A book a day: VV.AA.: The King

Idioma original: Spanish and English

Year of publication: 2019 (as a book)

Translation: David Muñoz Mateos

Valuation: Recommended for geeks… I mean, fans

The subtitle of this book (in case it wasn’t clear with the The King… and not to mention the magnificent illustration on the cover) perfectly sums up what it’s all about: Welcome to Stephen King’s literary universeAnd that is what we find here: a series of articles or essays written by both North and Latin American authors (I include a Catalan in this category) on different aspects of the work and also, in more than one case, of the life of His Gracious Majesty Don Stephen King.

. Be careful, however, for anyone expecting to find in this book a mere anecdotal, pleasant journey through the trajectory of the Maine monster (never better said), since, although the contributions of the Spanish-speaking or Spanish-writing authors are lighter or, at least, more bearable for the eventual reader, those that are originally written in English are a bit denser. I have used the participle “written” because, except for the first chapter, they are articles or small essays (I do not dare to call thempapers

which seems to me a more academic term and, therefore, deceptively folksy) written by professors of philosophy, political science and art history and deal with the philosophical, sociological and political implications present in the King’s work… Relax everyone, because a mediocre culture is enough to follow these dissertations -which I’m sure their authors took as a diversion, a light respite from so much thoughtful work-, but come on, they don’t seem to me to be aimed at all audiences, so to speak… Needless to say, I have no idea who all these teachers from various North American universities are and I don’t know if they have academic prestige and standing, since until now, I only knew the Spanish writers of the book, namely: the Argentines Rodrigo Fresán and Mariana Enriquez -she couldn’t be missing in this book-, the Catalan Laura Fernández and the Bolivian Edmundo Paz Soldán.

I will try to be brief, but I think that the best thing, for a better understanding of the book, will be to explain what each chapter or essay is about, or, at least, to outline its title: – This compilation opens with an interesting interview conducted by Tony Magistrale – professor of Literature and creative writing – with the King himself in 2003, about the adaptations of his books to the screen (it is understood that until thenmoment ):

Steve’s Take: An Interview with Stephen King. – Follow a somewhat routine tour by Rodrigo Fresán through -some of- the many children and adolescents who appear in his work:

The King of boys. – Philosopher Greg Littmann speculates on what Plato, Aristotle, and Davis Hume would have thought about King’s books and horror in general.Stephen King and the art of horror

r.– Something similar to Rodrigo Fresán, although with greater depth, is done by Mariana Enriquez: ” For Tabby, who got me into this…” A tour of women in Stephen King’s work,a study of various female archetypes that appear in the no

King’s candles. – Another philosopher, Katherine Allen in“Sometimes death is preferable.” Stephen King, Daedalus, tyrant dragons and mortality exposes the opposition transhumanism vs. bioconservationism through Pet cemetery yTommyknockers (

According to her, these King novels warn about the dangers of transcending human limits.)– The novelist Laura Fernández, after the chiripiflaútico title “ Be careful what you dream about because it might grow fangs and start running after you” or (desired) reality as a monster in three acts which are three works by Stephen King and from now on The monkey’s paw by William Wymark Jacobs, explores how Pet Sematary, The Long Walk, Misery y The store, are parables of the old adage that one must be careful what one wishes for (a warning to the reticent in the style of this writer, with her usual (PARENTHESIS) and italics which may seem random… and perhaps they are: in this article he doesn’t abuse them so much, but from time to time gives her the siroco

he decides to put several in a row) – Joseph J. Foy and Timothy M. Dale (Professors of Political Science), inDystopia on the screen. Power and violence in The Fugitive and The Long Walk because they talk precisely about that, relating both novels with On violence

they Hannah Arendt. – Philosopher Kellye Byal in Female subjectivity in Carrie introduces us to the protagonist of Stephen King’s first novel as the epitome of female destiny, seen through The second sex

by Simone de Beauvoir. – Again a philosopher, Thomas W. Manninen, sketches out in Notes on precognition, verification and counterfactuals in The Dead Zone, in his own words (perhaps with a bit of humor) a

“essay on the metaphysical questions raised by Stephen King’s The Dead Zone.” – Garret Merriam in“Gan is dead.” Nietzsche and the eternal return of Roland enlightens us about the well-known ember some Nietzschean philosophical concepts exemplifying it in the saga

The Dark Tower. – The Professor of Art History and Film Studies Elizabeth Hornbeck exhibits at The Overlook Hotel or the heterotopia of terror How can we consider the famous hotel of The Shiningwithin the “heterotopias”, according to the concept coined by Foucault: that is, spaces that “They are in relation to all other spaces, but inverting normal social relations.

” – Finally, the writer Edmundo Paz Soldán goes beyond so many essays and offers us in Planetary

a horror story based on some of the King’s most famous ones (musophobes, please refrain).

The chapters that I have liked and have been most interested in, without underestimating the rest, are the one by Queen Mariana (as expected) on the female archetypes in King’s work; linked to this, the one by Kellye Byal who analyses the figure of Carrie White and, above all, the one by Elizabeth Hornbeck on the Overlook Hotel as an example of heterotopia. Without forgetting, of course, the interview with Stephen King himself, something that is always interesting and enlightening. Now, this is my personal preference and it is very likely that another reader will be more attracted to other essays or that they will even seem more thoughtful and worthy of consideration; that is the charm of this book, which delves into different aspects of the work of this great author and builder of his own world, but, as can be seen in this compilation, rooted not only in reality (something that has been said many times), but in the substratum that feeds Western culture.

The “Graciosa” thing is justified above all by her great fondness for jokes and puns of poor quality, as anyone who follows her Twitter account can attest. A fondness, by the way, that she shares with more than one member of this worthy blog.