Bag of Bones

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Stephen King

Length: 21 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Even four years after the sudden death of his wife, best selling novelist Mike Noonan can't stop grieving, nor can he return to his writing. Now his nights are plagued by vivid nightmares of the house by the lake. Despite these dreams, or perhaps because of them, he decides to return to Sara Laughs, the Noonans' isolated summer home. In his beloved Yankee town, he finds himself falling in love with a widowed young mother, who struggles to keep custody of her 3-year-old daughter. He is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations, ever-escalating nightmares, and the sudden recovery of his writing ability. What are the forces that have been unleashed here - and what do they want of Mike Noonan?

©1998 Stephen King, All Rights Reserved (P)1998 Simon & Schuster, Inc., All Rights Reserved

Critic reviews

"The witty and obsessive voice of King's powerful imagination." (Amy Tan)
"What King lacks in professional polish he makes up for with an infectious enthusiasm that will lock in listeners for the long haul." (Publishers Weekly)

Loved it ❤️

I thought that it was a slow start and there were a lot of characters to get to know…….but Steven King is a master story teller and as usual it took off. Great ride!!!

Bonus reader!!

This is one of my favorite Stephen King books. I have read it twice, listened on audio twice. and SK as the narrator just pushes it over the edge for this fangirl!!!

Love NO sound effects!

So good. Mr. King is just reading a story. No screaming sound affects, no BS acting, just a good book. The story is great .

A haunted love story

Great late 90s Stephen King! With an added bonus interview at the end . This one’s better with every listen(or read ).

Loved this!

In my opinion, the author, reading their own work they way they intended it to be heard is above and beyond. I went through a range of emotions when the tale reminded me of my own regrets and sorrow and a genuine concern for the characters. Lovely

Excellent ghost story!

Loved this book! The story line , the music, the Downeast characters from the town. Steven Kings narration really brought the book alive. Incredible that he wrote the music lyrics and the songs were produced for this book. Excellent excellent job by all in this production.

My favorite book by King so far

It was really good. I’ve seen other reviews saying that King was the perfect narrator for this book, and I wholeheartedly agree. He reads it the way it is supposed to be heard and there’s something special about a book being heard in its best form.

Love

I love this book and to have Stephen King read it was awesome!
Thank you so much for an awesome story

Good but not best

Good story and great narration. Toward the end, it got graphic, and I had to actually fast forward through the right to murder. But I would recommend this book.

Best I've read by Stephen King.

I used to not like Stephen King, but lately I've gotten into some of his more character-driven works, and found that when he concentrates on the characters instead of the beasties, he's pretty darned good. Even with this new respect for him, I was surprised by the quality of this novel. Everything works in it, even King's reading of it.

The book is sad through much of it, as you will guess from the first line, so don't listen hoping for a cheerful experience. But the characters are complex and the presentation of the local town where most of the story happens is observant and detailed, and King takes his time developing the mystery. He doesn't even introduce the mystery until far longer than you'd think possible. Still, it will captivate you until he does, and throughout, and not just through the mystery, but through the character interactions and even the moral questions raised.

This book has several layers of story, from the horror story to the romance to the backstory that is slowly developed. Through it all there is a mythical and psychological element to have you working out how much King meant to be metaphor, not just story.

Excellent book. May just change your opinion of where Stephen King fits in the world of literature. This is the type of book that when you finish, you won't want to start another book for a while, because you won't want the taste to leave you.