The latest story I finished was another first-time read: "The Langoliers," one of four novellas contained in Four Past Midnight. This is one I didn’t have much expectation about going in, since it doesn’t seem to be one of King’s most talked-about stories. I had been aware of the horrendous 90s TV miniseries of course. I haven't seen the thing in full; only parts, thank God. But would a bad adaptation ever put me off to reading a King story? Certainly not. Some of King’s absolute best novels have been given deplorable treatment when adapted for TV, so as far as I’m concerned, that is hardly a deal-breaker.
The story concerns a strange incident that occurs during a midair flight, and follows a small group of "survivors" who attempt to investigate and rationalize what's happened. The characters need to be compelling in a story like this, and they are. It's a good, diverse, sympathetic cast overall. The biggest exception would be Craig Toomey, whose presentation is admittedly extreme and occasionally irritating. He is in the tradition of one of King's apparently favorite "go-to" literary standbys: angry, mean-spirited bullies. King's tendency to insert such figures into his stories is something I think tends to weigh his work down a bit. Of course, it does kind of fit the dark worldview which characterizes his literature; I just wish King gave these characters greater depth and complexity in general. With that in mind, I would argue that King does a better job here than we normally see from him. In Toomey's case, King gives us a few dynamic pages of character history that shed a good amount of light on his psychological motivations; certainly more than we usually get with King's hostile characters. There is a definite sense of the cruel, stringent, abusive influences Toomey was shaped by growing up, which underlines his actions with a sort of wounded defensiveness.
Dinah is perhaps the character I found to be most intriguing and effective. King makes good use of Dinah's supernatural abilities, particularly the sense of foreboding evoked through her extrasensory awareness of the encroaching langoliers. Dinah's sense of the terror the group is surrounded and threatened by, as well as her special ability to connect with Toomey, are dramatic aspects which are very well conveyed by King. Such elements heightened my interest and investment in the story considerably.
The story works on a few different levels. King winds up the suspense pretty well early on, and keeps that going for most of the book. The horror aspects are effective; not the actual "langoliers" themselves, but the build-up to their arrival, which is creepy and unnerving. The straightforward human elements are good too. In fact, a lot of what kept me engaged in the story were the character interactions; King does a good job depicting their various feelings, viewpoints, and reactions. King writes convincingly of the ways various characters clash and bond, demonstrating ample skill with drawing conflicts as well as closeness. In particular, there are some surprisingly affecting moments between Nick and Laurel toward the end of the novella. And the science fiction aspects of the story, which are not insubstantial, worked for me as well. Granted, I am not a huge fan of sci-fi, but I think King showed creativity and thoroughness in expressing his ideas here.
(Warning: the following paragraph contains spoilers, especially for King's newest novel.)
I don't know the genesis of King's idea for this story, but I view it as a fun "what if" exercise. In this case, it's like King is considering mysterious occurrences like the "Bermuda Triangle," and assuming the creative challenge of exploring what might be happening in such situations. King is no stranger to playing with these kinds of "what if" scenarios. Even in his latest novel, The Outsider, it seemed like King took an actual superstition myth--"El Cuco," a Mexican boogeyman figure--and built a story around the idea: Well, if that were a real thing, what if this "outsider" was the truth behind it? Similarly, "The Langoliers" is a cool vehicle by which to "explain" a very odd phenomenon. The sci-fi nature of the story might put some readers off, but I think it is in stories like these that King's creativity really takes center stage.
I don't know the genesis of King's idea for this story, but I view it as a fun "what if" exercise. In this case, it's like King is considering mysterious occurrences like the "Bermuda Triangle," and assuming the creative challenge of exploring what might be happening in such situations. King is no stranger to playing with these kinds of "what if" scenarios. Even in his latest novel, The Outsider, it seemed like King took an actual superstition myth--"El Cuco," a Mexican boogeyman figure--and built a story around the idea: Well, if that were a real thing, what if this "outsider" was the truth behind it? Similarly, "The Langoliers" is a cool vehicle by which to "explain" a very odd phenomenon. The sci-fi nature of the story might put some readers off, but I think it is in stories like these that King's creativity really takes center stage.
I enjoyed reading this novella, and found myself caught up in the story so strongly at points that I was simply enjoying it rather than analyzing it. Judging from what I've heard King say in interviews about how he hopes his work comes across to his audience, he'd probably take that as a compliment. Because of my involvement in the story, I had to slow myself down sometimes, in order to take note of the quality of King's prose. There is some nice writing here, I think. I love when King writes crisply and smoothly, and is not lazy, which is how I'd describe his work here. One example of King's effort:
"Overhead compartments burst open when the 767 swerved onto the runway, spraying carry-on luggage across the main cabin in a deadly hail" (p. 188, paperback).
This is just one of any number of sentences I could have plucked from the novella to highlight King's effortful skill with language. Notice King's use of the verbs "burst", "swerved" and "spraying" in the sentence. It strikes me that King uses these particular words to convey intensity, energy, and force. Spraying is an especially interesting choice, as he could have reasonably opted for another, more common, word there. It seems to me that this sentence speaks to just how intentional King is as a writer. His use of "deadly hail" is clever, and offers a particularly vivid image.
There is another passage so strikingly expressed that it imprinted on my mind, and I suspect will be one that lingers with me for a long time to come:
"It was a short walk, but Laurel, who walked hand-in-hand with Dinah, thought it was the strangest one she had ever taken in her life. She could see them as if from above, less than a dozen dots trundling slowly across a wide concrete plain. There was no breeze. No birds sang. No motors revved in the distance, and no human voice broke the unnatural quiet. Even their footfalls seemed wrong to her. She was wearing a pair of high heels, but instead of the brisk click she was used to, she seemed to hear only small, dull thuds" (p. 87, paperback).
For me, this is very well described, very easy to visualize, and resonates not just as an idea but as a feeling. King captures both Laurel's peculiar, nervous perception of what is happening, and the strangeness of the environment the group has found themselves in. The world they encounter outside the plane, despite looking familiar, has changed in fundamental ways. The air is different. Sounds and smells are different. King conveys the weirdness wonderfully. Moments like that are gems. "The Langoliers" is not one of King's strongest works, but it is a compelling read. It has stayed in my mind for about a week since I read it. I can still picture it all pretty well. As I said before, there is a movie version. But knowing what I do about that one, I think I'll pass. I'll read anything King writes, but when it comes to his 90s miniseries, you can consider me a "Constant Avoider."
Comments
Post a Comment