Imagine being able to travel to a parallel universe just with one little thought. People all over the world would take the chance to escape their lives for even just a minute, and if traveling to a different world was the way to do it, then so be it.What would happen though? What horrors or miracles would you find? Stephen Kind and Peter Straub make you ask yourself these questions as you read the Talisman. Would you wreck havoc by traveling to this other world? what would you find?
King and Straub launched me into the Talisman at full speed, with their enticing tales of the Territories weaving more and more curiosity into my mind. Once I got through the first few chapters it became extremely hard to put the book down, whether it was so I could go to bed or because I needed to pay more attention in my science class, it was very hard to tear the words from my mind. It captivate me one-hundred percent.
When I started reading the Talisman because of a suggestion from my mom and sister, I had no idea what type of book it was, or what I was going to be reading. I thought that it would be hard to get into, boring, and that I wouldn't like it. I thought all of this only because my mom and sister had been begging me to read it for years. I was completely wrong about the book.
I read the first words completely clueless over what to expect. "On September 15th, 1981, a boy named Jack Sawyer stood where the water and the land come together, hands in the pockets of his jeans, looking out at the steady Atlantic." They're simple words, but they're the first words in the book. The very first thing the reader will know about the story. It's basically the most important part of the book. Well... that and the ending of course.
I loved how King and Straub weaved the tale of a twelve year old boy's sorrows and his trials as he traveled across the country to save his mother who was suffering from cancer. They managed to take you into the story, right on the pages of the book. In part of the book it says, "It occurred to him..." (Jack) "... That you could only express your ownership of a thing in terms of how freely you could give it up..." The book took you into the eyes of a twelve year old dealing with the life of an adult. I don't think they could've done better.
While it is an amazing book, I was a little disappointed here and there. First, I had a hard time getting into the book, no I don't think that is necessarily the authors fault, I'd just never read anything quite like it.
(Spoiler alert!)
Second, my favorite character, Wolf, died . It tore my heart into pieces when he was shot. I cried through the whole chapter. I felt as though I had gotten to know him, and like I was losing a friend. Now, I know that it sounds really weird and crazy, but it's true. I think that's the one spot that I could not be more upset about, but it needed to happen for the outcome of the story. Who knows what would've happened if he hadn't died. The whole story could've and probably would've changed.
So while at one point I may have wanted to stop reading because my favorite character died, or because I was having a hard time getting trough some chapters, I am so glad I read this book. It changed my opinion and my outlook on some things, and gave me one more world to add to my "personal" collection. I would definitely recommend this to people.
Every book you read is going to be frustrating at parts, and you just have to get through them, or you may not get to the real treasure underneath.
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