#42 – Thinner

Plot

Attorney Billy Halleck seriously enjoys living his life of upper-class excess. He’s got it all­—an expensive home in Connecticut, a loving family… and fifty extra pounds that his doctor repeatedly warns will be the death of him. Then, in a moment of carelessness, Halleck commits vehicular manslaughter when he strikes a jaywalking old woman crossing the street. But Halleck has some powerful local connections and gets off with a slap on the wrist … much to the fury of the woman’s mysterious and ancient father, who exacts revenge with a single word: “Thinner.”

Review

After I finish reading a Stephen King book, my routine involves reading book reviews from the New York Times – and others – to compare my feelings with critics. I also peruse any movie trailers associated with the completed novel to see if A) they exist (typically yes) and B) if they look interesting (typically no). Well, Thinner had – by far – the worst movie trailer I’ve ever seen for a King book. It was so bad I had to make sure it was about the same book I had finished.

Thinner was written by Richard Bachman and after it was published folks started to connect the dots from Bachman to King – ultimately spoiling the secret identity. You could easily make the argument King wanted to get caught as he references a clown holding a balloon and even has a character comment about how the plot felt, “like a Stephen King novel.”

Thinner is on the light-side of King’s bibliography (see what I did there?), but it allows for King to go in full story-telling mode. It reads as if King is telling this story around a late-night campfire. Character development isn’t crucial to Thinner, but the story is fast paced right from the jump and moves well throughout.

Details

Pages: 544

Dates Read: September 2021 – February 2022

Quote: “But it’s hard for a man to give up all his pleasures, even when they don’t pleasure him no more.”

Best Part: You will think twice about eating a strawberry pie after reading this novel.

Hint for #41: Stephen King asked for this book to be removed from publication following multiple school shootings in the 1990s.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.