#17 – Pet Sematary

Plot

When Dr. Louis Creed takes a new job and moves his family to the idyllic and rural town of Ludlow, Maine, this new beginning seems too good to be true. Yet despite Ludlow’s tranquility, there’s an undercurrent of danger that exists here. Those trucks on the road outside the Creed’s beautiful old home travel by just a little too quickly, for one thing…as is evidenced by the makeshift pet cemetery out back in the nearby woods. Then there are the warnings to Louis both real and from the depths of his nightmares that he should not venture beyond the borders of this little graveyard. A blood-chilling truth is hidden there—one more terrifying than death itself, and hideously more powerful. An ominous fate befalls anyone who dares tamper with this forbidden place, as Louis is about to discover for himself.

Review

During the introduction of this list, I mentioned how terrifying those Stephen King book novels appeared on my Aunt Jo’s bookshelf.  As I began to read them on my own that terror never reappeared … until I finished Pet Sematary.  I will never read this one ever again as it is one that genuinely scared me.  But it’s also a gripping and unbelievably well-told story.

Pet Sematary tackles headfirst into grief, obsession, death and saying goodbye.  It is – by far – the darkest novel Stephen King has ever penned.  It develops characters so well that we not only empathize with their emotions, but we also understand some of the crazy decisions they make.  

At one point during the novel, I actually had to immediately stop reading and ask myself if I could continue.  My son was three at the time and I wasn’t sure I could handle what was about to take place.  Turns out I could, but barely.  

Pet Sematary took me on an emotional journey I was completely and utterly unprepared for.  It was depressing at times, enlightening at others, and made for one of the more memorable reading experiences of my life.

Details

Pages: 542

Dates Read: June – July 2020

Quote: “Sometimes dead is better.”

Best Part: A horrific – and tragic – accident is followed by a horrific – and tragic – decision.

Hint for #16: Prior to reading this book, I associated Saint Bernard’s with the movie Beethoven.

 

Until next time, peace be the journey.