Revival by Stephen King

A dark and electrifying novel about addiction, fanaticism, and what might exist on the other side of life.

In a small New England town, over half a century ago, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs. Jacobs; the women and girls feel the same about Reverend Jacobs -- including Jamie's mother and beloved sister, Claire. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond based on a secret obsession. When tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, this charismatic preacher curses God, mocks all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.

Jamie has demons of his own. Wed to his guitar from the age of thirteen, he plays in bands across the country, living the nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll while fleeing from his family's horrific loss. In his mid-thirties -- addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate -- Jamie meets Charles Jacobs again, with profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings.

This rich and disturbing novel spans five decades on its way to the most terrifying conclusion Stephen King has ever written. It's a masterpiece from King, in the great American tradition of Frank Norris, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Edgar Allan Poe.



As always when it comes to a King book, I was engrossed from the very beginning, easily caught by the story. I loved how we come to know Jamie and his family, and how his life so profoundly affects all of them. King's writing brings his characters fully to life, and I can't help but come to care for them, to hope that everything will turn out well for them. But I know that in King's book that sometimes it does; often it doesn't. But always, there is hope at the end.

Except for this time. I was disturbed by the ending, but not in the way one would think. I felt it negated everything that had come before, making the protagonist's life meaningless. Making everything he ever did, especially at the end, meaningless. And all because of a man who, I have to admit, became rather two-dimensional during his descent into madness.

I can't say I didn't enjoy the book. I just can't say that I loved it.