Synopses & Reviews
Stephen King's most gripping and unforgettable novel,
Bag of Bones, is a story of grief and a lost love's enduring bonds, of a new love haunted by the secrets of the past, of an innocent child caught in a terrible crossfire.
Set in the Maine territory King has made mythic, Bag of Bones recounts the plight of forty-year-old bestselling novelist Mike Noonan, who is unable to stop grieving even four years after the sudden death of his wife, Jo, and who can no longer bear to face the blank screen of his word processor.
Now his nights are plagued by vivid nightmares of the house by the lake. Despite these dreams, or perhaps because of them, Mike finally returns to Sara Laughs, the Noonans' isolated summer home.
He finds his beloved Yankee town familiar on its surface, but much changed underneath -- held in the grip of a powerful millionaire, Max Devore, who twists the very fabric of the community to his purpose: to take his three-year-old granddaughter away from her widowed young mother. As Mike is drawn into their struggle, as he falls in love with both of them, he is also drawn into the mystery of Sara Laughs, now the site of ghostly visitations, ever-escalating nightmares, and the sudden recovery of his writing ability. What are the forces that have been unleashed here -- and what do they want of Mike Noonan?
As vivid and enthralling as King's most enduring works, Bag of Bones resonates with what Amy Tan calls "the witty and obsessive voice of King's powerful imagination." It's no secret that King is our most mesmerizing storyteller. In Bag of Bones -- described by Gloria Naylor as "a love story about the dark places within us all" -- he proves to be one of our most moving.
Review
"Carrying galley copy that avoids the h(orror) word while touting its 'O. Henry Award-winning author,' King's latest novel features a marketing campaign in accord with the distinguished pedigree of his new publisher. But has King written a book that ranks him as a literary heavyweight? Indeed he has, though not by forsaking his roots: the novel is a classic ghost story....From his mint-fresh etching of spooky rural Maine to his masterful pacing and deft handling of numerous themes...this is one of King's most accomplished novels. It is his most personal as well, revealing through Mike's broodings the intimacies of the creative writing process: a passionate gift from a veteran author to all who care about the art and craft of storytelling." Publishers Weekly
Review
"...King's most narratively subversive fiction.... Popular fiction just doesn't get any weirder than this." Tom De Haven, Entertainment Weekly
Review
Anne Rivers Siddons
I loved Bag of Bones. It's Stephen King for the new millennium, with all the heart and wit showing through the suspense. I always knew he'd do this. Such an evocation of love, grief and healing.
About the Author
Stephen King is the O. Henry Award-winning author of more than thirty books, including
The Shining, The Stand, The Green Mile, and the stories on which the Academy Award-nominated films
Carrie, Stand by Me, and
Shawshank Redemption are based. His most recent volume in the Dark Tower series is
Wizard and Glass. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.