Book 121: Revival by Stephen King (Audiobook, read by David Morse)

While some folks may hate Stephen King's reaaaaaaally screwed up brain, I look at it as a national treasure. I've said it before and I'll say it again: King is a master at creating characters that matter to you.

Revival is a messed up, sad, depressing book, but it was so well written. Like many of King's books, he has a way of telling a story that makes you beg for resolution and clarity despite knowing something horrible is waiting right around the corner. And, true to form, King took time in Revival to build his characters, the environs around them, and his creative (if twisted) plot. In this book, he exercised his most voluptuous talent - creating characters so vibrant and thick with realness that my heart broke when theirs did.

This book starts out relatively normal, but hits the crazy skids in no time flat. It is the story of a young boy who meets the new pastor of his family's church, and then tragedy strikes. The pastor's picture-perfect life is shattered, and he transforms from a cool, well-mannered country preacher to a broken, jaded man.

I can't tell you anymore or I'll ruin the story. I'll say this - I do recommend borrowing the audiobook from the library. Listening to David Morse read this story was, in itself, a treat.