Cycle of the Werewolf by Stephen King was actually the first book I read for this class, and honestly one of the few novels I've read by King. The first book I read of his was On Writing, which I think counts as somewhat tangential, just because he's mostly known for his horror, but I've also read Carrie for a class I took in undergrad called "The Making of Monsters"- though I should mention that the class was more focused on "real" monsters at least when it came to our final project. Since I haven't read much of King's work, it was an interesting experience reading... well not quite his "early" work, since the novel came out ten years into his official writing career, but certainly an earlier work considering today's date and the frequency of his releases still.
The formatting of the novel was an interesting one. It's short enough to technically be considered a novella, though most still consider it a novel. It follows 12 short stories, one per month of the year, and all revolving around the concept of a werewolf terrorizing a small town. Ultimately, I did like this novel- the format kept it quick and fast paced, and there was an air of mystery surrounding the identity of the werewolf. I had a feeling that the werewolf would be one of the narratives found in the novel, and I was correct at the end, when the werewolf turned out to be the pastor. One of the biggest things to add to this mystery was the month of June, when the werewolf's victim, a diner owner by the name of Knopfler. Though we don't get the identity of the werewolf in this section, he sees the werewolf transform and makes the comment that this is someone the whole town sees every day.
I did have the thought early on that the pastor would be the werewolf, for the sheer purpose of it being a pastor in a book like this, coupled with his vivid dreams of fire and the horde of werewolves... followed immediately by there being a death in his church. There was also the telltale literary design of the reverend passionately desiring to be the hero to the town, finding out who the werewolf was and either damning them or saving them.
Overall, the narrative of the werewolf was effective. King made a comment at the end how the technical dates of each of the full moons doesn't line up, but he couldn't resist using the holidays or more well known days as focal points for each of the stories. While reading, I had thought that the full moons didn't seem to line up, but didn't think too much further on it, since ultimately it was a fictional story and I didn't mind the full moons lining up on more significant days.
I've mentioned it in the other stories we've read so far and I don't want to sound like a broken record (and I don't think I will for one of the future books at least, and hopefully more) but I did find the lack of female characters in the book a little annoying. There is one forefront main female character, but she holds the title of sad and depressed virgin, and is described none too politely. I did appreciate the little bits of insight to her character we were given, though I felt it was a little excessive the fact that she tried to have sex with the werewolf.
The narrative was a little simplistic, though the mystery added some interesting elements. Without the mystery of trying to figure out who the werewolf was, I think I would have felt a lot more bored, even given the short length of the book. It ended with a few bangs- both in terms of firecrackers and gunshots- and I did appreciate the diversity of characters in the book, even if 95% of them were male. We definitely had a mix, in terms of "good guys" and "bad guys," even excluding the werewolf as a character himself.
And finally, to end once more, I'll count the main character as the werewolf in this one, and would I feel safe with them? The fact that he's a werewolf does no favors on his part considering that he's a pastor bent on hellfire. Big Hunchback of Notre Dame Frollo vibes honestly, so absolutely not.
ReplyDeleteHi Sen, at last - I'm able to comment on your post! I tried opening it in a different browser, and that did the trick.
Good catch on the lack of strong female characters in the book. (I think Marty could easily have been a girl.) Please, don't ever apologize for pointing that out! Also, weren't all the characters white? I can't remember, but I think they were. Chalk it up to the '80s. The spinster character was not believable, as you say. I think someone that obsessed with love would have indeed found it by the time we saw her. King body-shamed her, too, for being overweight. He implied that was why she had not found a partner -- shame on him for that. I didn't think of any of this before your post, so thank you.
I agree with you about the central mystery adding interest to the book, with Knopfler's dying observation adding an element of tension because we want to know what he saw!
It may be the significance of the absence or presence of a diversity of characters should be based on an author's pattern of writing rather than on a particular story. Setting may determine the expanse or the limits of the diversity of a group of characters. A story that occurs in south Philly likely will have mostly Italian characters; south Chicago, African-American. As a writer, I think it's vital that when I create characters they are born and fit into the story naturally. If they are forced, they will lose their "realness" and credibility.
ReplyDeleteThe off-air TV drama "The Good Wife" serves as an example of both efforts. The series creators and writers performed a masterstroke in the creation of Kalinda Sharma, the sexually ambivalent, icy, Indian investigator marked by conflicting streaks of independence and dependence in her private and professional lives. On the other hand, the placement of Alicia Forrick's gay brother, Owen, came across as a forced and incongruous. He was supposed to be an insightful mirror of honesty who challenged those he observed, especially Alicia. Instead, he was more like a funhouse mirror who bungled his and others' ways through relationships. He was little more than a stereotype who served as a plot device.
Going back to King's story, I have to concur with Glenna: You raised my awareness about the dearth of female characters in the werewolf story. On the other hand, there is a price to be paid to be a character in a Stephen King story. Males are the overwhelmingly predominant victims in "Cycle of the Werewolf". Gulp!