Joyland by Stephen King
College student Devin Jones took the summer job
at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up
facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a viscous murder, the fate of
a dying child and dark truths about life – and what comes after – that would
change his world for ever.
I haven’t read any crime
novel by Stephen King before; I know that his Colorado Kid was released in the
Head Case Crime line-up but that most of his other books fall into the horror
and thriller genres. I have been a long time fan of his worked and was therefore
really looking forward to see what Joyland had in store for me. Especially once
I found out that it was taking place in an amusement park.
From the beginning of the
book you follow the narrated story of Devin Jones being done by an older
version of himself. This narration gave the feeling that he was either looking
back on this particular milestone in his life and that he was retelling this
story to someone. Using this particular narration and showing in the storyline
it self on some parts a self reflection toward his younger self or using the
older Devin to say things like “This
would be the last time…” etc added another level to Joyland and on top of
that produced a fast and engaging read.
As for Devin himself, he is
facing quite a hard time in his life. It all started with troubles with his
girlfriend Wendy. Devin is still trying to make the best of it but is being led
on by Wendy and eventually just had to go with it that their relation is
definitely over. Leaving Devin behind heartbroken. What Stephen King did great
with showing these events was on the actions that Devin took to make contact
with Wendy and try to still get back together. By the effort that you see Devin
put into this I really started to feel for him. This put Devin’s character in a
spotlight and relatable and human. But it doesn’t stop here for his character.
Stephen King has much more in store for Devin. Now having taken a job in
Joyland, Devin is thrown in to a mill of his self-discovery and development. As
he comes into contact with other people
he starts to forget Wendy and enjoy the joys of Joyland. In the end it
is mainly by his job in Joyland and meeting up with Mike and Annie along the
way that his character starts to learn what the world really is about. I
wouldn’t have guessed that the coming-of-age element in Joyland could have been
this strongly developed, having it only really encountered in some of the more
epic fantasy books, it was really well executed. Next to Devin, there are quite
a few other characters that you get to learn about like some of the other
Joyland summer worked and the regulars and some who Devin encounters along the
way. Though none of these were that developed as Devin himself, mostly did
stood out, and added a solid secondary cast to Joyland.
Now for the crime part of
Joyland. This part was actually introduced a bit early on by a small reference
that was mentioned to Devin about a girl that got murdered in the Haunted House
and that her ghost is still haunts, Devin among others is curious to follow up
if these rumors are true. In his search for answers Devin is not alone and is
assisted by Erin who he met in Joyland, who was also working there for a summer
job. For the first 2/3 of the story this whole crime element was somewhat put
into the background, but was followed up pretty neatly in the last part of the
book and one thing really spooked me out. Namely when Devin finally had his
moment and connected the dots and the telephone rings… I almost had heart-attack.
It might not have been the most original approach in revealing who the killer
was but when the caller stayed anonymous I knew what time it was. Really, in
this short paragraph Stephen King managed to capture that moment just spot on!
Reading this part while it was dark did have me checking the locks again, and
again later that night… Overal this crime element worked well into the backdrop
of the story and just comes to show that there is not only joy to be found in
Joyland.
I can continue on rumbling
about how much I liked Joyland for hours but it is really something you have to
read for yourself and with clocking in under the 300 pages, Joyland is readily
approachable for a larger audience. Joyland is not your average Stephen King
book, though the writing style is still his own way, it is mainly by the ideas
that he tackles in Joyland that set it apart among his other works. Letting it
take place in an amusement park, that is less relatable to the big theme parks
as Disney but more to the traditional carnivals and throwing in a bit of the
nostalgic 1970’s idea’s as well. And more over the strong focus on showing the
development of Devon. If this is a new direction that Stephen King trying to
explore, I hope he will do it more often.