by Stephen King
Everything’s Eventual (2002)
* * * (Good) Realistic
Alfie Zimmer is checking into his last motel room. As a traveling salesman he has become accustomed to the ins and outs of motel life, but that is not what weighs on his mind this night. This night is the night Alfie puts a bullet in his brain. First, however, he flips through the notebook he’s been jotting down messages taken from restroom stalls, rest areas, and other public places. It is almost a shame to let the messages go, he thinks.
As a person who has spent more than his fair share of time in rest areas and truck stop restroom stalls, I understand Alfie’s obsession with the graffiti left behind as people pass through the stalls on their way elsewhere. More than a few of the examples shared in this story I’ve seen in places just like King described. This is two weeks in a row that I’ve read a story by King that draws me back to my childhood and travels over the road. It’s a time I don’t think much about anymore, but remember fondly – more fondly than I did then.
But enough about me. The story is entertaining, but not as exciting as most of King’s other tales. You just don’t get to know Alfie as a character as well as you typically do the characters in King’s other works. And I believe it is his characters that make his stories as great as they are.
Had to include the favorite bathroom stall message from my own travels, mentioned in this story as well in a slightly different form: “Here I sit, full of wonder, was that me, or was that thunder?”
Ha. Classic.
No comments:
Post a Comment