This is one of very few books that have caused an adrenaline dump, where I just keep going and going regardless of how stressful or heartbreaking it is.
When Louis wakes up and Gage is okay and none of it really happened, only to _actually_ wake up and realize that it really did happen...😔. I’m just glad I read that book before I had children, don’t know if I could stomach it these days.
Your video summarizes this book beautifully. Simply brilliant. I just finished this novel this morning and it will once again haunt me for years. I first read it waaay back in the 80s and it had the same effect on me. It is filled with grief so profound that you cannot stand it. So debilitating that you can barely breathe. It's haunting and horrifying but also a beautifully written story with rich characterizations and deep emotions. You feel the intense grief that comes about from intense love...and loss. This story is an example of Stephen King's incredible talent when it comes to character development, particularly children. You care about them. You connect with them. You worry about them. Just a few days ago I wrapped up Salem's Lot (surprisingly for the first time!) and cannot believe it took me this long to read that amazing novel. Love your channel, by the way!
I agree with you I think this is one of his bests too I think this is the most in depth look into grief with the loss of a child. He writes the grieving process so well though and what I like about Stephen King is that he doesn't just take one person and write about how that one person is grieving; he takes the entire family and writes about their grief and he does it so masterfully. I think that's partly why this book is so scary because of the fact it deals with grief and the emotions that come along with it I mean, when we lose someone that's really close to us, there's always those "What ifs" that run through our minds. You can empathize with Louis so well though because of course, if there was a chance we could bring our loved ones back, wouldn't we want to?. . .
The first King book I read. I was 11 years old. Also the first real novel for adults I ever read. Enjoyed King from that age till about 19-20 then I discovered other authors that I enjoyed much more than King.
Probably the greatest Horror story ever written. In my opinion at least, the ideas about death and grieving hit real close to home for me and many people I’m sure. We all have people and yes Animals in our lives that we cherish more than our ownselves, and the horrible fact that one day we WILL part ways is just a horrible fact of life that is definitely explored within this brilliant novel.
I agree with you totally - aside from The Dead Zone being my favourite, I think this is easily King's best horror novel, and I can't think of anything else I've ever read that has scared me more!
Great review! I read this book as a parent of young children, which made this the scariest thing I’ve ever read by King, but I can say I don’t think I’d have appreciated it as much if I had read it before having kids. I didn’t know much about the book when I bought it 3 years ago, just that there was an 80s movie I hadn’t seen yet, with a zombie cat and Herman Munster in it. The parallels to my real life freaked me out too! My wife and I were in the process of moving to a new home and new town with our 5 year old daughter and a 1.5 year old son. The house we bought is on a property that backs up to county woods. I also developed a bond with an elderly man across the street, a retired doctor. To make matters worse, it was March 2019 and I had literally just taken my kids to the park to fly kites a week before! Oh, and my daughter goes by Ellie (although she’s an Elizabeth, not an Eleanor). Fortunately, the similarities ended there, but the detail King puts into how devastating it would be to lose your own child, and how desperate it could make you, that stuck with me. You can sense that this was his real fear too when he wrote the book. I think the cruelest thing King does in this book is he spends so much time in the first couple hundred pages detailing this family… making you root for them and fall in love with the characters and their overall family…. only to tear their lives apart in tragedy. Brilliant novel. One of his best.
Loved the book !! Currently reading Dolores Claiborne , about 60% done and just watched your review on it which i already agree on ! Of course I bounced off before the spoilers .
This is the only book of King's that I don't go back and re-read, cuts too deep. It's a wonderful, terrifying story, but I agree with him in how it scared him.
I’m rereading this right now and it still remains as one of the best horror books I’ve ever read. I thought the 1989 movie perfectly casted Jud. Keep imagining Fred Gwynn as Jud when I read it. John Lithgow, not so much.
A nice quick review and some cool reasons for sure. I just finished this book this evening, and it was... ok... I feel this one gets too much hype. Yeah its another good character building tale, but it only gets interesting in teh last 40 pages, and then its all a bit... rushed and over with too quick. After reading 300+ pages of build up you kind of want more? Any way, still a good read.
Interesting. For me, this is such a compelling portrait of grief and a harrowing tale of trying to do right by your family, I just love it - loved it even more going back to it since becoming a parent too. But thanks for sharing your comment - I always love hearing different opinions
@@DaveReadsKing See thats probably why I didnt enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Many people have said the same about this book. I dont think the main character is doing right by his family at all. It feels more of a selfish act to me, and he just wants to have him back for his own grief, not caring how it will affect his wife or daughter (or anyone else really). Also, it sort of describes it as something else forcing him to do this and not of his own free will. Im a parent, and I also have a 2 year old grandson, so that did feel a bit grim whilst reading those bits. But again, nothing as bad as people have left me to beleive. It has a great deal of building the tension, and then no really big pay off. Or... a pay off but rather a quick one!
Just finished reading this book and i’m really starting to think about the ending, it was so horrifying. I don’t know if I’m ever going to read Pet Sematary again.
@@crimson911 Yes! I absolutely love Fred Gweyne! CBS Mystery Theater radio show is one of my favorite forms of entertainment. Fred's on a ton of them, and he always steals the show! I watched Rob Zombie's version just because, and I had to go back and watch old episodes to cleanse myself lol
This is one of very few books that have caused an adrenaline dump, where I just keep going and going regardless of how stressful or heartbreaking it is.
I totally get you!
When Louis wakes up and Gage is okay and none of it really happened, only to _actually_ wake up and realize that it really did happen...😔. I’m just glad I read that book before I had children, don’t know if I could stomach it these days.
Oof, yes. I've reread this since becoming a dad and, wow, does it change how you take this one!
oh that was brutal
Your video summarizes this book beautifully. Simply brilliant. I just finished this novel this morning and it will once again haunt me for years. I first read it waaay back in the 80s and it had the same effect on me. It is filled with grief so profound that you cannot stand it. So debilitating that you can barely breathe. It's haunting and horrifying but also a beautifully written story with rich characterizations and deep emotions. You feel the intense grief that comes about from intense love...and loss. This story is an example of Stephen King's incredible talent when it comes to character development, particularly children. You care about them. You connect with them. You worry about them. Just a few days ago I wrapped up Salem's Lot (surprisingly for the first time!) and cannot believe it took me this long to read that amazing novel. Love your channel, by the way!
Thanks for such a thoughtful comment 😊
Great review. Honestly think this book is so underrated, a horrific study of grief and loss. One of his best.
I agree with you I think this is one of his bests too I think this is the most in depth look into grief with the loss of a child. He writes the grieving process so well though and what I like about Stephen King is that he doesn't just take one person and write about how that one person is grieving; he takes the entire family and writes about their grief and he does it so masterfully. I think that's partly why this book is so scary because of the fact it deals with grief and the emotions that come along with it I mean, when we lose someone that's really close to us, there's always those "What ifs" that run through our minds. You can empathize with Louis so well though because of course, if there was a chance we could bring our loved ones back, wouldn't we want to?. . .
The first King book I read. I was 11 years old. Also the first real novel for adults I ever read. Enjoyed King from that age till about 19-20 then I discovered other authors that I enjoyed much more than King.
One heck of a dark one to jump in with!
Probably the greatest Horror story ever written. In my opinion at least, the ideas about death and grieving hit real close to home for me and many people I’m sure. We all have people and yes Animals in our lives that we cherish more than our ownselves, and the horrible fact that one day we WILL part ways is just a horrible fact of life that is definitely explored within this brilliant novel.
I agree with you totally - aside from The Dead Zone being my favourite, I think this is easily King's best horror novel, and I can't think of anything else I've ever read that has scared me more!
Death is a natural part of life..we tend to forget we came here in the 1st place
Great review! I read this book as a parent of young children, which made this the scariest thing I’ve ever read by King, but I can say I don’t think I’d have appreciated it as much if I had read it before having kids. I didn’t know much about the book when I bought it 3 years ago, just that there was an 80s movie I hadn’t seen yet, with a zombie cat and Herman Munster in it. The parallels to my real life freaked me out too! My wife and I were in the process of moving to a new home and new town with our 5 year old daughter and a 1.5 year old son. The house we bought is on a property that backs up to county woods. I also developed a bond with an elderly man across the street, a retired doctor. To make matters worse, it was March 2019 and I had literally just taken my kids to the park to fly kites a week before! Oh, and my daughter goes by Ellie (although she’s an Elizabeth, not an Eleanor). Fortunately, the similarities ended there, but the detail King puts into how devastating it would be to lose your own child, and how desperate it could make you, that stuck with me. You can sense that this was his real fear too when he wrote the book.
I think the cruelest thing King does in this book is he spends so much time in the first couple hundred pages detailing this family… making you root for them and fall in love with the characters and their overall family…. only to tear their lives apart in tragedy. Brilliant novel. One of his best.
Absolutely agree with everything you’ve put here - it’s such a powerful, heartbreaking and, at times, beautiful book
Loved the book !! Currently reading Dolores Claiborne , about 60% done and just watched your review on it which i already agree on ! Of course I bounced off before the spoilers .
Excellent - thank you!
This is the only book of King's that I don't go back and re-read, cuts too deep. It's a wonderful, terrifying story, but I agree with him in how it scared him.
Yeah, it is *dark*
Great review man! I can't wait for the next one!
Thanks!
Great review.This is next on my king tbr. Can’t wait to read it.
Excellent choice - you will an awful but also excellent time
This hits hard as a parent
Heck yes it does - I first read it in my mid-20s...coming back to it as a dad was a wholly different - and harder-hitting - experience
I’m rereading this right now and it still remains as one of the best horror books I’ve ever read. I thought the 1989 movie perfectly casted Jud. Keep imagining Fred Gwynn as Jud when I read it. John Lithgow, not so much.
Ah, the book is so good and the 1989 movie is - for me at least - just about perfect. Looking forward to covering that one in a couple of months
I love Dave's intros. They're clever
Thank you!
@@DaveReadsKing they're awesome. I love the Thinner one. Strawberry pie? Don't mind if I do!
This book reminded me of cs lewis's A Grief Observed. Did Kind read any Lewis and if so is there a link with the name Louis?
Good question to which I do not know the answer! But I imagine he probably did read some Lewis
A nice quick review and some cool reasons for sure. I just finished this book this evening, and it was... ok... I feel this one gets too much hype. Yeah its another good character building tale, but it only gets interesting in teh last 40 pages, and then its all a bit... rushed and over with too quick. After reading 300+ pages of build up you kind of want more? Any way, still a good read.
Interesting. For me, this is such a compelling portrait of grief and a harrowing tale of trying to do right by your family, I just love it - loved it even more going back to it since becoming a parent too. But thanks for sharing your comment - I always love hearing different opinions
@@DaveReadsKing See thats probably why I didnt enjoy it as much as I thought I would. Many people have said the same about this book. I dont think the main character is doing right by his family at all. It feels more of a selfish act to me, and he just wants to have him back for his own grief, not caring how it will affect his wife or daughter (or anyone else really). Also, it sort of describes it as something else forcing him to do this and not of his own free will. Im a parent, and I also have a 2 year old grandson, so that did feel a bit grim whilst reading those bits. But again, nothing as bad as people have left me to beleive. It has a great deal of building the tension, and then no really big pay off. Or... a pay off but rather a quick one!
Fair enough!
Just finished this book and it is truly heartbreaking
Yup, it's quite the powerful read
Just finished reading this book and i’m really starting to think about the ending, it was so horrifying. I don’t know if I’m ever going to read Pet Sematary again.
I read it again after having kids…wow!
I'm currently on my second read of pet sematary might listen to the audio drama again after
Nice! I’ve still not checked out the audio drama yet
Pet Sematary is my favorite book every word is in my mind
It is terrific
I reread it recently and it scared me even more than the first time
Oh yeah, it never gets any less scary. I reread it when my first child was the same age as Gage…devastating!
One of my favorites. Depressing as hell. 4.5/5
Yes!
Is that Herman Munster as your pfp? LMAO I love it. Fred Gwynne carried the Pet Sematary adaptation.
@@crimson911 Yes! I absolutely love Fred Gweyne! CBS Mystery Theater radio show is one of my favorite forms of entertainment. Fred's on a ton of them, and he always steals the show! I watched Rob Zombie's version just because, and I had to go back and watch old episodes to cleanse myself lol
I don't think I'm ever going to read this book it's just too dark for me 😱
Fair enough, it is amazing though!