Bag of Bones by Stephen King Review

First things first: This is my absolute favourite book by Stephen King. I have read it so many times since 1998 when I bought it that I wonder why am I reading it over and over again. I know it by heart. I have even been using lines from the book in my everyday life without realising it. I am able to visualise it vividly when I read it. In short: I LOVE THIS BOOK

Now that this is out of the way I should probably let you know what the book is all about.

So much for happy beginnings
The main character's pregnant wife dies in the very first page. YES. WTF. The main character, Mike Noonan, is a writer but after the unfortunate and unexpected death of Jo (his wife) he starts suffering from writer's block and not just your average Joe writer's block! He gets panic attacks at the moment he turns on his word processor. Mike, however, doesn't let anyone know that he is suffering and keeps publishing old works he had saved when ideas flooded his brains but after four years the manuscripts end and publishers start pushing for a new novel. Mike realises that he must gather his pieces and start his life again but keeps getting panic attack after panic attack.

During the four years since the loss of Jo, Mike had a series of nightmares involving their summer cottage "Sarah Laughs" (named after a blues since Sarah Tidwell who spent some time in TR in the beginning of the century) on Darkshore Lake on the edge of a yankee town called TR-90. Mike returns to the TR to discover that Jo, in the few years before her death, had been researching Sara Tidwell's story, and apparently searching through the dirty secrets of the locals in the process. TR's "loveable" yanks seem less than happy to talk about when and how Sarah and her extended family came to leave the TR.

The Here and Now
On his way to the local fast food, Mike becomes involved in a custody dispute between a poor, young widowed mother and her daughter's grandfather (on her father's side) an ancient, millionaire who has the TR wrapped around his boney finger. Mike, having lost both his wife and his unborn child finds himself loving dearly the little girl and her beautiful young mother. On top of that "Sara Laughs" seems to be haunted by several chatty ghosts, including as it seems this of his wife. Certain Supernatural events include but are not limited to messages on the refrigerator in magnetic letters, the tinkling bell around a mounted moose head's neck, and ghost banging on walls while trying to communicate. In the meanwhile, Mike miraculously starts writing again.

Happy Endings

I'm not going to spoil anymore for you folks, go pick up the book and read it. Especially since it will be a miniseries in 2011. You wouldn't want to miss on the plot twists of the book by only watching the series ;D


Other Stephen King characters that you may know and are mentioned or met in BoB.
(I love when writers do that ^^)

• Ralph Roberts, the main character from Insomnia
• Ray Garraty, the main character from The Long Walk
• Mike Noonan reads books by Bill Denbrough from It.
• Sara Laughs is located on Dark Score Lake, from Gerald's Game.
• Mike Noonan lives in Derry, the setting for It and Insomnia.
• Thad Beaumont, from The Dark Half, is mentioned as having killed himself.
• Norris Ridgewick, sheriff of Castle Rock, shows up at Mike's door. Mike asks about former sheriff Alan Pangborn, and Norris mentions Polly Chalmers. All three were central characters in Needful Things.
• Jared Devore, Max's ancestor, mentions Shawshank Prison.
• The importance of 19, a number of talismanic power in The Dark Tower series, is introduced here.
• A woman Mike meets in the gym is said to be reading a book by Ellen Gilchrist; this is the maiden name of Ellen Rimbauer (Rose Red)