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A review by anastaciaknits
Under the Dome by Stephen King
5.0
2017 review
So, I LOVE this book.
I believe this is the forth time I've read it, or maybe even the fifth - it's become sort of an annual tradition for me to read it every summer. I actually finished this in April, I think, but because of health issues, I haven't been reading or reviewing like I normally do. I didn't even update goodreads with it, because I've read this book so many times before - and can I just say, for a huge book, it reads so fast? I read it the first time in 4 days, and I've never taken more than a week to finish it.
Well imagine my surprise when I realized I've never actually reviewed the book here on the blog (though I have reviewed it on goodreads) - of course, now I wish I hadn't sat on the review for so long, because for me, I write the best reviews (you know, well thought out, arguing both good & bad parts of the book with specific reasons for why I feel the way I do) 3-7 days after I finish a book. I need a couple of days to muse on the book & to start writing the review in my head, often arguing with myself over certain points. So a few months later? Ugh, not good.
So my first part of my review I'm going to lift from my original goodreads review:
I'm a big King fan, though I probably have only read about 1/3 of his books. This one is no exception. Sure, it's long, sure there are sections that drag, and sure it's far-fetched, but that's why it's called fiction. Dale and Julia are two of the many, many, many characters in the book, and they are probably my favorites. Junior, Jim Rennie's Sr.'s crazed son, is also one of my favorites, in that "love to hate him" sort of way. This book, at its heart, is about ordinary people trying to survive and live another day.
I love the last line of that paragraph - so much so, that I had to really stop and think what else to write in my review.
I hate the Rennie's - every time I read the book, I hate Jim & Junior all the more. Poor Junior is literally insane, and he does horrific disgusting things, but it's not his fault, but man, Jim is just evil.
For the first time, really, I picked up on all the foreshadowing in the book. I was actually very, very surprised when I started picking up on it - how could I have not known the ending of the book (the first time), with all of the clues S. King left us? I just think every time I've read the book, I'm so swept up in the narrative and the little moments in everyone's life, that I just didn't see the foreshadowing.
I love disaster, end of the world type of books and movies, so yeah, I just love this, slow moments and all.
2016 review
I first read this book a few years ago, when it first came out. Hubby enjoyed the first season of the show so much he wanted to read the book - even though he isn't much of a reader. Well, needless to say, I ended up rereading it & hubby read 20 pages.
I'm a big King fan, though I probably have only read about 1/3 of his books. This one is no exception. Sure, it's long, sure there are sections that drag, and sure it's far-fetched, but that's why it's called fiction. Dale and Julia are two of the many, many, many characters in the book, and they are probably my favorites. Junior, Jim Rennie's Sr.'s crazed son, is also one of my favorites, in that "love to hate him" sort of way. This book, at its heart, is about ordinary people trying to survive and live another day.
My only gripe with the book is the exact same one as the first time I read it - you spend 1000 pages reading about what is happening Under the Dome, for it all to end in a small handful of pages, and without enough of an explanation to satisfy me. There's a lot of fore-shadowing throughout the book, which I noticed the first time but sort of ruined the book for me the second time (yes, I did know how it ended, but it still ruined the ending).
So, I LOVE this book.
I believe this is the forth time I've read it, or maybe even the fifth - it's become sort of an annual tradition for me to read it every summer. I actually finished this in April, I think, but because of health issues, I haven't been reading or reviewing like I normally do. I didn't even update goodreads with it, because I've read this book so many times before - and can I just say, for a huge book, it reads so fast? I read it the first time in 4 days, and I've never taken more than a week to finish it.
Well imagine my surprise when I realized I've never actually reviewed the book here on the blog (though I have reviewed it on goodreads) - of course, now I wish I hadn't sat on the review for so long, because for me, I write the best reviews (you know, well thought out, arguing both good & bad parts of the book with specific reasons for why I feel the way I do) 3-7 days after I finish a book. I need a couple of days to muse on the book & to start writing the review in my head, often arguing with myself over certain points. So a few months later? Ugh, not good.
So my first part of my review I'm going to lift from my original goodreads review:
I'm a big King fan, though I probably have only read about 1/3 of his books. This one is no exception. Sure, it's long, sure there are sections that drag, and sure it's far-fetched, but that's why it's called fiction. Dale and Julia are two of the many, many, many characters in the book, and they are probably my favorites. Junior, Jim Rennie's Sr.'s crazed son, is also one of my favorites, in that "love to hate him" sort of way. This book, at its heart, is about ordinary people trying to survive and live another day.
I love the last line of that paragraph - so much so, that I had to really stop and think what else to write in my review.
I hate the Rennie's - every time I read the book, I hate Jim & Junior all the more. Poor Junior is literally insane, and he does horrific disgusting things, but it's not his fault, but man, Jim is just evil.
For the first time, really, I picked up on all the foreshadowing in the book. I was actually very, very surprised when I started picking up on it - how could I have not known the ending of the book (the first time), with all of the clues S. King left us? I just think every time I've read the book, I'm so swept up in the narrative and the little moments in everyone's life, that I just didn't see the foreshadowing.
I love disaster, end of the world type of books and movies, so yeah, I just love this, slow moments and all.
2016 review
I first read this book a few years ago, when it first came out. Hubby enjoyed the first season of the show so much he wanted to read the book - even though he isn't much of a reader. Well, needless to say, I ended up rereading it & hubby read 20 pages.
I'm a big King fan, though I probably have only read about 1/3 of his books. This one is no exception. Sure, it's long, sure there are sections that drag, and sure it's far-fetched, but that's why it's called fiction. Dale and Julia are two of the many, many, many characters in the book, and they are probably my favorites. Junior, Jim Rennie's Sr.'s crazed son, is also one of my favorites, in that "love to hate him" sort of way. This book, at its heart, is about ordinary people trying to survive and live another day.
My only gripe with the book is the exact same one as the first time I read it - you spend 1000 pages reading about what is happening Under the Dome, for it all to end in a small handful of pages, and without enough of an explanation to satisfy me. There's a lot of fore-shadowing throughout the book, which I noticed the first time but sort of ruined the book for me the second time (yes, I did know how it ended, but it still ruined the ending).