#781 It Grows on You- Stephen King
Old legends die hard. The biggest name in the small blue collar town of Gates Mills, Maine is Joe Newell. He was the man who bought the failing Mill in the early 20th century and turned it around. But he was not liked. He built a house on his large property and didn’t use local help. He never entered the local shops, nor talked to the local people. He married an unlikely woman who gave birth to a monster that died immediately.
The resentment towards his riches and secrecy aren’t anything unique to mill towns, nor was his aloofness and snobbery. But what made him a little more odd was his house. He was alone and really didn’t need much space, but over the years he kept building new wings to his estate. “It was considered to be an affront to the sensibilities and an offense to the eye.”
The property was also considered bad luck, as everyone who lived there, including his child, his wife, his cows, died. Eventually during the market crash he took his own life in a wing that had just been built. The property never stayed in the same hands too long, and caused similar tragedies. Now after all these years, a new wing is being added.
This is the kind of Norman Rockwell meets H.P. Lovecraft story that King usually does so well. However this one just didn’t work for me. The plot unfolded slowly and the payoff wasn’t satisfying. I found the overall style to be scattered and unfocussed. As always the imagery was enjoyable and his description of small town Americana was impeccable. One big problem I had was that the narrator, written in the author's voice (not a described third person), used some questionable language (kike, wop, moron, nitwit) that rang weird not coming from a character. Not sure why that decision was made.
Notable Passage: “Cornstalks stand in leaning rows like soldiers who have found some fantastic way to die on their feet.”
