Sleeping Beauties: A Novel

I always worry when King brings someone else in to write with him or ‘along side’ him. I say this (mostly) because his style is so specific that I can tell when it’s NOT him in a story or collection. However, I do not know Owen Kings’ work but he IS Stephen’s son—I feel that counts for something. So I gave this book a try. They were strong on alliteration and metaphors which I don’t mind. To love Stephen King means to understand that he enjoys spending a lot of time on character development (Their past, why they are where they are, their desires and motivations). I’ve heard some people complain about this as a ‘rambling’. I’ve never looked at it that way. I like it and in the end it is usually helpful to have known each persons path and character arc. This book is long…over 900 pages. I don’t mind this. The Stand was super long and it’s my absolute favorite of King’s books. Some may find it daunting. There is a preface with a list of characters that I found myself often flipping back to review. I found myself thinking back to The Stand and Needful Things as his other works with a large cast of characters. I won’t say too much more as I believe each reader should draw their own conclusions. I liked it, but I’ve loved King since I picked up my mothers paperback of Carrie when I was six years old. It was a perfect summer read for me, a Constant Reader. I’m glad he got to do this with his son, something I’m sure Owen will always cherish. I’d love to see them do something else together!

The King powerhouse does it again, but this time with a different agenda. I suspect that many will not like this book, but those are the ones that probably need it the most. Part "classic King," part social commentary, this is a MUST READ. When a work of fiction is able to deliver scathing social commentary, something wonderful happens. And the Kings deliver on that promise.

Not knowing, I dove in with both feet as there's no such thing as a "bad" Stephen King novel. I was also pleased to hear Owen add his own voice to the mix.

This book is even more important given the current administration (where a presidential candidate can talk about grabbing a woman's p**** and still get elected.) As women's rights are being slowly stripped away, "Sleeping Beauties" shows how the presence of women in positions of power leave an indelible mark on our society. Much like the movie "A Day Without a Mexican, "Sleeping Beauties" shows the often silent and invisible mark they make on society as a whole.

Equal parts suspense, horror, and more importantly, social commentary, this book asks readers to really think about the impact women have on the world in general and in the US in particular.

How would the world be different without the moderating influence of women? "Sleeping Beauties" portrays a chillingly possible reality. The actions of the men, when the women in their lives are suddenly unavailable to them, shows the often conflicted, frequently lost, and always diverse emotions & reactions.

This novel boldly asks "what if." What if there were no women? Reproduction aside, this novel offers a chillingly realistic glimpse into a world where men are forced to rely solely on themselves. Read it, then examine the silent, often invisible and frequently derided impact of the women in your life. This goes for women as well because, "we [women] do it too." P. 493.

If you don't understand the concept of gender politics, male privilege and how women are still subjected to discrimination, here's a primer for you. If you DO understand them, here's an additional lesson. The best lessons are those that are given to you while you're not looking.

This book takes place in southern WV, primarily in the fictional county of Dooling and the Dooling Women's Correctional Prison. And while the Mr.s King sometimes use literary over emphasis on the dialect, they don't make our people seem stupid. It's very on point with our troubles with the alcohol/opioid addiction problems and the wide range of personalities (some not pleasant) but I appreciate that they did that...it doesn't patronize our population. The story itself is very good and, of course, well written. The book explores the notion that one day, all females start to fall asleep. They become encased in a web-like cocoon and while their body is in stasis of perfect vital signs, their minds travel to a different place...more peaceful and happy. If the cocoon is removed, the women become enraged, feral killers until the web regrows and seals, returning them to their sleep. The ensuing panic of the females and the dismay of the males highlights the best and worst in humanity. What will the men do when there are no more women? How do women try to avoid the inevitable? What happens when the men watch their wives, moms and daughters succumb to the sickness? And what about Eve Black, the strange woman who shows up that doesn't fall victim to the strange cocoon? This book is like all good books should be; riding a roller coaster. The beginning chapters are like the anticipation of going slowly up that first hill. You get the introduction and background of the extensive amount of people necessary to the story. You get invested in their lives and then before you know it, you're staring down from the precipice just waiting for the air to be taken from your lungs. The twists and turns of the story is classic Stephen King and it seems he passed his writing style and ability to his son. I will say this, if you are a conservative republican who supports Trump 100%, you may have issue with a few barbs placed in the book; although, if you are a Trump supporter, you probably wouldn't buy a King book anyway, seeing how King makes it widely known he dislikes 45. But if you can roll with the punches and enjoy the story telling, you'll like this book too. All in all, I really enjoyed this book. I haven't read a King novel in a long while as I got out of the genre and into more sci-fi/romance/time travel type books. I do recommend you pick it up if you get the chance. It's a thick book! So unless you are retired like me or just let the chores go (also like me) to read, it'll take a bit to get it done :)

I have no idea how two writers can collaborate on a booj, but that isn't my problem. This book has the same compelling characters and intricate plot twists I expect of a Stephen King novel. I suppose I will now have to read another by Owen and see how his writing is when not collaborating with one of my favorite authors. I do have one serious complaint about the book: although it is set in an American prison, and near the end Lila, the sherrif wonders about the split-second decisions that an officer makes and how color comes into it, when the characters are introduced, race is not mentioned. At all. I went back and checked. I pictured most of the characters as white Appalachians,although logically, the vast majority of inmates are people of color. I feel that having to mentally go back to edit what I know about the characters is an unnecessary burden. Yes, this book is about the crap women have to deal with,but black women have all the black shite on top of all the female shite to deal with. Is there a black mother in America who,when thinking about her son, doesn't worry about his being shot by a cop? To leave out any such race based reaction leaves the tale blurry, and unsatisfying. I can live with random and unresolved endings, but try as I might, not establishing major character pieces seems a flaw in an otherwise well constructed story.

I read a lot and don't review as much as I should, but I need to talk about 'Sleeping Beauties.' I'm a King fan of nearly 40 years (Hi Steve! Hi Owen!). I've been on a sort of quest for many years to read literally every King Book. SB was the next to last on my list, and the last 'big' novel (I only have 'Elevation' to go—well, also 'The Plant' which is free online—and then the prize is mine. Muahaha). I wasn't looking forward to reading SB because of all the talk I'd heard about how political it is. Given that Mr. King's political views and my own don't exactly align, I feared I was in for a groan-fest.

Truth is, the politics aren't that bad. Which is to say, if you go in expecting to be hammered over the head with a rehash of pro-woman/anti-male tropes, you at least come out pleased that you were merely hit on the head with a Nerf hammer. Repeatedly, to be sure, but it's still a soft hammer. And the Kings wouldn't be successful writers if their characters were cardboard, so yes there are some good men in the book, and yes there are some very bad women.

The good news is that the story itself is quite good. I've always been fond of the big stories with large casts, with lots of interaction between the characters. Maybe it's not your thing, but if it is you should enjoy SB. The final act does, however, lapse into full action-movie mode, but I suppose that's consistent with the theme. But it's exciting, and there's plenty of suspense.

So this might've been another 5-star review ... until I read the final chapter. Just in case the feminist tropes were too subtle throughout everything that went before, the Kings take the opportunity to drive home the idea that men in our current world are inherently violent (yes, even the 'good' ones; they just can't help it) and the women, if given a chance to start over on their own, would create a better world full of better men. Sperm samples and whatnot, you get the idea. This doesn't jibe with the reality that the sexes are of a complimentary nature, that one is not complete without the other, and that the characteristics of either would surely reassert themselves within a single generation. So there—how's that for being hit over the head? I'm taking off 1 star for misandry.

In short, don't let the 'politics' (such as they are) of this book scare you away. It's a solid read. I'm a bit sad that it's my last King book of significant heft, but hey I can always go back and re-read the Dark Tower series or 'Under the Dome' again.

Oh, and I don't know if Stephen ever reads these reviews, but just in case you do, I think I've earned a little something for sticking with you all these years and working through your entire canon. I should finish 'Elevation' and 'The Plant' over the next 2 or 3 weeks, so maybe you could send, I don't know, a Butterball turkey for Thanksgiving or something. It should please you to know that I do all the cooking in my house. Hit me up! Long days and pleasant nights to you and your family.

I found it a little difficult to get into this novel. Once I did (about a quarter of the way in), it did move along briskly, but I found myself a little frustrated about certain characters. Frank, for example (choosing a main character with an issue revealed early so as not to spoil the story) had an anger issue that did not always read normally or easily. Sometimes it did seem like his outbursts were consistent with his characteriztion. But his self-awareness seemed inconsistent with the men (and one woman) I've known with anger issues. His blindness to his own behavior during outbursts, and his need to be "a good guy" did seem about right though.

I definitely appreciated the approach of the story, ultimately being about how our culture encourages men and women to behave differently, and especially when the chips are down in one way or another. None of us is at our best when stressed and facing unknown outcomes even when we think we are doing our best. We may be doing the best we can under the circumstances, but we are still not at our best.

Not surprisingly, these authors did focus a lot on the men in the story, and the women didn't always get as much attention. One woman character who stayed awake during most of the ordeal, for example, started off as one of my favorites, but then spent half the novel wandering around in the background giving the reader almost no idea of her motivations. Then she is used in a big climatic moment, and we're supposed to believe she had only one motivation that had only been discussed almost as an aside early in the story. It was a bit of a muddle.

Also muddled was the experience of the cocooned women. That was when the book came alive for me, but we kept shifting back to the angry and depressed men, which had parts I literally only skimmed, because it was repetitive and boring. And while I can imagine the men doing all the things they did, why did no character in a story that deals so much with the ways in which many women are physically and emotionally vulnerable to the men in their lives, even think to point out the ENTIRE vulnerability of women in cocoons, whose cocoons - while somewhat protective - were not infallible. Once in a cocoon, a woman had no way to either fight back or escape WITH AGENCY if attacked by the men around her. I think I know what the authors were hoping to symbolize, but they didn't do this correctly, in my opinion. Any power seeking to help women see how they might survive on their own, without men, and with agency, would have made it happen without making their physical bodies (and, by necessity, their emotional well being) ENTIRELY dependent on men.

I was also disappointed in the climax. It felt more like an anticlimax, in that a lot of questions that had been raised were not well answered. I don't need a complete explanation - we are supposed to use our imaginations when we read after all, and fantasy/horror/sci-fi does require a willingness to suspend disbelief. But we need SOMETHING to kickstart our imaginations, and there were too many gaps there, in my opinion, to do that well.

All-in-all, it was an interesting thought exercise, and had its good moments. It also might be more rewarding for men reading. For this woman, however, it will not be one of those King books I reread with joy. I doubt I will reread it at all. Sorry guys.

7/10 stars rounded up on Amazon to 4/5.

This is definitely an ode to women. Very few of the male characters come off very well. Only Jard, Garth and Barry seem to be made of very good stuff. The rest like most of us are flawed. The story is a long one and for the most part it paced well. The ending comes fast and the epilogue leaves a few questions. A good read but not on of King’s best.