Reading the Chunksters discussion

Apparently the book has a different name in the UK, so I posted both.

I will be listening on audible to this book to get in the mood for October! Feel free to join along!

It appears that this book doesn't seem to have chapter, or, at least they are not announced on the audiobook. So all I can tell is that I am 15% in and things have really started piquing my interest.

(view spoiler)[ Vic has now met Maggie in Iowa, who is basically fortune telling with her scrabble pieces. I absolutely love this introduction of new powers and discussions of the inscape, and the price they all must pay to use their powers. I feel like things are going to start going really fast from here. I'm still a little confused about how Manx's powers work, obviously the price he pays for strength inscape has caused his body to lapse into a coma, and I am so nervous to see how he comes across Vic. (hide spoiler)]

Hmmm. I was going to wait until October to start reading this but maybe I should start now so we are reading together.

You can always start posting then and I promise to check back :)

I try and read about five books for Halloween because I always get impatient for Fall to really start. This year I will be reading this and Bone Clocks, but also (and under 500 pages) Night of the Living Trekkies and Horrorstör, it was a very good freshman novel.

OK, thanks Becky! I have another audio book queued up so I'll figure out this weekend which one to start first.

That Horrorstor looks fun and I'm totally adding that one to my pile!

I think I own this book in ebook form. I may have to join this one. I've read one other Hill book and really liked it. I've only heard good things about him.

This book is easily the most distressed Ive ever been listening to a horror book. Haha i am so uneasy!!

At 37% in the present day portion

This isn't really a spoiler so I am not going to mark it. Vic's neighbor was across the street, name of De Zoet, painting his miniatures and listening to WHAT? Nothing other than Frobisher's Cloud Atlas Sextuplet, which of course, is a song that only exists in David Mitchell work Cloud Atlas.

This immediately made me re-examine the book I am reading. That single reference to David Mitchell places this book within Mitchell's universes. We are no longer simply reading about people with powers, or inscapes, but also those souls and lives that are seemingly forever intertwined through reincarnation. I have not read The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet, who I assume Hill named his character for. I cant really speak to other "rules" and intricacies of Mitchell's universe, though I do know that all his books happen within the same one. It makes me extra excited to start The Bone Clocks, and continue exploring how Hill perceives his book in relation to the Mitchell's.

It's a very interesting concept. I no longer read that I am just reading a horror story, and I am excited to see how they story evolves past this point.

That is a super cool find, Becky! I've only read Cloud Atlas (loved it!) by Mitchell but I am planning on reading the Jacob de Zoet book at the end of the year. Now I'm more excited to start this NOS4A2 book. :)

I plan to start Hill's book tomorrow!

Ok I started the book today and it really has sucked me in so far.

(view spoiler)[Vic has just met Maggie at the library. I love Maggie so far and all of her phrases such as "It's a whore to clean." She is funny. I am intrigued about how the use of their special power affects their lives. The prologue was pretty creepy with Manx talking to the nurse. (hide spoiler)]

To Jennbunny
(view spoiler)[ I was really confused by the time hops at first with Manx and the nurse and Vic, maybe I hadn't been paying enough attention. Maggie tells Vic that they all have a price to pay for their powers, what do you think the Wraiths is? Or that since he so off playing at Nos4a2/nosferatu that he has found a way to transfer the price to the children? (hide spoiler)]



at 62%
(view spoiler)[ Wayne sees his grandmother who warns him about Manx's plans. Why do you think Wayne can see his grandmother? Do you think he may have some powers like his mother, or do you think in Hill's universe, because everyone has their own inscape that that inscape remains after death- effectively creating ghosts in the "united inscapes of America" (hide spoiler)]

(view spoiler)[ the time jump at first was a bit like what? But I really like books that have time jumps. I'm not sure yet what Wraith's price is. He is a serial killer who found a special power but I wouldn't be surprised if it has to do with the kids or his Bing guys. I wonder how old he is through the book. So far they've only said really old.

I am to the part where Vic is at the cottage house with her son. She still thinks she's nuts.

I haven't gotten to the Wayne part but I would imagine he might have some of his mother's powers. <\spoiler>

Did I hear a Dalek (Dr. Who) reference at the toy phone part? I am sure I did. I wish I had he real book so I could look it up. (hide spoiler)]

Oh you definitely hard a Dalek reference!!!! I think I would very much like to meet Mr. Hill. Also, you caught up fast! I can hardly put the book down now!

72%
(view spoiler)[ The FBI agent is wearing Superman earrings. That seems rather out of character given other descriptions of her. I cannot help but wonder if she is trying to signal to Vic in some way that she understands there might be something supernatural here. I dont know, maybe I am overreaching. The agent certainly speaks as though she full-heartedly believes that Vic killed her son, but also understands that there is something Vic isnt telling her, might be afraid to tell her. The superman earrings really beg the question to me that the maybe this FBI agent is hinting to her that she might understand the *real* story if Vic told it to her. Hard to say, I guess we will find out (hide spoiler)]

77%
(view spoiler)[ Oooo a Craddock reference from Heart Shaped Box, so his ghost was part of the inscape too, and Wayne continues to see his grandmother's ghost... now I really need to read Horns and decide if the main characters powers are born out of his strong-creative inscape since Hill seems to be creating a consistent universe.

Once we have all finished the book I definitly want to talk about how Hill percieves the role of horror as a genre. I read an article which I will link later about he really detests that it degenerated into torture porn for the last few years, and while there is rape in the book, it happens off screen and is spoken about mostly in euphemisms by Bing. Vic as a female agent really works here as well, she is the only one that we MIGHT actually suffer a rape, but instead she fights by torching the place and exploding Bing. Its interesting to say the least, I feel like Hill is trying to reclaim horror. (hide spoiler)]

OK gals, I just started this today so I'm way behind, but so far I'm having a great time listening to this one, it's had just the right level of creepiness from the get-go.

A couple of things right off - first I didn't recognize the name of the narrator until I started listening I knew her voice sounded familiar - Star Trek! :D She does an awesome "creepy old man" voice as evidenced in the prologue. Second, I did not even connect the title of the book to how it would be sounded out on a vanity license plate until I heard the narrator introduce the book. I was totally SMH at myself!!

I'm only about 7% in so far, so I'm not going to peek at the discussion spoilers yet. But besides the Cloud Atlas reference to look for, I'm excited to see that there is also a Dalek reference to also be on the look out for. Very cool!

OK. Back to the book. :)

The creepy man voices are awesome! She is doing a fantastic job with the narration so far.

I'm about 50% through the book. (view spoiler)[So the car is the key to killing Charlie Manx? I am to where Charlie and Bing have taken Wayne. Lou is having some sort of heart attack in the airport after Wayne called him. (hide spoiler)]

I just finished! Whooo what a ride. Or maybe thats a bad turn of phrase here? I will wait to post anything else until everyone has finished. Captain Janeway really didnt a great narration, or Flemeth from Dragon Age, wherever you know her from, I suppose nowadays its from Orange is the New Black.

Just want to let everyone know, as soon as I am done I usually switch the book right off, but there is an afterward with Joe Hill. I highly recommend listening to it. He talks a bit about his process with writing the book, and also, how he feels very positively about audiobooks, etc. Its pretty cool.

Plus, after the credits, there is a bit you really wont want to miss

At 100%(view spoiler)[ I just want to write this bit down so I dont forget when we are talking about it. So, Charlie ends up being the crazy person that gets the bridge officially condemned and destroyed by the county. Vic's dad mentions it at the beginning. I dont remember any thing about a girl with bats in her hair though, was that mentioned previously (hide spoiler)]

I hope to finish this book tomorrow.

I'm 37% in through the book. I haven't read a horror book in awhile, let alone one that is fully able to give me the heebie jeebies while listening to in the light of day while at work! With Christmas coming up, the smell of gingerbread will never again be the same.

Regarding Becky's first part of message 12 - (view spoiler)[That is an interesting idea, that the Wraith's price to pay is the transferred to the children, and would explain his license plate. As to other aspects of the book - Sometimes I find myself getting a little confused on the time frame, such as the time that Charlie Manx supposedly died and when Victoria found out about it. It felt like he had died much longer back than just the couple of days it took her to find out about it. The scene where Wayne is at the front door of his grandma's neighbor's house while at the same time Bing is just on the other side was very stressful and creepy. If Joe Hill can keep this unsettled feeling going for the rest of the book, I'm going to have a hard time not diving into some of his his books. (hide spoiler)]

Thanks for the note about listening after the credits, Becky. I think I had seen that mentioned in a review as well but had forgotten about it.

At 47%.

(view spoiler)[This is a great classic "creepy old man with not-all-there sidekick" abduction and terror story. I've been completely on the edge of my seat during the abduction of Wayne scene. And the conversation between Charlie Manx and Bing in the car afterward actually had me chuckling a bit with all of Charlie's zingers directed at Bing after his fumbling with the gun and blowing Charlie's ear off.

Of course we can see where this is headed - Victoria must now use her powers on purpose in order to try and save her son, even though she has been telling herself that she made them up in her head in order to cover the pain of what really happened. I feel bad for her, trying to rationalize what felt real to her, yet knowing at the same time that it shouldn't be possible and convincing herself that something was mentally wrong with her.

Did anyone else have flashes of Stephen King's Christine as the car locked and opened/closed its doors by itself?

Finally, I'm wondering how Manx is going to make it so that Wayne "wants to" stay in Christmasland once he gets there. Are the children there actually dead? I had assumed this, but now I'm not so sure? It is still the most plausible explanation, though. Anyway, now that we will have Wayne's POV, it will be interesting to see what happens when children enter Christmasland. Although I probably don't actually want to find out... (hide spoiler)]

Reply to Linda in Message 20

(view spoiler)[ I was SO stressed during that scene. That it is one of the good things about audiobooks, I know if I was actually READING it my eyes would be skipping all over the page as I forced myself to calm down and actually take in the words. But you can't really speed up the recording, so it really makes you take your time, and in stressful moments thats killer.

I've never read King's Christine, but I wouldn't doubt that Hill is influenced, or even purposely nods his head to his dad.

I thought that Hill made an interesting point throughout the story when he talked about how, as a child, Vic like all children was very willing to believe in her powers, even as her brain tried to make her misremember in a way to either shield itself from the damage she was doing to herself or to prep her for adulthood. Children are so ready to believe that they can do it, and in magical powers, while adults are as equally ready to believe that we know exactly what is real and not real, and that reality is so very solid. (hide spoiler)]

I personally loved when Maggie was introduced. She was funny and blunt.

jennbunny wrote: "I personally loved when Maggie was introduced. She was funny and blunt."

I meant to mention before that I loved her scrabble tile earrings! :)

To Becky's message 21:

(view spoiler)[Excellent point about the distinction between what kids and adults are willing and ready to believe, it is so true. And in this way it makes sense that Bing as an adult, but still childlike, fully believes in the idea of Christmasland and doesn't stop dreaming of going there someday.

The audio is great also in that, at least with this narrator, it's acted out much more than I would read it in my head. And as I mentioned before, Kate Melgrew does a great job with the creepy old man voice, so listening is like a cross between reading the book and watching a movie acted out. The tension level has been maintained at a perfect level, I think.

I'm currently reading a graphic novel series by Joe Hill and in one of the volumes I had to do a double-take at one of the extra characters in one panel because it totally looked like Stephen King! I was thinking how that could not possibly be an accident. :)
(hide spoiler)]

Malgrow's voice work is absolutely superb in the novel. I am not so sure that I would have loved the novel that much if I simply had read it or had listened to another narrator.

Her husky, slightly aggressive voice adds edginess and immediacy, and some of the scenes are really, really spooky in this novel. The novel itself boasts new psychological twist of being stranded in our childhood. (view spoiler)[ It also explores the convention of innocence - children are usually portrayed as innocent or symbolize innocence in many novels, but not in this one. A good take on the Peter Pan topic of never growing up and being evil and malicious instead of being sweet or innocent (hide spoiler)]

I really want a pair of F U scrabble tile earrings now!!!! Just like I wanted a bright red scarf after reading the Night Circus. I need more book swag!

Its always fascinating how narrators can make or break a novel. I enjoy the man who narrates the Dark Tower series but after one twenty-hour book I always need a break from "grimy old man voice" however, I could have listened to Bryan Cranston narrate Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried all day long, if the subject matter hadn't been so emotionally costly.

I've read that "celebrity" reads are becoming more and more of a things as they are trying to rope non-readers/non-listeners into audiobooks. So far I have never disliked a celebrity read, so there is that at least. I also cant blame publishers, I think I would buy anything that Idris Elba narrated. I'll definitely look for other books from Mulgrew.

I'm not too much further in from the last time I posted, but I had to stop and share that I thought it was cool some of the places that were labeled on the map, the first being "Lovecraft Keyhole", which is described as "a crater in the rough shape of a keyhole". Of course I noticed this because I just finished reading all six volumes of Locke & Key, Vol. 1: Welcome to Lovecraft. Also I noticed "Pennywise Circus" near Derry, which would be from Stephen King's book "It". I'm sure there were others that I missed.

Linda wrote: "I noticed "Pennywise Circus" near Derry, which would be from Stephen King's book "It". I'm sure there were others that I missed. "

I read the novel more than a year ago, so I might be mistaken, but I believe there were some allusions to other novels by Stephen King. Correct me if I am wrong, but I think he also mentions Castle Rock, a town for some of King's novels.

P.S., there were some references to the places and worlds Roland went to or inhabited (The Dark Tower)

Isn't it always a kick to recognize those types of things. I get silly-excited.

Thsi post is definitely off topic, but yes, I always get a kick when I find allusions to other books. I know many think that King is a genre writer, and it is true, but his prose can be allusive and elaborate at the same time. Book 5 in the Dark Tower series and even Misery allude to one of the most high-brow and literary writers ever known, a secluded elitist, John Fowles and his Mantissa, and in Under the Dome King directly quotes T.S. Eliot's The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock and Other Poems

Interesting. I just noticed that Joe Hill is Stephen King's son.

Mekki wrote: "Interesting. I just noticed that Joe Hill is Stephen King's son."

Yeah, I didn't know that either until I started reading Joe Hill's Locke & Key series. The last volume in that series has a reference to Stephen King's novel Carrie. And....now that I have finished NOS4A2, I'm listening to King's Doctor Sleep and there is a character talking about Charlie Manx nabbing children and his creepy car...

I finished this a few days ago. What a great read! I loved it, and I thought the narration was excellent. Such a good, creepy book to listen to this time of year, and thanks for the idea to have a couple of horror picks for October, Becky!

I'll put my final thoughts in spoilers just in case -

(view spoiler)[I thought the ending was awesome, and there was excitement and action until near the very end. I liked how what I thought was going to happen, didn't. It would have been too obvious to have Lou go ahead and die since there were clues dropped all along the way about his weight and health, but I still expected him not to make it back alive. I was happy that he did as he was one of my favorite characters. He had such a big heart and I never got tired of him calling out to Vic "Duuuuude!". ha ha. And on the flip side, I didn't expect Vic to die, but I'm satisfied how that worked with the ending - that she gave everything she had to get her son back.

I also thought it was creepy cool how we are left with Charlie Manx's children still out in the world because they were smart in hiding their ornaments back deep in the woods. Now that I'm reading Dr. Sleep, which takes place around 20 years after The Shining, I'm wondering if we'll get a sequel to NOS4A2 in 20 years... :)

The thing that didn't set well with me was that Lou and the FBI agent (name is escaping me) are looking like a couple now. I mean, I'm happy that Lou is finding someone else to move on with, but I didn't see her as the one. Although, I'm not sure I got a great sense of her character overall. (hide spoiler)]

Lou is also one of my favorite characters, and as you, I did not want this character to die, but I think there must be a sacrificial cow, and and Vic was the one.

I also liked how Hill played with the idea of Christmas - it is not sweet, saccharine, smarmy, vanilla type of holiday. Christmasland is not for the weakest heart.

And yes, the narration is excellent.

P.S. I think her name was Tabitha. And here is another nod towards the family. Joe Hill's mother is Tabitha King, a writer, but not as famous as her husband, and now her son :-)

Zulfiya wrote: "P.S. I think her name was Tabitha. And here is another nod towards the family. Joe Hill's mother is Tabitha King, a writer, but not as famous as her husband, and now her son :-)"

Oh yeah, that's right. I remember thinking it was the name of his mom. :)

My final thoughts: I was very happy with the book entirely (this is rare for me). I felt the ending was good without being standard cookie cutter - bad guy dies sort of thing. Vic was such a strong character - I am glad she gave everything she had all the way up to the end. As far as the FBI lady and Lou - well that sort of took me by surprise - the part with Wayne in the car thinking about killing her in the end was creepy, and then Lou figuring out to break the ornaments.
I liked all the connections in the book and references. For me at least, I like to see books intertwined and growing together. It shows me these links and gets me to reading other books.

I am glad that you liked it, jennybunny. It is a very well written novel, without the pretenses of being literary, but it is still written with good language, inventive choice of words, and compassionate and lovable characters.

It is also, as you said, not cookie cutter, not the cupcake of romance, not too formulaic either.

So how about the next buddy read?

My husband just finished it as well- he did not care for it at all. He thought that the characters were inconsistent, that the "magic" followed no logical pattern, and that Joe Hill kills too many dogs.

I for one never thought that the characters were inconsistent. Did anyone else? Bing, I felt, was necessarily erratic. I felt that Vic was a believable character, who wouldnt assume that they were going insane, and who wouldn't have trouble deciding once and for all what was going on in there head, especially as the book made the point that crossing the bridge WAS costing her sanity.

Mostly my husband thought that Manx was inconsistent as a character, that he was too syrupy with kids, but given 15 seconds with Vic would curse her and threaten to cut her tits off, etc. I personally felt that played into the idea that true innocence was evil- he had no capacity for control or understanding, and so naturally lashed out when angry, in the same way that the kids in Christmasland saw no problem mutiliating people.

For me, I also thought that Vic was a good character that had appropriate agency? It is so rare that you see a female lead in a horror novel that doesnt slip into the damsel in distress role. I felt that, throughout, even when Vic was going mad, she was still trying to exorcise as much control as possible, she never just sat down and gave up.

The ending was the strongest for me, I do hope there is a follow up novel with Manx's newly freed children who were back in the woods watching Wade, the traitor.