Off the cuff

It’s crazy to me that in the foreword King says that Pet Sematary is straight up the scariest book he’s ever written, and he thought he might have gone too far, but according to time and critics, he didn’t. I know this is a very well known book, but that statement alone made me look forward to reading it even more.

Overall, really not that scary – I think that the ‘fear factor’ was a little over hyped for me.

I love the ‘internal thoughts’ of Louis, and how King establishes the character’s voice early in the book – and you can see the voice getting more and more insane as the book goes on.

Things to Consider

• Spend time with those you love, Oz the Gweat and Tewwible gets us all in the end.
• Trust your instincts. There were multiple cases between Rachel, Louis, and Jud that these atrocities could have been prevented if someone had just trusted their gut.

Favorite Quotes

Creepy, why?

“Out on Main Street by the 1890s train station, Mickey Mouse was shaking hands with the children clustered around him, his big white cartoon gloves swallowing their small, trusting hands.”

---

This just made me chuckle haha.

Rachel laughed so hard she broke explosive wind, and then both of them laughed so long and so loudly they woke up Gage in the next room.

---

This was a freaking HILARIOUS scene, that definitely stuck with me and will for years.

“My God” he said shakily when he could speak again. “Where did you learn that?” “Girl Scouts” she said primly.

---

Just plain funny.

Louis told Goldman to take his checkbook and plug up his ass with it.

---

This one really hit close, considering the situation with my nieces and nephews, and it’s unfortunate that it’s so damn true.

Heroin makes dope addicts feel good when they’re putting it in their arms. But all the while it’s poisoning them. Poisoning their bodies and poisoning their way of thinking.

---

Same bro, same.

He looked up and saw a billion stars, cold lights in the darkness. Never in his life had the stars made him feel so completely small, infinitesimal, without meaning.

---

Love a good Confucious quote

Confucious say he who smell like pig, eat like wolf

---

The way a child’s mind works, King captures that pretty well here.

“Daddy, why do people have to be dead?”… “I’m never going to get married or do sex and have babies!”…”Then maybe it’ll never happen to me! It’s awful. It’s m-m-mean!“

---

Bonus and References

Cujo – written in 1981, was referenced on p16

“There was a big ‘ol St. Bernard went rabid downstate a couple years ago and killed four people. That was a hell of a thing.”

---

I noticed there were multiple references to Derry, which was a main location in another King novel I read, 11/22/63 and is featured in multiple other King novels. Derry is a fictional town that is said to be reminiscent of Bangor Maine (Stephen King’s home town)

---

There was a point early in the book when Louis was drinking with Norma and Jud and Norma said (referencing death)

“They took it off the TV because they thought it might hurt the children some way… hurt their minds…

This is something that struck a chord with me because of censorship. Censorship is such a difficult topic, I think there are some cases where there should be at least a barrier between the content and the consumer – maybe in this case it’s ok? What are your thoughts? Let me know!