Lisey's Story

By: Stephen King

Narrated by: Mare Winningham

Now an Apple TV+ limited series starring Julianne Moore and Clive Owen

The “haunting...tender, intimate book that makes an epic interior journey” (The New York Times), Lisey’s Story is a literary masterpiece - an extraordinarily moving and haunting portrait of a marriage and its aftermath.

Lisey lost her husband, Scott, two years ago, after a 25-year marriage of profound and sometimes frightening intimacy. Scott was an award-winning, best-selling novelist and a very complicated man. Early in their relationship, before they married, Lisey knew there was a place Scott went - a place that both terrified and healed him, could eat him alive or give him the ideas he needed in order to live. Now it’s Lisey’s turn to face Scott’s demons, to go to that terrifying place known as Boo’ya Moon. What begins as a widow’s effort to sort through the papers of her celebrated husband becomes a nearly fatal journey into the darkness he inhabited.

“Intricate...exhilarating” (The New Yorker), perhaps Stephen King’s most personal and powerful novel ever, Lisey’s Story is about the wellsprings of creativity, the temptations of madness, and the secret language of love. It is a beautiful, “rich portrait of a marriage, and the complicated affection that outlives death” (The Washington Post).

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Critic reviews

"As much about the facets of longtime marriage as it is about the characters themselves, Lisey's Story offers a poignant glimpse at abiding love and the tides of grief, and the internal language of relationships of all kinds." (Atlantic Monthly)

"In Lisey's Story, Stephen King makes bold, brilliant use of his satanic storytelling gift, his angelic ear for language, and above all his incomparable ability to find the epic in the ordinary." (Michael Chabon)

"Lisey's Story is bright and brilliant. It's dark and desperate. While I'll always consider The Shining, my first ride on King's wild Tilt-A-Whirl, a gorgeous, bloody jewel, I found, on this latest ride, a treasure box heaped with dazzling gems. A few of them have sharp, hungry teeth." (Nora Roberts)

Like it was written just for Mare to read

I've never done a review, but I had to come here and say how much I enjoyed Lisey's Story. It was like Stephen King wrote it just so Mare Winningham could narrate it. Though it might not compare to some of King's other works, this one was worth the listen just because of the excellent narration.

Loved it

Enjoyed this story immensely. Plenty of late nights where I had to stop listening to this audio book...alone & too creeped out for late night, which every King fan knows is a time when the "bad gunk" may rear it's ugly head.

He just gets better

This is not your early Stephen King. He is more seasoned and grows better with time.

Reasonable story, poor language

In the end the story kept me going and was entertaining, but a very slow start and excruciating writing at times. Constant use of childish terms like 'smucking' and ending a chapter mid sentence gets on your nerves.

Love

Every time I listen to this book it touches my heart. I feel he knows exactly how you feel when you loose a loved one. The ghost you feel, the pain years later. The ache to have them back. I also love the story and how many places it takes your mind. He is so very good at that.

superb

Absolutely superb story and stupendous performance. Haven't been so moved in years, heartbreakingly beautiful and terrifyingly real. An amazing portrait of marriage, familial relationships, and the power of belief.

it was ok

as Stephen King himself said, this one was heart felt. ..touching in its own right.

not my favorite

SK is a Gifted Master

I stopped reading SK in the 90s his books just got a bit to gory for me. I recently started reading SK again, and was pleasantly surprised that Mr King started using his extraordinary story crafting skills. My recent favorite is 11.23.63 but this book took over that spot and moved to my new favorite. I didn't think SK wrote love stories, and I don't read love stories, but this is a beautiful love story that can only be crafted by SK. I will be adding this book to my favorite re-listens. Do not let Love Story description put you off, there is so much more depth in this story than JUST A LOVE STORY. So stop reading this review and get this book

Stephen King weaves a good story

What made the experience of listening to Lisey's Story the most enjoyable?

The performer was really good. It kept me interested and the story line was unlike any thing I've heard before.

What does Mare Winningham bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her voice just helped me connect with the story - It's easier for me to listen...sometimes when you read them you can get the whole story wrong.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Disfunction

One of King's better dimension shifting stories.

First off - Mare Winningham rocked this story! It was a pleasure listening to her narration. Her narration would be a good reason to buy the next audiobook.

Stephen King is at his best when he sticks to reality based fiction (think Cujo, Apt Pupil, or Rita Hayward and the Shawshank Redemption). Next comes his folklore based - terrifying situations that are unreal, but familiar within the horror genre. This is where the bulk of his work that I've read is - werewolves, vampires, ghosts, possessed objects and other denizens of the occult.

His SciFi based work leaves me unfulfilled. Among those are the stories about moving back and forth between dimensions. Lisey's Story was better than most within this subset of his work. The one concept that drew me in the most was another physical dimension where the consciousness of the catatonic spend their time.

Overall, I recommend this book.