Its not the kind of Revival: My review of Stephen King's Revival
King is one of those authors who I can not seem to get enough of. In fact, I have read three of his books this summer. Revival had been on my TBR for a few months. This book was not at all what I expected. It was not at all what I thought it would be. I was a little disappointed because it was very anti-climatic.
Revival revolves around the life of Jamie and his relationship with his former Pastor. Charles Jacobs; who has been casting a shadow over Jamie's life seen the day they first meant at Jamie's boyhood home. Charles Jacob seems like a nice man, though he is a little odd. He has an attraction to electricity and loves to give the kids at the church lessons and lectures on the subject. He even goes so far as to weave Christian theology into it the lessons. Jacob's seems harmless until his young wife and son are killed in a car accident.
After that everything changes, and he loses his faith; and during his final sermon at the town church Jamie seems to lose his faith as well. The sermon is so bad, so full of grief, that Jacob's is fired and forced out of town.
Jamie does not think he will ever meet or see Jacob's again, until years later, when he is traveling with a band. Getting high on heroin and living rough does he meeting Jacob's at a fair. Jacob's is using electricity to create stunning portraits of young and attractive women. However, it is discovered, that being a subject of one of these photos might cause you some trouble.
It is during this chance meeting that Jacob's convinces Jamie to allow him to "cure" him of his drug addiction. Jamie will do anything to get his life back and does not think that it could hurt, or that their would be any real side effects. Oh, how wrong he was.
Jamie has one or two weird incidents, but does not connect them to his "cure". Its not until much later in the book that he connects it all to Jacob's. Who, seems to have regained his faith, and is now "healing" afflicted people at tent revivals.
My favorite scene of the book was at the end, when suddenly it all clicks into place. Jamie accepts that he is the key to this mystery and while scared he knows he has to face the darkness thats coming.
Revival was a great book, with a creepy villain, and the tale was will weaved. However, something was missing. We only got a small look at the evil that lurked behind Jacob's greatest experiment. I think it would be very easy for King to open this can of worms again. Maybe the ending is just a foreshadowing to another novel. I sure hope so because I want to know about "mother".
I gave Revival 3/5 stars on Goodreads.
Quotes I loved:
"When you want to feel better, call something a piece of shit. It usually works."
"There's no proof of these after life destinations; no backbone of science; there is only the bald assurance, coupled with our powerful need to believe that it all makes sense...Religion is the theological equivalent of a quick-buck insurance scam, where you pay in your premium year after year, and then, when you need the benefits you paid for..so religiously, you discover the company that took your money, does not, in fact, exist."
"Question: Death, where is thy sting? Answer: Every-fucking-where."
"I thought he was fuckin' dead. All the coke he snorted, he should be."
"That's how you know you're home, I think, no matter how far you've gone from it or how long you've been in some other place. Home is where they want you to stay longer."
"Sometimes death is natural, a mercy that puts an end to suffering. But all too often it comes as an assassin, full of senseless cruelty and lacking and vestige of compassion"
