This may not be a cohesive book review, but it seems I cannot bring myself to making it one. On one hand I do not feel this book is worth a long and elaborated review, on the other hand there are some things I need to say to vent. Hence, the following text ...
The novel tells the story of a woman, Rosie, in her 30s, escaping Norman, her extremely abusive monstrous husband of 14 years. In her journey to agency and self-consciousness she is met by a number of people who are sympathetic to her and compassionate to her trauma. Meanwhile her husband traces her down driven by the urge to deal out punishment. While all that is happening there is a magic force driving character development and events forward.
Here are the main points why I did not enjoy this novel.
1) At first the focus on "escape only" works. You see, in his recognizable method Stephen King starts the novel by teleporting us into the main character's body in the middle of whatever it was the character was doing. We do not know anything about the character, her lifestory, her mental state, etc. We are suddenly witnessing a woman in deep distress numbed to her core and reduced to absolute apathy. But as the novel progresses, I was left wondering if Rosie ever realized that the escape was at all worth it. The novel suffers from a lack of demonstrating character motivation and true character growth (not one brought by a magical trincket).
2) At the start of her new life Rosie stumble supon a boyfriend. That was exactly how it seemed to me: she randomly stumbledupon him. I know this is often how people in real life end up in relationships.But I was taken aback a notch. I guess I did not expect this in a Stephen Kingnovel ... And, oh boy, isn't the boyfriend the most cliché genesis of thecontemporary "Nice Guy Discord mods" cuckesque beta male archetype. He is fully and completely a supplementary function only and not an actual character in this novel.
3) In fact, this novel is full of "cliché prophecies": architypes that were somewhat edgy and progressive in US culture back in the early 1990s and which by now have becomed bloated, perversed, and bankrupt caricatures of whatever it was they were suppose to represent. There are "strong women", there is a "strong independent black woman", there is "a blue-haired woman" who is supposed to be the fresh young torch-bearer entrusted by the aging hippies to carry the message of peace and love into the XXI century, etc.
4) There is no foundation for the fantastical elements in this novel. And the one mention of Ka does nothing toward building it up.
5) And the most annoying element in this novel for me was the job Rosie got. Starting with the way she got it to how she instantly became the best in it to the actual reason she was good at it being her only "skill" of watching TV dramas. This is beyond dubious and questionable. This is extremely ridiculous.
6) The villain in this novel is evil just because he cannot help himself. Oh, and by the way, he is a victim too ...
To conclude, this novel is nothing but a liberal's wet dream of a broken woman's revenge.
Now, this is a Stephen King novel and it is written masterfully, as is King's usual work. But the package and the form are not enough to counter all the bad plot and character-building choices made by the author.