Three of my favorite novelists have released novels this fall: South of Broad by Pat Conroy, Last Night In Twisted River by John Irving, and Under the Dome by Stephen King. I recently finished South of Broad and started reading Under the Dome today.
The size of each of these novels is impressive. Conroy has always written big, sweeping novels (that’s why it takes him years to release one). Same goes with Irving. When King has gone big, he had gone BIG. (It and The Stand are mammoth stories).
It made me wonder what younger readers will think of these novels. We live in an instant world full of tweets and texts and soundbites and YouTube videos. Everything is short and simple. Dense, complicated novels might not be as easily digestible in our instant world.
Conroy, Irving, and King are bestselling authors, and they’re books will be bought. But I look at my own style of writing–I write a lot leaner stories. I’ve tried writing my Pat Conroy and John Irving novel. They’re sitting in my closet because I’m not that type of writer. My more recent novels could be compared to the genre of Stephen King, but again, I don’t go into all the detail that he does. That’s just not my style, for better or worse.
Under the Dome is over 1,000 pages. It’s already got me hooked. I’m not expecting It or The Stand because that was a different King. But I’m sure it’s going to keep me hooked for a long time. We’ll see.
Don't forget the Dark Tower series. Whew! I have two 13-year-old nieces and a 16-year-old nephew who LOVE huge books… and my 8-year-old just started Harry Potter. The readers are out there… I'm with you though… I wonder how many of the kiddos will appreciate these amazing novels for the works of art that they really are?
You're a jock to read a tome like Dome. I can't even carry itm, let alone read it. Your Kindler, CK1