Summer of Stephen
Title: “Gray Matter”
Publishing Date: 1977 Length: 8 pages Start Date: July 3, 2017 End Date: July 3, 2017 Overall, I’m not a fan of “Gray Matter.” Compared to most of King’s other work, it just didn’t feel as original to me. It starts off with a bunch of guys hanging out during a snowstorm, when suddenly a young boy runs into the store. He’s clearly terrified, so the store owner takes him aside to find out what’s wrong. Everyone knows the boy, because they see him make frequent trips to the store to buy beer for his dad. But this time, something is different. Something isn’t right. So the store owner and a couple other guys tell the boy that they’ll deliver the beer to his father. On the way, the owner tells the others that the man supposedly drank some sort of contaminated beer and is now slowly mutating into a giant, terrifying blob. He hides from the light and consumes only warm beer. And the occasional cat. Upon arriving at the man’s house, our brave gentlemen discover a horrific smell, likely caused by the man’s diet, which almost definitely consists of more than beer and cats. The man finally opens the front door, but he no longer resembles a human. Two of the men run off while the store owner fires his gun at the man/blob/thing. The story ends with everyone sitting back at the store, waiting to see if the owner makes it back alive. It seems like it should be an interesting story, but it just didn’t do anything for me. I wasn’t creeped out. I didn’t wish that he’d made it longer and included more detail. Really, the only reaction I had to it was slight revulsion when King describes the smell coming out of the apartment. It’s not poorly written, and I’m sure many King fans like “Gray Matter.” It just wasn’t really my kind of story.
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Title: “I Know What You Need”
Publishing Date: 1977 Length: 20 pages Start Date: June 30, 2017 End Date: June 30, 2017 For the most part, I really liked “I Know What You Need.” It tells the story of Elizabeth, a college student who seems to have it all: a great boyfriend, a nice roommate, and pretty great life all around. But when she decides to accept the help of the mysterious Ed to pass one of her finals, she ends up getting more out of the bargain than just some test answers. Her life begins to slowly unravel, but at every turn Ed is there to offer comfort and support. The story walks the line between paranormal and just a case of regular old stalking, and even at the end it’s not 100% clear if Ed has some sort of magical ability or if he’s just a super creep. I’ve met guys like Ed before. They start out trying to help. They’re shy and timid. Everything they do is for your benefit. But then they won’t go away. They feel as though they’re owed your time, your affection, your body, etc. just because they were nice to you. But if you don’t feel as strongly about them, or have a million other reasons for not wanting to pursue a relationship with them, they turn into complete psychos. I believe this falls into the category of why the “friendzone” is such a toxic idea. Fortunately, I’ve never had one of these guys make a voodoo doll in my likeness. At least, not that I know of. I should probably look into that. Anyway. I really enjoyed this King short story. But, like the others, I wish it had been longer. I wanted him to really delve into Ed’s backstory, because I’m a sucker for a compelling backstory. But I’ve noticed that King’s characters tend to pop up throughout his various books, so maybe I haven’t seen the last of Ed. I hope not. He’s a creep, but he’s an interesting creep. |
Jacinta M. CarterProfessional Book Nerd Archives
July 2019
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