"In a small New England town, in the early 60s, a shadow falls over a small boy playing with his toy soldiers. Jamie Morton looks up to see a striking man, the new minister. Charles Jacobs, along with his beautiful wife, will transform the local church. The men and boys are all a bit in love with Mrs Jacobs; the women and girls - including Jamie's mother and beloved sister - feel the same about Reverend Jacobs. With Jamie, the Reverend shares a deeper bond, based on their fascination with simple experiments in electricity.
Then tragedy strikes the Jacobs family, the preacher curses God, mocking all religious belief, and is banished from the shocked town.
Jamie has demons of his own. In his mid-thirties, he is living a nomadic lifestyle of bar-band rock and roll. Addicted to heroin, stranded, desperate, he sees Jacobs again - a showman on stage, creating dazzling 'portraits in lightning' - and their meeting has profound consequences for both men. Their bond becomes a pact beyond even the Devil's devising, and Jamie discovers that revival has many meanings. Because for every cure there is a price . . ."
Read the rest at Goodreads.
The truth is I have read this book in December but I've been lazy with my reviews and I've completely neglected my blog. But better late than never, so here it goes.
I will just say it right away - I loved Revival! It may be because I absolutely adore Stephen King and sometimes cannot make a right assessment when it comes to his work or maybe because the book is badass - plain and simple. When someone mentions Stephen King, most of the people automatically imagine the horrors of his well-known works, specific scenes from the many movie adaptations (such as Pennywise the Clown standing in a backyard, being his creepy self), and they expect the gruesome and terrifying book filled with blood and carnage.
I don't think Mr. King has ever written that kind of a story but he did earn the reputation of being the master of horror, liters of blood included or not.
Revival is an excellent book which explores personal tragedies and the way they can transform you into a whole new person. It is also a story of friendship, even though this point is a bit murky since the relationship described here is not the best-friends-forever kind. Without going too deep into the spoilers, it is good to add that the narration is done by a character named James Morton and we follow him throughout his childhood, formative years, and adulthood. We get to know him, his secrets, his fears, his addictions, and connecting with him is pretty easy. On the other hand, we have Charles Jacobs who is a good man turned into a mad scientist who pops up into James' life a couple of times, creating some watershed moment for the narrator of this story.
All things considered, I highly recommend this book. It might not have the exceptional narration of Dolores Clairborne, and it might not terrify you like The Shining, but Stephen King still got it and this one has a potential of becoming a classic one day.
5/5
