1. 'The Glass Floor' (1967).
I'll start this post by saying that really, I suppose I ought to have started with Jumper and Rush Call, stories that King wrote with his brother when he was just twelve and submitted to the local paper. I will get to them, but as the book they're found in is on order, I thought I'd start with the first paid piece King wrote.
For those of you shouting 'where's Carrie?', you might be surprised to know that there are a good twenty short stories for me to get through before I revisit that delicious little beast.
The Glass Floor tells the story of Charles Wharton, who, after the suspicious death of his sister, visits the creepy home where she died to interrogate her husband. We quickly discover that her death was, of course, as creepy as the house it happened in.
King himself describes The Glass Floor as 'clumsy and badly written', but with a payoff ending. I think this is harsh. While the story does feel a little awkward in places, there are still some really nice moments, such as when King describes the house as an 'outsized, perverted toadstool'. What an image!
There's something strange about how unmistakable King's voice is in a story which feels so immature. I'm pretty certain that if I'd been given this story without the author's name, I'd have hazarded a guess at a young King. The story has a real 'wouldn't it be funny if...' quality to it, a hallmark of King's work.
For every novel, novella, and short story I read in this challenge, I intend to give an ending rating. King is well known for muddy, murky endings which divide even his most loyal readers. So does this one have punch? Yes, to a point. The idea is a good one - weird, unsettling, sudden. The execution is a bit off, and I was left wishing the story had ended a couple of paragraphs earlier. Sometimes, less is more.
Overall, an interesting start. Onward!
For those of you shouting 'where's Carrie?', you might be surprised to know that there are a good twenty short stories for me to get through before I revisit that delicious little beast.
The Glass Floor tells the story of Charles Wharton, who, after the suspicious death of his sister, visits the creepy home where she died to interrogate her husband. We quickly discover that her death was, of course, as creepy as the house it happened in.
King himself describes The Glass Floor as 'clumsy and badly written', but with a payoff ending. I think this is harsh. While the story does feel a little awkward in places, there are still some really nice moments, such as when King describes the house as an 'outsized, perverted toadstool'. What an image!
There's something strange about how unmistakable King's voice is in a story which feels so immature. I'm pretty certain that if I'd been given this story without the author's name, I'd have hazarded a guess at a young King. The story has a real 'wouldn't it be funny if...' quality to it, a hallmark of King's work.
For every novel, novella, and short story I read in this challenge, I intend to give an ending rating. King is well known for muddy, murky endings which divide even his most loyal readers. So does this one have punch? Yes, to a point. The idea is a good one - weird, unsettling, sudden. The execution is a bit off, and I was left wishing the story had ended a couple of paragraphs earlier. Sometimes, less is more.
Overall, an interesting start. Onward!
Comments
Post a Comment