Thinner

I first read this book when it was published in 1984 under the Bachman pseudonym and I enjoyed it then. I thought I'd pick it up and re-read it and see if it was as good as I remembered. I think I enjoyed it even more this time around.

Stephen King, no matter what name he's writing under, is so good at developing characters. He brings to life attorney William Halleck, a man who hit and killed a Gypsy woman with his car. Yes, there were extenuating circumstances, but Halleck was to blame and through his connections got off scot free.

But the family of the woman, namely her father, doesn't agree so he does something about it and the story expands from there.

Great story, great characters, great setting (of course in Maine), and I loved the ending. This was well worth the re-read.

I really enjoyed Thinner. It is one of my all time favorite King books. For me, I place it among the ranks of Misery, The Stand, The Shining, and The Running Man. I mean really enjoyed it. I have bought it in hardback, then Kindle version, and the audio book. The audio book was especially chilling with the eerie soundtrack played between chapters. Unlike many sound tracks to audio books, it added greatly to the story ambience and in no way detracted. I often read or listen to several books at a time, switching between them depending on my mood, but not so with Thinner. I read and listened to it all the way through in every spare moment, finally staying up too late one night to finish. It has been the same all three times I've read (or listened) to it.

I enjoyed the plot more than other King books. He left a great deal to the imagiation, such as the extent of what really happened the night of the accident, that kept me guessing (and reading or listening). And, I didn't anticipate or guess the ending. Usually halfway through, or even a quart of the way through with a less skilled writer, I guess who the bad guys are, who's going to "get it", who's going to win or lose, and so on, but not so with Thinner.

The characters were some of King's best. He has always been great at creating real characters with real motivations, virtues and flaws, and Thinner is an excellent example. Each character from their habits to their dialogue to their actions were believable. In fact, I didn't feel like I was looking at characters at all but depictions of real people doing real things.

The ending was inexpected. It wasn't a happy ending, but then again, in real life they aren't always. Some of the less than great reviews are from people who didn't like the ending. Fair enough, lets just say if you require a happy ending to your books, then this story is not for you. I found it fair if not happy. When people make certain choices, they have to live with the consequences. Sometimes those choices effect other people badly.

Overall, I found Thinner to be an unexpected and thuroughly entertaininy read, and one of King's best.