Title: The Drawing of the ThreeAuthor: Stephen King
Pages: 399
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Plume, 1987
Series: The Dark Tower, Book 2
The gunslinger had no idea what tooter-fish was --- only that it was delicious. That seemed enough.
Synopsis: In 1978, Stephen King introduced the world to the last gunslinger, Roland of Gilead. Nothing has been the same since. More than twenty years later, the quest for the Dark Tower continues to take readers on a wildly epic ride. Through parallel worlds and across time, Roland must brave desolate wastelands and endless deserts, drifting into the unimaginable and the familiar. A classic tale of colossal scope - crossing over terrain from The Stand, The Eyes of the Dragon, Insomnia, The Talisman, Black House, Hearts in Atlantis, ’Salem’s Lot, and other familiar King haunts - the adventure takes hold with the turn of each page.
And the tower awaits....
To pay hell is one thing. But do you want to own it?
Review: I still have the over-sized paperback version of this story that I bought sometime in 1989. It's dog-eared and worn out. The pages are stained and the covers are bent. The edges of the cover are peeling and the spine is crinkled. It's in horrible shape. I keep promising myself a new edition, but somehow.......somehow, I can't seem to quite let this one go. It's my very favorite of all of the Dark Tower stories and this is the book I read it in first.
I love Eddie, drawn into Roland's world from 'our world', where he was hopped up on heroin and living in New York City in 1987. I love Odetta / Detta, the rights-activist with a split personality from New York City in 1964, who was drawn next. And I really love Susannah, the woman she becomes after she is forced to face her problems, making her the third of 'the Three'. The third door, which does not (thankfully!) bring another person, is filled with a man I absolutely do not like. But, Roland takes care of him so it works out in the end.
I really, really love how Roland views our world. There is so much of everything! The waste, the huge number of things available in stores, and the sheer number of people are more than he can believe. Paper, bullets, drugstores, and police officers fill him with equal measures of awe, scorn and confusion.
I love the whole series. But I love this story best. It's just so good and so funny in places and so horrible in others. In other words, it draws me in and drags me along. Even after having read it so many times, I still can't put it down once I've begun. And I still eat tooter-fish sandwiches.
Rating: 10 / 10
I've not read this series (in fact, I think I've only ever read one Stephen King book) but I can totally relate to the not wanting to get rid of a copy of a book which holds so many memories for you.
ReplyDeleteI've still got a well taped together copy of The Lord of the Rings which was bought for my Mum when she was pregnant with me. I carried that copy around with me for years before I was finally able to get to the end of it and I used it in a school English project as well. The book's falling apart but I can't part with it. ;-)
Cait @ Click's Clan
Yes, books often having meaning beyond the story. I hope you'll give another King book a try. His stories are like potato chips. One just isn't enough, at least in my humble opinion!
DeleteI keep on putting Stephen king at bay and read something else. Only because I just can't decide where to start... I must read something by him this year.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing
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