A book a day: Stephen King: Apocalypse (The Stand)

Original Language: English

Títutulus original: The Stand

Translation: Lorenzo Cortina

Year of publication: 1978

Valoración: Highly recommended

A classic.

And I don’t say it in the abstract sense. Almost fifty years after its publication, this novel is inevitably read from a historical perspective, different from the time in which it was conceived. I think that a work with such claims would hardly find a place in the current literary ecosystem. It could not even be addressed with the same mentality as a contemporary novel. The time elapsed since its publication until today is almost the same that separates this novel from in search of lost time. I have always thought that the reading of the latter was typical of an era in which people lacked television, was consumed without hurry, chapter by chapter, as many novels were published at the time. Similarly, to immerse yourself in The Stand it is necessary to prepare for an extensive, exhausting trip, sometimes tedious, but, without a doubt, epic.

The Stand is a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel. A pandemic fulminates in a few days to most of humanity, leaving only a few survivors immune to the pathogen. Following the idea of ​​the previous paragraph, a synopsis thus offers an overview, but the pandemic is only the pretext to explore a humanity taken to the limit. It is as if the earth and people open, which in normal circumstances make up a homogeneous population, were separated and experience a regression to an manichaean era in which their most primitive features lead them to the path of good or evil. It seems that in extreme situations humans intensify their personality and beliefs to the fullest; It is enough to observe the emergence of recent wars to notice how avid they are all to take a side.

Another important point is the overwhelming amount of characters. As is natural in a book of these dimensions, the cast is immense. At the beginning it can be difficult to identify and differentiate them clearly, which demands from the reader a considerable exercise of memory and attention, something that, given the current rhythm of life, is like asking pears to the elm. However, if you decide to commit to reading and pay attention, you will discover a unique attraction in each of them, particularly in the protagonists. The development of these characters throughout the novel is, in general, substantial, presenting a wide range of personalities, conflicts and experiences. Precisely, wealth and complexity in these characters make the novel memorable.

In order not to make spoilers, I will not go into details about how the novel develops from, more or less, the second half. However, the fact that it is classified as “Dark Fantasy” can give a clue that the plot goes far beyond a simple history of postpocalyptic survival. I will only say that there is a supernatural, symbolic and spiritual component that intensifies as the story progresses, and that leads the human confrontation to a broader and more allegorical terrain, where good and evil acquire concrete forms.

The Stand is a monumental work, both because of its extension and for the thematic and narrative complexity he proposes (according to Wikipedia, King intended to make his own Lord of the Rings, which, in my opinion, does not get). It is not a light or immediate reading, but it offers an experience that can be deeply gratifying.

Other books by Stephen King in Ulad: the fog and other stories, the cycle of the werewolf, revival, it (ESO), the four stations, Tommyknockers, the fugitive, sleeping beauties, animal cemetery, the story of Lisey, Carrie, the man of the black suit, 11/22/63, Buick 8, a perverse car, joyland, blockade, white I write, the institute, insomnia, cell, the dome, misery, the glow, Billy Summers, doctor dream, the mystery of Salem’s Lot, Gerald’s game