Lisey's Story

Lisey's Story (Unabridged)

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Mare Winningham

Length: 19 hrs and 21 mins

Publisher's summary

Lisey Debusher Landon lost her husband, Scott, two years ago, after a 25-year marriage of the most profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was a celebrated, award-winning novelist and a complex man.

Lisey knew there was a dark place where her husband ventured to face his demons. Boo'ya Moon is what Scott called it - a realm that both terrified and healed him, that could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed to write and live. Now it's Lisey's turn to face her husband's demons. And what begins as a widow's effort to sort through her husband's effects becomes a perilous journey into the heart of darkness.

©2006 Stephen King (P)2006 Simon and Schuster Audio

Critic reviews

"Stephen King at his finest...a dazzling novel." (Nicholas Sparks)

"In Lisey's Story, Stephen King makes bold, brilliant use of his satanic storytelling gift, his angelic ear for language, and, above, all his incomparable ability to find the epic in the ordinary." (Michael Chabon)

"Lisey's Story is bright and brilliant. It's dark and desperate. While I'll always consider The Shining, my first ride on King's wild Tilt-A-Whirl, a gorgeous, bloody jewel, I found, on this latest ride, a treasure box heaped with dazzling gems. A few of them have sharp, hungry teeth." (Nora Roberts)

King’s Favourite?

Had struggled to read Lisey’s Story (could never get past the first couple of chapters) but after hearing its his favourite, and I find it easier to listen rather than read these days, decided to give it another go.
It was.... nice, ok, same feel as Rose Madder? All in all worth the credit but definitely something missing that I can’t quite put my finger on but I think it was the sub characters’ stories that needed more exploration.

Stephen King never fails to deliver!

What made the experience of listening to Lisey's Story the most enjoyable?

The whole story was like none I have ever read. I loved it! The characters, as always with Kings books are totally unique.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Scott was such a brave little boy. Even to the end he still loved his father.

What does Mare Winningham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

She ignited the characters! They were real separate people.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I didnt want to stop listening! Even when I finally got to the end I felt I could start again at the beginning and be just as enthralled the second time as the first. Liseys Story really is that good!

Stephen King's Best

Any additional comments?

I'm not a fan of horror fiction but I appreciate good writing and Stephen King's writing prowess truly shines through in this book. The relationship between Lisey and husband Scott is romanticised but the tender moments between them are extraordinarily moving. The real tour de force of characterisation is the expose of relationships between Lisey and her sisters. The sister are three of the most real characters I've found in King's books and there's nothing romanticised about them. Oddly enough the weakest part of the story is the supposed horror sections with the 'long boy'. They're rather clunky. For me the real horror was the backstory dealing with Scott's father. I couldn't help but feel this would have been a truly stellar book if the material had been treated as a psychological thriller and the 'horror' left on the cutting room floor. That said, it's a book I re-read because it's so well written.

Great Book narrated very well

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes - I found the story very entrancing and formed an emotional connection to the main character

Have you listened to any of Mare Winningham’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No
I felt Mare Winningham really added a lot to the character and felt her performance was excellent.

If you could take any character from Lisey's Story out to dinner, who would it be and why?

This is a tough one as it would be a toss up between Lisey and her husband

Rewarding and haunting.

I ended up loving this book and weeping at parts, which I am not used to doing. beautifully written, a journey that rewards patience, and Mare is an extraordinary reader. I thought Will Patton was good in the Bill Hodges trilogy, but this performance blew me away

Unfortunately not what was expected

This book gets a 2.5 rating from me. While the blurb does not lie in what the book entails, I was expecting a more conventional horror story of a woman's journey into a dark realm. I was disappointed when I realized a third of the way into the book that it is the story of a widow's journey to find closure in the years following her husband's death. While this journey is metaphorical and literal, it is not what was expected.

I found the majority of the story boring and uncompelling. Having said that, it wouldn't be a King book without it's charms. As one reads further into the book, it is clear that this is the husband, Scott's story as much as it is Lisey's. I was moved by a few moments, particularly Scott on his deathbed and his final goodbye in the form of a last manuscript written to Lisey. These moments are to be applauded because right from the very start, we know Scott is dead already. The way King makes us feel for a character that is only fleshed out through flashbacks and thoughts is quite something.

Mare Winningham's narration is fantastic. She breathes life into all the characters and does a superb job of protraying Lisey especially.

This is probably a book more for the ladies. It was ok, but not what I'm used to from King. I took a chance. It kind of fell through. Take from this review what you will. But you may enjoy it more than I did.

Turgid

What disappointed you about Lisey's Story?

Very slow pace of narrative. The story often looked like it was going to takeoff only to bumble along in the weeds again. Unlikeable charecters combined with a deathly slow pace that never goes anywhere. I find it incredible that The Green Mile, The Stand and many other great reads were written by the same man, its such a change in tempo.

Has Lisey's Story turned you off from other books in this genre?

No. I still like Mr King’s work and will continue to read and listen to the stories he writes. I still prefer his earlier work though.

What does Mare Winningham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Excellent delivery. It was only her narration that kept me going through a very turgid story line.

You didn’t love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

Some quirky ideas were good.

Any additional comments?

Looking at the reviews, many people have liked this book, so as ever, every individual will need to make up their own minds. But if you like his earlier work, you may be disappointed in this.