Richard Bachman
Paperback | Pages: 370 pages Rating: 4.11 | 111219 Users | 6368 Reviews
Mention Books Toward The Long Walk
| Original Title: | The Long Walk |
| ISBN: | 0451196716 (ISBN13: 9780451196712) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Characters: | Ray Garraty, Peter McVries, Stebbins, Arthur Baker, Hank Olson, Gary Barkovitch, Collie Parker, Scramm |
| Setting: | Maine(United States) |
Representaion To Books The Long Walk
If this book does not make you feel physical pain, I don't know what will.This isn't a book about killer clowns or haunted hotels. It's not a Hunger Games type of book, despite the "game show" element of the Long Walk, nor is it a world attached to any tower, Dark or not. This book is in-your-face and physical, while simultaneously never losing that dreamy, philosophic quality of existenstial fiction.
The premise of the book is very simple: Every year, 100 boys enter a contest called the Long Walk, and the winner gets all his heart desires. Each contestant has to maintain a pace of 4 miles per hour or more, or else he gets a warning. If the boy who gets the warning can keep walking 4 miles per hour or faster for the next hour, the warning is revoked. However, if the boy collects three warnings, the next time he slows down, he's shot in the head and out of the game.
I love this book, but it's really hard to communicate what I think it's trying to relate. As I'm writing this review, I'm desperately trying to organize my jumbled thoughts. The best I could do is to divide the book into two sections that broadly describe which parts of this book stood out to me the most: The Deeper Meaning (as I see it) & How it's Done and The People.
The Deeper Meaning (as I see it) & How It's Done
The physical aspect of the journey immediately comes to the spotlight. You think you can outwalk 99 boys? Well, despite the 100% chance of someone actually doing it, you're 99% going to be the one to die either from exhaustion or carelessness.
The story's downward spiral from the optimism of the first 10 hours to the torturous hell that is the last 10 hours is slow, relentless, and ultimately certain. Some of the boys' death were incredibly cringe worthy, not because their death was bizarre or fantastic, but because it's so damn relatable. I can't relate to a woman running away from her ghost-possessed husband as much as I can imagine my legs giving out after hours of walking in my own blood and pus.
But what's extraordinary about this novel is despite its physicality and its real grit, it's very spiritual and contemplative. Ultimately, this book questions what it means to live through the eyes of one boy (and 99 others) who are walking right into the arms of death.
As the boys break down physically, their minds deconstruct past the point of madness until they become lifeless, soulless automatons. I think it's at this point, when the boys are broken beyond exhaustion, that King really questions the value of life in the midst of such suffering, and how we push beyond sanity to sustain life. King doesn't point at authority or paternal figures to place blame on how extraordinary and torturous this desire to live can be. It's the walker who chooses to go on the Long Walk that, in the end, leads to death, no matter what we do.
And life isn't nice. It won't slow down for you. Got blisters on your feet? Tough. Can't climb that hill after walking +24 hours? You'd better. Got to take a shit? If it takes longer than three warnings, you're going to die with your pants around your ankles.
It seems, in this light, that life is much crueler than death.
The People
Ah, the other great part about this book--and what makes this book so amazing!
Unlike many of King's works, this book is not atmospheric. With the exception of comments about the weather and the terrain (obvious factors to consider when walking quite literally until death), the entire narrative is solely focused on the Long Walk itself and the people who are a part of it. I was hesitant to shelf this book under "dystopian" because I don't really know if it's a dystopia. All I know is that the Major, whoever he is, seems to be in charge (how much, I don't know) and the Long Walk is something celebrated by everyone who doesn't partake in it.
All we get to know is Garraty, the main character in the story, and the other boys he meets in the Long Walk. None of these characters are forgettable. Garraty, McVries, and even Barkovitch are some of the most developed, fleshed out characters that I've had the pleasure of reading. The boys' interactions, teetering between the desire for the other to die and genuine camaraderie, were incredibly complex and touching. Whenever I read about a gunshot, I desperately hoped that it wasn't one of the boys that I knew because they were so real and likeable.
Amid the hardship and torture, something about this book was very sincere, and despite what King may have intended, characters like McVries and Garraty made the journey extraordinarily...enjoyable, if not more emotionally painful.
This book is something that will always remain in my mind. Not only was the writing engaging and visceral, but it struck a chord deep within me. Some people may not enjoy the book. It's raw, painful, and depressing. But on the other hand, it challenges, breaks, and strips bare the human soul, and ultimately the sympathy such an act invokes is an intense experience.
5.0 stars and highly recommended!
Present Containing Books The Long Walk
| Title | : | The Long Walk |
| Author | : | Richard Bachman |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 370 pages |
| Published | : | April 1st 1999 by Signet (first published July 1979) |
| Categories | : | Horror. Fiction. Science Fiction. Dystopia. Thriller. Fantasy. Suspense |
Rating Containing Books The Long Walk
Ratings: 4.11 From 111219 Users | 6368 ReviewsCriticism Containing Books The Long Walk
This tale takes place in the future, I'm not entirely sure when King has this marked for but it sure as hell isn't present day. You've got 100 teens and you tell them that you have to walk at a consistent pace of 4 miles per hour until you just cannot do it any longer. While you're allowed 3 warnings (youre never quite sure the length allowed before a warning is issued but I can only assume it's about 30 seconds) before you're eliminated, you need to walk for an hour straight to clear yourIf this book does not make you feel physical pain, I don't know what will.This isn't a book about killer clowns or haunted hotels. It's not a Hunger Games type of book, despite the "game show" element of the Long Walk, nor is it a world attached to any tower, Dark or not. This book is in-your-face and physical, while simultaneously never losing that dreamy, philosophic quality of existenstial fiction. The premise of the book is very simple: Every year, 100 boys enter a contest called the Long
Heres my reading vlog where I discuss all my thoughts: https://youtu.be/oc-k3uY5H_I
To think something so dark and depressing could come out of a premise so simple.I'll keep this brief, Richard Bachman (a pseudonym of Stephen King) has made something short and great here. The premise of the book is annually, 100 teenagers entered a competition called "The Long Walk" where they have to walk literally non-stop until only one person remaining. The winner gets to have anything they want. It's a very simple premise and it somehow made Hunger Games looks like Disneyland. The slow
The Long Walk is a book by an elusive author named Richard Bachmanwhom no one has ever metabout a bunch of kids being slaughtered in a near-future (or alternate reality) dystopian America. Which, been there, done that, right? Cant unknown authors write about something that wouldnt be covered again decades later? The lack of foresight here is really disappointing.There are differences, though, between The Hunger Games and this book, particularly in that the kids in The Long Walk are mowed down by
(4.5) Every time someone asks me which Stephen King book I would recommend, I mention this one. After reading quite a few of his books, it's still my favorite!The downward spiral into madness and overall despair were very well written. Reading this book literally made my body ache. I do wish there were a few more details about the world, how the long walk came about, etc. The ending wasn't fully satisfying, as seem to be most endings for SK, but I enjoyed the book anyway.
My third reading of this, and I think it gets more harrowing each time. It's incredibly compelling and a difficult story to move on from. It was one of the first Stephen King books I read, and I find myself thinking of it often - it really burrows it's way into your mind.
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