1922

I enjoyed Stephen King's "1922", mostly out of nostalgia for the Midwest (the story is set in Nebraska, I'm from Iowa.) I've not read all of King's work, but I think it's fair to say I've read most of it, and "1922" is very good, not the best, but very good. The King books I like best are the ones where I can relate directly to the main character or main characters. This book centers around two main characters who have jointly committed an act of murder, but the story goes beyond the murder itself. To me, the story also reflects harsh and lonely times in the Midwest just after the First World War, and the sometimes difficult choices that must be made in order to survive. Not for a minute do I condone murder; I am referring to difficult choices in a rural lifestyle in a small town, in a time where there is no internet, there are no smartphones, and no cable tv, with limited communication choices, period. A time of financial trouble, and strained marriages. For a novel class in high school, our teacher assigned us to read Fyodor Dostoyevsky's "Crime and Punishment." The theme of that book was that an individual committed an act of murder, and he considers himself free of the crime, as he has (in his mind) committed the perfect crime. In the end, he fails, not because of excellent law enforcement work, but his guilt overwhelms his conscience. The book "1922" brought back this theme to me, and King has done well in threading it through this story.