I happened upon this six-book set on the
internet a few weeks ago, and thought it was about time I added it to my
collecting, and so, on arrival, I dipped in. Two hours later and I'd finished
the first book and was reaching for part two.
Ever read a book you literally can't put
down? A book you slip into your pocket in case you have a spare five minutes? A
book you take to the little room? You know the one I mean!
Well, this is that book.
Told in the first person by an ageing
ex-prison guard from Cold Mountain penitentiary, who worked on E-Block back in
the late 20's and early 30's, we quickly find ourselves immersed in the
day-to-day running of the establishment, the prisoners, guards and the warden's
lives.
E-Block is where death-row prisoners spend
their last few weeks, and it's a relatively quiet place, calm and solitary,
(but for Percy Wetmore). As the reader is introduced to the various characters
on the mile, (the green mile), one becomes accustom to its routines, and before
you know it, you're so immersed in the 1930's American penal system, that you
forgot you're reading a book of fiction.
You barely get to know some of the inmates
before they visit the chair, but the main death-row prisoner is, John Coffey, a
mountain of a man, but a man with a gift, a gift for healing.
King's build up, of Coffey curing the
narrator's urinal infection, bringing Mr Jingles, (a mouse that's been stamped
on by Percy Wetmore), back to life, and then going on to
cure the warden's wife's brain tumour, is stunningly good, and the realisation
towards the end of the book, that maybe Coffey didn't murder and rape the two
young girls he was on death-row for, that maybe he was actually trying to help
them, puts a nice twist on proceedings, but the most shocking part, the part
that is at the heart of how horrific humans can be, is part four: The Bad Death
of Eduard Delacroix.
Percy Wetmore is the antithesis of
John Coffey: He is a cruel, vindictive, educated white man with friends in high
places, and with his connections he pulls a few strings, struts around like he
owns the place, even managing to convince the warden to put him 'out front' for
an execution.
I won't describe the results here, you'll
have to read the book, but be warned, this part will make your toes curl, (if
you've seen the film, you'll have a taste of what happens), and I won't divulge
how old the narrator is at the end of the book either, or which friend from the
mile still visits him, or what happens to Percy Wetmore, but what I can and
will tell you, is that this is one of King's finest books, (I've yet to read
them all), and that you should all grab a copy and give yourselves nightmares;
you'll thank me for it in the end!
Five stars then, and a very Merry Christmas
to all you bibliophiles out there.
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