Bag of Bones

Fiction by Stephen King
Reviewed by Cody Borawa
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
Not in the NVHS collection as of this post

Mike Noonan, a middle aged writer, lives his life in dairy, Maine. Four years after Mike's wife Jo unexpectedly passes away, Mike moves to his summer cabin, "Sarah Laughs," which is in Manderly Falls, Maine, and he finds that he has developed writer's block. Mike Noonan, the protagonist of the story, has high emotions of all types throughout the book Anger, pain, sorrow, and uncertainty are some of his many mixed emotions.

Mike Noonan continues on through his somewhat troubled life, living in Sarah Laughs. Sarah Laughs was named after a black woman who previously lived on the property, in the 1900's while signing with a group of blue's musicians. Mike is challenged with trying to figure out the mystery of Sarah, which also holds the key to his writer's block and finally letting go of his wife Jo's death.

He also gets caught up in a struggle between Max Devore and Mattie Devore, Max's daughter in law, for the sole custody of Mattie's daughter Kyra. Through this struggle Mike encounters a supernatural connection to Kyra, Max Devore, the town itself ,and even his dead wife Jo.

Bag of Bones is an excellent book about the struggles of the rich versus poor, coping with tragic loss, and even racism. Stephen King effectively captured my imagination and made me feel as though I knew the characters personally and felt their same feelings. Bag of Bones is intriguing, mysterious, and captivating. I would recommend this book to anyone who believes that the supernatural eludes the real world.