Whilst it may seem as though I read a lot, I wouldn't consider myself well-read. I believe this primarily for the reason that the type of thing I read is very limited. I pretty much only read fiction novels. I almost never read non-fiction, autobiographies, poetry, plays or short stories. I'm basically very stuck in my ways.
However, I like Stephen King and this book was recommended on a website I visit, so this seemed as good a read as any. King's work is always readable and enjoyable, so there seemed little harm in giving this a go. The whole collection is centred around the theme of murder and whether it is ever justified. Considering it is a collection of short stories, I'll treat each one separately before summing up the whole collection (this also makes this post longer - I know all the tricks)
1922
A Nebraska farmer relates the reasons he murdered his wife and what happened as a result of it. From the outset, this was a dark and disturbing story, and it really didn't let up. The wife was, admittedly, horrible, but then this was a story narrated by a murderer: he was hardly going to make his wife sound nice! This subtly changed throughout the story, emphasising his unreliable nature. The corruption of his son was the real heart of the story, and it was a shame that the subplot involving him and his girlfriend became slightly far-fetched. In some ways, this made it less disturbing than the later stories, and yet it was this story which gave me nightmares and freaked me out. At this point in the collection, I wasn't wholly enjoying myself.
Big Trucker
A novelist is attacked on her way home from a book reading and seeks revenge. This story continued the dark nature of '1922' and took it even further. This was a more believable tale, to a point, and the graphic descriptions of the attack made it worryingly real. There was a twist in the tale, as ever with King, but it worked well. However, it was such a disturbing story that I still wasn't really enjoying this book; I could have happily given up at this stage!
Fair Extension
The story of a man who wishes to be cured from his terminal illness - and is, but you have to wonder if it is worth it. This was where the collection came alive for me. There was a change in narration style, to a more detached perspective. It was far more moralistic, in my opinion, and had more of an edge of magical realism about it than the other tales in the collection. The ending was the most disturbing part of this one as the main character did not respond how you'd want him to.
A Good Marriage
A woman discovers her husband is not the man she thought he was. It was pretty obvious from its inclusion within the collection that her husband was going to be a Bad Man. What was fascinating was how much of a Bad Man he was and how she responded to him. Whilst the initial situation was less likely than 'Big Trucker', the emotions seemed more real and true. I really enjoyed this one.
Bonus story: Under the Weather
An advertising man remembers something he has worked very hard to forget. A terrible summary for what turned out to be an excellent and devastatingly sad story. Why was this only included as a bonus in the paperback edition? Whilst the other stories were more disturbing, the emotions this one brought about were more overwhelming. Stunning.
Overall, Full Dark, No Stars is a decent enough collection. Stephen King writes beasty books (see In which size definitely matters ) and I can't always face a full 1000 pages. This was a nice little taster of readable and well-crafted tales. The title is one-hundred per cent accurate though: this really is thoroughly dark with absolutely no hope. Not to be read whilst in a depressive state of mind.
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