Bag of Bones

Bag of Bones is a 1998 novel by Stephen King. Novelist Amy Tan has said of the book that it is full of "the witty and obsessive voice of King's powerful imagination." Bag of Bones is important in that it is one of the first of King's books to have been given in-depth literary analysis beyond that of the horror genre by critics.

Its themes include the trials of the writing process (Noonan is a horribly blocked writer), the power of memory (the ghosts of Noonan's past as well as the ghosts of Sara Laughs, the creepy lakeside house to which he moves) and the ghosts lurking close behind the everyday and the mundane. A crucial human element, however, is the struggle of a young widow and her daughter to stay away from the grip of Max Devore, the power-mad figurehead of the community.

Introduction

After the sudden death of his wife Jo, author Mike Noonan is plagued by writer's block, with his dreams haunted by the summer house he shared with her, he reluctantly decides to return to the isolated lakeside retreat.

There he finds his once beloved town in the grip of the powerful millionaire Max Devore, who twists this small community to his own purpose, taking his young granddaughter away from her widowed young mother. As Mike becomes drawn into their struggle he falls in love with both of them and is further drawn into the mystery of this ghostly town.

Synopsis

The narrator, Mike Noonan is an author living in Derry, Maine who suffers from severe writer's block after his wife's death. The story begins in August of 1994, on an extremely hot day. The reader learns that his wife, Johanna, died of an undiagnosed brain aneurism whilst carrying a home pregnancy test from a pharmacy, a fact that disturbs Mike as he wasn't aware of a possible pregnancy, and in turn raises suspicions that she may have been leading another life.

For the four years following her death, Mike publishes leftover pieces of writing he's never released, which placates his agent, satisfies his publisher, and leaves the whole world unaware of his acute inability to so much as open his word-processing program on his PowerBook. Whenever Mike attempts to do so, he is seized by uncontrollable fits, which include extremely high heart rates and inability to breathe. These four years are empty ones for Mike, who spends most of his time alone, doing crossword puzzles, playing Scrabble on his computer, and only occasionally doing anything even remotely social.

Over time, Mike finds himself experiencing vivid, repeating nightmares set at the Noonan's summer home in western Maine, which become more detailed and frightening each time they occur. After following advice and taking a much-needed vacation to Key Largo, Mike decides to face his fears and return to the summer home, which is known to the locals as Sara Laughs.

He arrives on the third of July, late in the evening, and immediately finds remnants of his dream existing in reality. A sense of utter dread nearly overcomes him, though he successfully fights the urge to return to Derry.

It is here that Mike meets Mattie Devore, a widow, and her young daughter, Kyra. Mattie's husband was the son of Max Devore, a rich and influential man in the town that didn't approve of his son's marriage to Mattie. Max wants custody of his granddaughter and Mike decides to hire a lawyer for as an act of kindness to Mattie. Mike gradually develops feelings for the younger Mattie.

Soon Mike miraculously begins to write again while meanwhile both Kyra and Mike experience hauntings in their homes.

Mike soon discovers his house is haunted by a blues singer, Sara Tidwell, who once lived there. Further investigation reveals that Sara was raped and murdered by several men who are all ancestors to people in the TR-90, including Devore. The men also killed her son, Kito. Sara apparently placed a curse on all of the ancestors: they would each in turn murder their firstborn children.

Noonan discovers his wife Jo travelled to TR-90 on several occasions.

His demons are laid to rest when he realises he would have possibly murdered their unborn child, had it been born, as an ancestor of his was present at the murder.

Mike uncovers Sara's bones and attempts to use lye to dissolve the bag when a demonic being appears. When the bones dissipate, the demon leaves.

Max then sends some of his allies to attack Mike and in the ensuing events Mattie is shot and dies. An accomplice of Max kidnaps Kyra and Mike rescues her just as the ghost of Mattie appears and kills her daughter's kidnapper.

Mike determines his writers block was lifted only after his wife has helped him solve the mystery of Sara Laughs.

Mike attempts to gain custody of Kyra, the outcome of which is left unresolved at the end of the novel.

Trivia

• Ralph Roberts, the main character from Insomnia, appears briefly in the novel.
• Joe Wyzer, from Insomnia, appears briefly in the novel.
• Outsiders are referred to in The Dark Tower.
• Mike Noonan reads books by Bill Denborough, from It.
• Sara Laughs is located on Dark Score Lake, from Gerald's Game.
• Thad Beaumont, from The Dark Half, is mentioned: he commits suicide.
• Castle Rock, Maine sheriff Alan Pangborn is spoken of.
• Jared Devore, Max's ancestor, mentions Shawshank Prison.
• Sara Laughs is the twin to Cara Laughs, a location in Song of Susannah and The Dark Tower.
• The character Tim Carpenter in the movie Final Destination 2, can be seen reading Bag of Bones before he goes to sleep.

Movie?

At one point, the novel was optioned for a film, according to King's website. However, the IMDB link related to the film is no longer present.^[1]

External links

• Stephen King's official website

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