Nov 21, 2001 11:09 AM
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(Updated Nov 21, 2001 11:28 AM)
The Green Mile
written by my favorite author, Stephen King,
the master of horror!..
Originally condensed into one volume per month and now available in one paperback, Stephen King does not fail to let down his ever devoted fans with his typical human stories with a touch of the bizarre, macabre or clarevoiant.
In this case, The Green Mile consists of a very human plot of everyday downsouth justice complete with racial undertones, and man-made justice, in this case, injustice to a Mr. John Coffey.
This book is perfect, complete with downsouth racial undertones, good guys, bad guys, bad boys turned good,
one uninviting electric chair seemingly with a sinister presence throughout the entire story, one adorable talented little mouse (Mr. Jingles, and the star of our story, the huge, black, tender, childlike, lovable
Mr. John Coffey.
I must mention oddly enough that I finally saw the movie when it came on video, and was blown away, emotionally captured with every scene of the movie and on the verge of tears more than once. The odd part is that I recently read the book and although delighted, I found the movie much more satisfying, 9 x's out of 10, it is the opposite.
The Story:
Starts with the savage rape and murder of two little girls down south set way back in the 30's sometime. Our star, John Coffey is immediately seen holding the two lifeless bodies in his arms and wailing despairing cries of anguish. Upon hearing these cries, the deputies, hunting dogs, friends and family run to John, presume naturally he had committed these heinous crimes, beat him, and sentenced him to The Green Mile, being of course death row, home of the electric chair.
We are further taken into the story where John Coffey meets Paul Edgecomb, the Guard in charge of the Mile who soon learns personally of John's 'special powers', and the two develop a strong spiritual connection as the movie unfolds.
There are other delightful, interesting characters that John meets during his brief stay at the Mile who also contribute their share of very entertaining and touching performances throughout the story. I promise that you will grow to love these characters and share their successes and their pain. I was sad to conclude the book as I was so into it.
I cannot divulge too much more of the story as it is just too good to tell you about it. I hate it when people do that. The story is full of surprises, is not at all predictable in my opinion, and has no boring parts to it that I can recall. I was a bit disappointed with the way it ended, although I'm not sure what else more could've been added either.
The paperback edition which I have is 536 pages. (I think I read it in two days). I paid $7.99 for it, and it was pretty easy to find. I've even seen it at the library. If you do read this book, please do not forget to see the movie as well. These characters really come alive on screen, and you'll be convinced that Michael Duncan really is John Coffey.
