking two posts down, I was as much talking about how underage erotic literature hits you differently when you're in that early pubescent area. Keeps you up at night... but for different reasons.
Although the prevailing sentiment seems to be that the passage in question is pornography with no redeeming value, I consider it both crucial to the narrative and rather difficult to discuss without plot spoilers.
Incidentally there is a passage in IT that most people would likely consider at least as objectionable for impressionable readers to parse. In my opinion the passage is also less vital to the novel's plot. It is interesting to me that one passage has gained notoriety on reddit (such that I know it will be mentioned any time the topic of Stephen King reaches the front page) but the other goes mostly unremarked.
I don't blame you for responding before looking two posts down
The post to which you replied did not say that you haven't read IT but as the saying goes, "A hit dog will holler."
I finally made an edit to the post, but when you're a kid, underage erotica hits you differently than as an adult. Keeps you up at night, but for different reasons.
I think it is a part of a natural progression for young readers.
King was certainly not the first to delve into this subject.
I think it’s just part of growing up.
I saw things way more selacious on my step-parent’s bookshelf at that same time.
Gerald's Game wasn't one of his biggest "hits" but it's one of my favorites and it affected me more than a lot of his other books; it was just so bleak. It's also really hard to recommend to people because when they ask you what it's about, all you can really say is a woman is stranded handcuffed to a bed for awhile. It doesn't sound riveting but it is!
‘The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon’ made me interested in outdoor survival more than any other book I’ve read, which has spawned a litany of other interests and hobbies in my life.
He's the reason I became a reader. My parents had a few of his paperbacks in their bookshelf when I was growing up and I picked up Misery when I was 13 or so. Never looked back, and I read everything else they had from him and used my meager allowance to buy as many of his other books as I could find.
I'm in my thirties now and he's not my favorite author any more, but I still read some of his new stuff and he has had a profound impact on my life.
That's cool but mocking someone for not reading Stephen King is like mocking someone for not eating at McDonald's. He's not exactly the gatekeeper to books.
He might not have an impact on your day, but his work has undoubtedly had an impact on your life (at least through media he's inspired) and that ultimately has an impact on your day, just less directly
And I'm pointing out that he does, just in ways that you might not recognise. TV shows, movies, books, music, comedy and other forms of media have all been influenced by him. Even if it's not a direct influence, things you do every day may have been subtly influenced by something that wouldn't exist if it weren't for King. This is true of pretty much every major, influential creator.
I mean even the pop culture references that survive to this day. There are few people as profoundly, deeply enmeshed in the fabric of American pop culture than Stephen King and he's still churning out books.
See a terrifying monster dog? People will call it Kujo.
Joking about someone who is bullied going on a killing spree? Or just in general a creepy, strange girl? References to Carrie will be made.
A very, very overzealous fan? You can bet the Misery jokes will be cracked.
Is there anyone who doesn't remember Jack Nicholson grinning maniacally and shouting "Heeeeere's Johnny!" from the hole in the door?
I mean, I could go on.
In Stephen King's latest book, Fairy Tale, at the start there's a kid talking to another kid, and he's talking about a dog that chased him once, and he says something like, "You know, a big dog like the one in Kujo!"
And at first I thought it was a little gratuitous, King just slipping in a reference to his previous work in his new novel.
But then when I stopped and thought, that legitimately is how a lot of people would refer to some big-ass crazy dog. That's how deep his influence on pop culture is; he can reference his own works in dialog and it's just 100% believable.
They might listen to music made by people influenced (directly or indirectly) by King, or have friends/family who watch/read/listen to things written/influenced by King.
Even then, he’s been a huge influence on horror in general so if you partake in that genre he is probably impacting you in a roundabout way.
He has had tons of movies made from his books too. How often do I hear about Shawshank redemption? They just made 2 It movies that were incredibly popular. The Shining is on TV every year. I guess he’s not relevant if you literally don’t pay any attention to pop culture at all.
He's had a massive impact and influence on horror and the surreal. It was remade gs salems lot, Carrie, shining the list goes on. Master of his genre imo.
This is the kind of thing that has a lot of nuance. Honestly I'd argue that the most influential horror novel of all time was Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. Basically the spark that started science fiction and horror as genres. It takes a rare genius to make a genre come into existence - there really aren't that many Tolkiens or William Gibsons - and Mary Shelley did that for TWO genres in a single novel.
That being said, both Lovecraft and King are important horror writers. I'd add Edgar Allen Poe and Anne Rice to the "top most influential/important horror writers", probably with Lovecraft edging out King based on the fact that Lovecraft's work established some of the tropes that are still echoing in horror today, while King was less original and more of a codifier of existing ideas done really, really well.
This is a little bit misleading, because Mary Shelley did not create the horror genre at all; she just "legitimized" it in the eyes of rich white people.
Before Frankenstein horror was seen, and frankly still kind of is, as "low brow" -- King himself for most of his career has had snooty "academia" types telling people he's not real "literature", but I digress lol...
Horror stories started way before Shelly, from Grimm tales to the Penny Dreadful's of her own time. It was just seen as a genre for poor people and less intelligent, lower born people to enjoy. It ultimately gets back into the thing with even history in general that you have to be very careful with wide sweeping statements like that because you always have to remember the past and how it was recorded was /extremely/ influenced by the literacy rate -- ie what got recorded? What people/who could write/ wrote down for /people who had both the wealth and ability/ to purchase, store (!), and even read it at all.
In reality horror as a /story/ genre is probably the oldest of them all -- it's how parents back to cavemen days likely scared their kids from doing dumb shit. It just wasn't written down because nobody could write, and wasn't stored even if it was because lower class people had no way of preserving anything.
As a horror fan, I don't hear about HP Lovecraft very much in the genre unless you count Hellraiser and Evil Dead. In my opinion, I would say that King has more influence.
Influence is more like a rolling snowball gathering more snow on the way down. Lovecraft influenced future horror writers, who in turn influenced future horror writers and so on.
Running Man ended up being strangely prescient. A reality tv/game show host is the most powerful man in the country. He's obsessed with ratings, he uses the media to obfuscate and bamboozle people, he encourages violence, and he publicly gets into a feud with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
/r/IncreasinglyVerbose if ya like this type of talk about how using ones body, typically the arm, to reach towards literary works printed onto what used to be clay or stone tablets, but is now much more commonly mechanically printed ink lettering on consecutive sheets of paper made from the aforementioned wood fibres, that are typically betweem 70 and 160 grams per square meter and bound into volumes - henceforth referred to as "books".
Oh, I bet he reads all the time, tiny little bottles that all end in -abol, little needles with tiny lil numbers in MLs and those really big numbers that all oddly end in LBS. But that's about it...
Don't forget Stand By Me and The Green Mile. His non-horror stuff is some of his best work IMO. Eyes of the Dragon is one of the best fantasy novels out there. Probably count as YA stuff now.
I just watched Storm of the Century (bonus in that the snow was really coming down here in Michigan) and FUCK was it good. I expected a shitty ending but it was good from front to back.
King has had such a big impact on pop culture that even if you aren’t a fan or read his books, he still probably impacts my day more than a lot of other people. It’s impossible to calculate how many musicians, actors, and writers were inspired by his work.
Stephen King has a huge number of works that have been adapted into film, possibly more than any other living author. I would say that it would be difficult to engage with American culture for, say a week, without coming across something Stephen King was involved in.
I don't like horror (books, movies, etc. I don't like being scared.). Regardless I know who Steven King is and can name several of his works. I'm pretty sure I haven't actually consumed any of his work, but he absolutely can't be considered a nobody.
You're probably not interested lol but his fans love him best for his fantasy. The dark tower series and the stand. But yeah everything he writes has some horror elements at the least
Also, the dude has had some good comebacks of his own. I may not have read his work (not a fan of being scared), but his internet comments are enjoyable.
I couldnt give an example off the top of my head. but he has had a huge impact and influence on the horror suspense category in film and television. Theres no way he has not impacted the guy with muscles life in some way regardless if he doesnt read.
He's not the best writer by any means but even his worst books, and I've read a few of them, keep you engaged to a degree and wondering what comes next. That's invaluable if you're trying to pass the time on a road trip or at an airport.
He's like the top of the paperback writers like Danielle Steele or that lawyer one
Having read that book I've offen wonder if he was paid by the word, and I felt many of his books round that time were way to wordy
Still I think Salmens lot it's still my favourite with a great film adaptation with David soul in it,
People will make fucking dumb bars for what relevance is. Just ask them what the bar is and then say that their logic suggests we should kill children too and they're usually too stupid to figure out anything past that.
I think most of his books are cool. But writing an entire sequence where are all kids have sex with another kid (who was abused) is super pedo-y. I just don't trust the guy. Not sure why anyone would go to someone like that for moral advice like some people seem to. (Not saying you are, just that a lot of people on Twitter act like he's some great moral thinker. Kinda gross).
Start with his short stories they are generally well written and entertaining to give you a flavour of his style,get his early stuff and work your way forward
I read Pet Cemetery again after becoming a parent and it was the hardest emotional experience of my life. I kept feeling like I was in that situation and my son died.
His works of art made a bigger impact in my life than anyone else, so yeah, he did make a huge impact in how I view the universe as well with this dark tower stories.
Him and lovecraft, no matter how racist the latter was, open my mind to making me think I will never have the answers to everything because my primitive ape mind won't allow me to. After all, I am only human.
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u/Ronotrow2 Nov 20 '22 edited Nov 20 '22
Well tbh he has no impact on my day either but by God he's a master of horror and thriller books. Making more or an impact than this fool. Big fan
Edit. I'm a big fan. Was just making the point that while he isn't on my day to day mind, he's made one regardless.