If you are familiar with me at all from YouTube or the podcast, you know I’m not the biggest Stephen King fan. After several attempts, I can’t get through IT. I attempted to read The Dark Tower series but threw in the towel after book 5. I’ve enjoyed some of his other work, especially 11/22/63. The adaptation of 11/22/63 is pretty damn good, so if you haven’t seen it it’s highly recommended.
Revival is a book that kept getting suggested to me by people who said it’s not like other King books. It’s a contained story and not as long or drawn out as his other work that I haven’t enjoyed as much. I will keep this review as spoiler free as possible, I think it’s best to go in not knowing anything about the story. Even the synopsis spoils a few things. The story explores religion, addiction, family dynamics, a spiral into darkness and death.
One thing King does magnificently is make you feel the passage of time in a characters life. The changes the characters experience, the ups and downs are something we can all relate to in some way. The nature of relationships changing through life and having a place to call home is what stood out to me the most in this story. The great thing about Revival is the more we learn about Jamie throughout the book, the more satisfying the conclusion of the story is. There are payoffs to the time investment. One of my pet peeves is when we spend so much time with characters or storylines and they don’t really matter.
As we travel with Jamie during the ups and downs of his life and experiences, some of the ways he reconnects with old friends and acquittances is a little silly and contrived, but something has to bring them back together I guess. The family dynamics and feeling like you have a place to call home are some of the most touching moments I’ve read in any book. I still remember some of the quotes from those sections, it’s fantastic stuff.
King mostly avoids being overly descriptive, which is one of the things I dislike most about his writing. I know millions of people love that, but I’m not one of them. At times I feel like King is so damn good at writing that he wants to show off and high step and celebrate into the end zone for no good reason when he could just run and score. (sorry, had to use a sports reference there). Reading a page to describe what a bank sign looks like isn’t my idea of fun reading material. But hey, that’s just me. Revival isn’t weighed down by much of that at all, and when King does get descriptive there are reasons for it.
The end is one you won’t forget. King gets called out, even by some of his biggest fans, about his inability to write an ending. Revival isn’t one of them. It did feel a little out of left field at first, but it’s definitely a conclusion you won’t forget any time soon. It gets very dark, but in the best ways.
Revival is worth the read for King fans and non-fans alike. It’s thought provoking, heart warming and terrifying. I’m usually not the biggest fan of coming of age stories, but King does this masterfully in Revival and months after reading it, I still think about it. Revival is one of my favorite King books, along with 11/22/63.
