Duma Key

A Novel

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: John Slattery

Length: 21 hrs

Publisher's summary

Winner of the 2009 Audie Award for Fiction

A terrible accident takes Edgar Freemantle's right arm and scrambles his memory and his mind, leaving him with little but rage as he begins the ordeal of rehabilitation. When his marriage suddenly ends, Edgar begins to wish he hadn't survived his injuries. He wants out. His psychologist suggests a new life distant from the Twin Cities, along with something else:

"Edgar, does anything make you happy?"
"I used to sketch."
"Take it up again. You need hedges...hedges against the night."

Edgar leaves for Duma Key, an eerily undeveloped splinter of the Florida coast. The sun setting into the Gulf of Mexico calls out to him, and Edgar draws. Once he meets Elizabeth Eastlake, a sick old woman with roots tangled deep in Duma Key, Edgar begins to paint, sometimes feverishly; many of his paintings have a power that cannot be controlled. When Elizabeth's past unfolds and the ghosts of her childhood begin to appear, the damage of which they are capable is truly devastating.

The tenacity of love, the perils of creativity, the mysteries of memory, and the nature of the supernatural: Stephen King gives us a novel as fascinating as it is gripping and terrifying.

©2008 Stephen King (P)2008 Simon and Schuster, Inc.

Overall Worth The Time

A bit long and wordy, but overall a good listen. I never fell asleep. I liked the character development and how everything came together in the end. Worth the time!!!

Good read but fell flat in some places

Good book. Great character development. The story was interesting but lacked the description of the "bad guys"

A many-layered tale

Another masterpiece of storytelling, this time accompanying a thought-provoking commentary on the nature of creativity. Not to mention one of my top five narrations. Wonderful.

Best Stephen king novel ever!!!!

Best Stephen king novel ever♡ ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ¡》

I enjoyed Duma Key

Slattery read well. His performance kept my interest. Tha story, in my opinion, was well written as well. Toward the end of the story however, I felt confused . I was having a bit of a problem following due to the changes in the story after the gallery exhibit. O

f course, maybe it was just me!

One of his very best

I am a long time (long term?) King fan, but not a blind one. Many of his works are flawed or formulaic. Some themes and tones are pretty much a guarantee. We don't expect a walk in a (cheery, safe) park with him, and we don't get one here. What we do get is three things: 1. Some of his best characters ever, and surely the most adult, most mature in their average nature and their reflections upon themselves. 2. A surprising essay on painting (though TBH it could apply to writing a book as well). Lifted from the narrative, they would serve as a proper guide for an awakening artist of any age. It has, in fact, inspired me to commence writing again after a long, long hiatus from my published youth. 3. the story. not entirely original, but in some ways all the better for that--this is a real novel, and a real tragedy, where that word means what the Greeks meant: a story in which the traits of personality dictate the outcome regardless of the efforts of free will. Since those traits are mixed, so is the outcome. I think focusing on the plot, the gooey bits, is to miss an opportunity to experience Mr. King as truly one of America's best writers. bar none. The reader, Mr. Slattery is transparent to the story; we know who is talking whenever he speaks more by nuance than by drastic voice alterations. He made many of the people, and certainly the protagonists into people I would like to meet--and given they are from King's universe...who knows?

Truly amazing!

So darn good! the reading was phenomenal! The story come alive! I've read the book on my own and as good as it was, this dude did such a great job!

Great story - Great performance

It’s no wonder this is an award winner. The mature Stephen King is absolutely in control. And the reading of narrator John Slattery is spot on perfect. Wow.

Undefined fear

Liked the character development enjoyed thenjoy the Liked how the antagonist was never defined definitely leads to scarier scarier interactions in your own mind

New King Fav

Character development was outsnding. A new King fav. would reccomend to all, ev en those who dont enjoy horror novels.