Reading journal on 30 pages of 'The body'

                  When I finished reading 30 pages of ‘The body’, I was surprised to see Stephen King’s different side. Because I’ve heard that Stephen King is a writer who enjoyed writing eerie and horrible story, but this story, ‘The body’ is about four boys’ childhood and their friendship. While I read the story, I could find Stephen King’s unexpected sensibility which is kind of different from shawshank’s.

                  This story starts with interesting setting. A narrator is a writer whose name is Gordie, and he write about his friends looking back on his childhood. There were three friends to Gordie : Chris, Vern, Teddy, and they all burdened their own problems such as brother’s death or assault from father. Under those unfavorable conditions, they relieve stress and find pleasure getting along with their friends.

 As I watch them depending on each other, laughing and crying together, I felt ‘something’ bursting into huge emotions. I guess I could sympathize with their story because I am a same teenager and I have those similar memories like the characters. In the middle of the story, main incident happened that the four boys decided to find the dead body of missing child. I thought this material, finding the dead body, is unusual to convey friendship and memory of childhood. At the same time, I thought this material could come out since the writer is Stephen King. This odd incident was kind of good material because it kept me guessing the next and being nervous.

In addition, Stephen King’s suitable expression was one of enjoyments to read the story. For example, in the sentence ‘When it rained, being in the club was like being inside a Jamaican steel drum… but that summer there had been no rain.’, King’s comparison gave me impression that just like I am in the club and listening the sound of raindrop now. In another sentence, ‘And when he died, I was mildly shocked and mildly sad, the way I imagine those same so-so Christians must have felt when Time magazine said God was dead’. I could feel how Gordie’s love and respect toward his brother was big from the expression.

In conclusion, although I don’t know the whole story yet, the first impression about ‘The body’ was good, and I want to keep reading the story. As I read this novella, I liked the way Stephen King led the story and I came to wonder how he will deal with this material which is different from his usual subject. Therefore, for the next reading, I’m going to focus on how the story develops and how Stephen King conveyed themes through the story. Maybe the next reading will be a good opportunity to remind my memory of childhood and my best friends.