Bloomsbury Joyland

Excelente livro, edição primorosa!

If you are depressed because your heart is broken by someone you loved and you can't think of your future anymore, you should read this novel. Though this story was written by King of Horror, it' not a horror story at all. Maybe after reading this, you will recall the film 'Stand By Me' or 'The Summer of '42' and you would like to stand on the beach with Dev and Annie.

To begin with, this is NOT a horror story. But then Stephen King has already written a number of fine stories that aren't horror stories (e.g., Green Mile, Stand By Me/The Body). Joyland is the story of Devin Jones, a young college student who has his heart broken by his first crush as he heads to work at an amusement park for the summer. The story also involves the possible ghost of a girl who was murdered at that amusement park- Joyland. There was a murder, whether or not there is a ghost is something I won't spoil for potential readers. But that, along with the murder, is an important sub-plot of this book.However, the main focus of the book is on Devin and the people he meets. From his roommates to his co-workers, King once again shows his skill at bringing people to life in his writing. There is a cliched cripple boy with psychic powers (a King staple), but even he is handled with a deft hand. King makes you care about Devin, and his ability to paint a scene makes it seem like you are there with Devin, in 1973, at a modest amusement park. The ability to create a vivid scene is one of King's greatest talents in my opinion, and this book clearly features that talent.It's a relatively short story at just under 300 pages, and it moves along at a good pace. Be forewarned again that this is not an action thriller or horror movie. It is very much about character development and a commentary on life itself rather than a book that just tries to shock or scare you. I normally don't go for this kind of fiction, but I'm a big fan of much of King's work and I found myself really enjoying this book. It may be an odd statement for me to make, but this book just seemed like the kind of cerebral movie that Clint Eastwood sometimes directs recently. Something that on the surface seems to promise great action or blood, but really makes a much deeper connection on both an emotional and a cerebral level. All that means I think this is a five-star book. It made me feel, it made me think, and it made me lose track of time- all signs of a very good book! So if you're looking for a book that showcases King's ability to write about (more or less) real characters and real life drama, with perhaps a bit of darkness thrown in, then Joyland is an excellent read.

Muy buena historia y una portada perfecta

Joyland is an excellent story from Stephen King. He takes us back to the days when small private carnivals and amusement parks still operated, some traveling from town to town, appearing overnight after the trucks roll in and the tents are pitched, while some were fixed in place in the beach towns and vacation spots of our country. He gives us characters with heart and doesn't burden the story with gratuitous or contrived suspense.The main character, Devon, is a college student who takes a summer job at a small amusement park located in a beach town in North Carolina. He quickly fits in and earns the respect of the long-term carny hands as well as his fellow summer workers. He is an easy-going and reflective young man, going through the pain of first separation and then rejection from his college girlfriend. When the summer ends he decides to stay on full time at the carnival rather than return to school.Devon becomes friends with a woman and her son. They live in a large house on the beach, and the boy is wheelchair bound and stricken with Muscular Dystrophy. He also has a wisdom beyond his years, and he is able to see things that others cannot . Devon encounters them initially in his walks along the beach, and when he helps the boy to launch a kite into the wind, the ice is broken. The boy's young mother is protective of her son as well as suffering herself, partly from the stress of caring for her disabled boy and partly due to estrangement from her family. Gradually Devon becomes close to them, each helping the other to deal with the pains in their lives. Finally, Devon hosts them for a day at the amusement park, closed for the winter but powered-up for this special occasion. It is a wonderful gift for the boy who has until then only observed it from afar.The mystery of a long-unsolved murder at the amusement part builds very slowly as we get to know Devon and the other characters. Early in his employment at the park Devon learns of the death of a girl who had been on the ride in the house of horrors. Her ghost is said to continue to haunt the park. When one of his co-workers sees the ghost himself, Devon's desire to learn how she was killed and why it was never solved grows until he is consumed by the need to solve the crime. It eventually leads him to uncovering the long-buried truth, a great and surprising climax to the story.I think that it is great that Stephen King's latest novel has been released as an affordable paperback novel rather than an expensive hard-cover book (or as an e-book, although I'm sure that it will be eventually). The publisher - "Hard Case Crime" - is one that I have been familiar with for a while, because for the past several years they have been releasing paperback crime novels in the style of those published in the U.S. from the 1940's through about the 1960's - check out for example The Dead Man's Brother, Blood on the Mink, The Girl With the Long Green Heart, Strange Embrace/69 Barrow Street. Stephen King has given them a huge shot in the arm by selecting them to publish his latest novel in this format, plus he has made it so much more affordable for his fans to pick up his latest novel at a reasonable price, and I salute him for doing it.(Hard Case Crime has also published limited-edition hardcover editions of this book, available at their website for a short time until they are sold out - just go to [...] and you will find them - for those who are committed King fans and must have hardcover editions of the book now).In a sense then, this book might be viewed Stephen King's homage to the days of paperback pulp fiction; the cover and presentation of the book is whimsical in the style of the pulp novels of fifty years past.King has written a story that is full of heart and compassion. This is a book that would be a great read even without the murder mystery and resident ghost. To have them as well makes it a superb story and a great choice for summer enjoyment, at the beach or by the poolside.