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Title: Thinner by Stephen King ISBN: 0-451-16134-3 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: December, 1994 Format: Mass Market Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.49 (110 reviews)
Rating: 4
Summary: An A+ book...until the very end
Comment: I bought 'Thinner' back when I discovered that Richard Bachman was actually Stephen King under a pen name, and was pleasantly surprised at how entertaining this novel was from the very beginning. What a stunning premise! After an unfortunate accident killing a Gypsy, our handsome lead character has his cheek brushed lightly by another who whispers one word, 'Thinner'. After this incident, he begins to lose weight...a LOT of weight -- and all without trying. Now is this the new miracle diet the world has been looking for? I doubt it. He eats and eats and continues to drop the pounds as though he were experiencing overnight liposuction without his knowledge.
As he goes from overweight to supermodel-thin in a short period of time, his fears multiply on a daily basis that he will die from this curse inflicted upon him and ultimately decides to seek help from Gypsys. This is (for me anyway) where the storyline went from a cool supernatural thriller to a hokey curse-driven
tale. Don't get me wrong, I don't think I could have come up with a more believable ending, but for some reason, it just didn't add up. I can't exactly put my finger on what exactly it was that I feel short-changed me in the storyline, but suffice it to say that despite my feelings, this really is a first rate novel of suspense and is told well. Stephen King deserves his status as the greatest horror novelist of all-time, and while this may not be his greatest tale, it certainly was better than a lot of his other books that were hailed as great works of fiction. Judge for yourself, I think you'll like it anyway.
Rating: 4
Summary: What America needs: A book to convince us not to lose weight
Comment: Of the five books that Stephen King published under the pen name of Richard Bachman, three of them involved making the numbers of the chapters part of the story. In "The Running Man" there was a countdown as the game progressed while in "The Long Walk" the miles added up. In "Thinner" each chapter gives us the weight of the protagnoist, Billy Halleck, as it plummets relentlessly down. As with his classic short story about smoking, "Quitters, Inc.," King took an American obsession and turned it into a nightmare come true. The cataylst for Billy's weight loss is that old chesnut, the gypsy curse. While driving one night Billy is, uh, distracted by his wife and runs down the elderly daughter of Tadzu Lempke, the leader of a band of gypsies who have invaded the town. Billy is a lawyer and his friends, the judge and police chief, make sure the woman's death is ruled an accident. But before Billy can celebrate, Tadzu touches him and utters the one word curse: "Thinner."
What makes "Thinner" the best of the Bachman books is that King works a whole bunch of other elements into the story. Unlike his earlier Bachman efforts with tended to be one note (e.g., walk till you drop), "Thinner" pours on the fun. Billy's family and doctors are overjoyed by his weight loss at first, but then it continues at an alarming rate, even as Billy spends all of his time eating everyting in site. They insist it is a psychological problem, or perhaps physiological, but a gypsy curse is beyond their ability to believe. Not so for Richie Ginelli, a mobster who is one of Billy's most grateful clients. Ginelli is old school and his mother knows about gypsy curses, so Richie is more than willing to fight fire with fire. Tadzu curses Billy. In an act of desperation Billy proclaims the Curse of the White Man from Town. Richie does everything he can to make that curse come true in an effort to force the old man to "take it off."
That campaign is what elevates "Thinner" above the rest of the Bachman books. In the world of Stephen King fighting back is always the most difficult part of the equation and I like the fact that this time around the effort is grounded in the real world. The gypsies have curses but Richie has automatic weaponry and a cunning honed in the underworld. The end result is that as you read "Thinner" you become open to the possibility that Billy might get out of this one alive, if only they can stop Tadzu's granddaughter Gina with her slingshot and ball bearings. There are other complications in Billy's life that add to the fun of the denoument, such as whatever is going on between Billy's wife and his doctor, so that once King gets the ball rolling it keeps picking up speed as it goes down that hill. We are not talking great fiction here, just a story that gives you second thoughts over every trying another diet.
Rating: 5
Summary: Thinner Than Most King Books, But One of The Best
Comment: Originally written as pen name Richard Bachman this is one of King's best books. It is not in the masterpiece league of Christine or It, but is not far off either. Billy Halleck is an obese family man, who is forced to undertake the ultimate weight loss program by an old gypsy avenging his daughter's death caused while Billy was enjoying the hand of his wife instead of concentrating on driving. Thinner was the curse he prophesised, touching him as he walked out of court after not being convicted of the old lady's death. Every day from then he has been losing weight. Although he has quite a bit to lose, if he doesn't stop the weight loss he will eventually die. The only way is to find the old gypsy and get him to lift the curse, but the gypsies have moved on and don't want to reverse it without a good reason.
This is definitely a can't put down thriller. Although you don't have a great liking for Halleck, you are gripped to know if he can stop his ultimate weight loss program before his demise. His psychological terror is also a highlight. One of King's best, definitely buy it.
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Title: Firestarter by Stephen King ISBN: 0451167805 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 02 December, 2003 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Dead Zone by Stephen King ISBN: 0451155750 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: 06 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Misery by Stephen King ISBN: 0451169522 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 01 January, 1998 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: The Tommyknockers by Stephen King ISBN: 0451156609 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: December, 1994 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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Title: Cujo by Stephen King ISBN: 0451161351 Publisher: New American Library Pub. Date: 03 February, 2004 List Price(USD): $7.99 |
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