Customer Reviews

Haunted Heart: The Life and Times of Stephen King

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Although there's some interesting anecdotal material here (however little that is really new), I was shocked at the clear lack of editing and proofreading in a book published by an established house like St. Martin's. A few examples: "And so, the general shape of Stephen King's life and creative gifts were (sic) cast" (p. 25). "A flurry of movies based on his books followed that fall, including GRAVEYARD SHIFT and IT" (p.132)--the Fall in question is 1984, and IT wasn't published in book form until 1986. But the worst aspect for the reader to wade through is the repetitiveness of the prose: for example, "Steve and Tabby had fallen into a comfortable rhythm of spending half the year in Maine and the other half in Florida" (p. 219); and then, less than 10 pages later: "As 2005 began, Steve and Tabby had fallen into a comfortable rhythm of spending half the year in Maine and the other half in Florida" (p. 226). It's a shame that so little care seems to have been spent by author, editors, or copyreaders on a book about a major author by a reputable publishing house priced at $25.95. Take the money and run, I suppose, and Mr. King (whose work and life deserves a more considered and considerate approach than is evident here) is exploited once again.

In "Haunted Heart," her unauthorized Stephen King biography, Lisa Rogak presents a straightforward look into the major events of King's life, from his birth into an impoverished family to the multi-millionaire lifestyle he lives today. And despite how heavily the book depends on secondary sources, and all the media attention given to King for more than three decades now, even passionate Stephen King followers should come away from it with a better understanding of the man.

Any potential revelations in the book originate in Rogak's speculation about how King's childhood shaped him into the writer, and the man, he is today, not from the well-known facts about his youth and his career. Stephen King does not remember his father, a man who, as the story goes, went down to the corner one evening for a pack of cigarettes and never returned. King's mother never remarried and it was only by working multiple jobs when they came her way, and with substantial help from her sisters, that she was able to keep Steve and his brother together.

The resulting insecurity King felt as a child convinced him that the world is a dangerous place filled with countless scary things wholly deserving his fear. He admits that he fears most of them and that the only way he can escape those fears, even temporarily, is to write about them - something for which his fans should be grateful.

Rogak describes the depth of King's addiction to drugs and alcohol in great detail. However, the surprising thing is not King's alcoholism or past drug use, neither of which is much of a secret these days. Rather, the surprise is how productive King was during even the worst years of his addictions. To put it into perspective, consider that he has no memory of the exhaustive editing process he went through to finalize Cujo or the fact that he was almost constantly drunk or stoned during the entire time he directed his first motion picture but still managed to finish the project.

"Haunted Heart" does well in its chronological presentation of Stephen King's life, and Lisa Rogak's assessment of what made King into the superstar writer that he is today is an interesting, if not new, theory. Readers looking for the basic Stephen King story will not be disappointed but one has to wonder what King's take would be on all the speculation about what makes him tick. Unfortunately, without King's participation or response we will never know how close to the truth Rogak and others have managed to get.

Stephen King fans will appreciate Rogak's efforts but will, at the same time, wish that King had made himself available to her.

This book is a lame lazy retread of the most common King info. If you read King's own book 'On Writing' you got all the information in nearly the exact same sentence structures as in this book certainly concerning his childhood and early writing career. Seriously, she copies it nearly verbatim. This is followed by her "discussions" of his books and writings and this is pedestrian at best and sophomoric summaries of book jacket summaries at best. A complete waste of money ... a complete waste of time ... it's a shame trees died for this to be published

In her introduction to this unauthorised biography, Lisa Rogak recounts an anecdote about her trip to Bangor, Maine and a discussion she had with Stephen King's assistant, Marsha DeFillipo about the aim of book she was planning to write.

`For most of that half-hour conversation, the man himself hovered just outside the doorway, listening in on our conversation but never once stepping inside.'

This anecdote could be a summary for the book itself: Stephen King's presence within it is indirect and reflected, rather than direct and central. There's plenty of data here, mostly drawn from secondary sources but little insight or analysis. That doesn't mean that the data isn't useful (although based on events detailed in the book, the timeline is incomplete) simply that a third person biography of Stephen King has little new to add to what is already publicly available.

However, for those discovering Stephen King for the first time, this book contains a lot of useful information including a bibliography. I found the notes section frustrating: there is no reference within the text to the notes; the notes themselves contain page references back to the text. So, if you read the text without exploring the notes you would not have a clear picture of how (and from where) the information was gleaned. For those who have been avidly following Stephen King's career since `Carrie' was first published in 1974, it is unlikely that this book contains anything new.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith

My first introduction to Stephen King was SALEM'S LOT, which I read in the mid-1970s while my husband worked nights and our children were fast asleep. At that time, although I had to wake up at 6:00 to get ready for work, the story kept me up reading all night. It both fascinated and frightened me; I was too fascinated to quit turning the pages and too frightened to close my eyes. Since then, I've been a fan of King's and have read most of his novels as well as his memoir of the craft, ON WRITING.

HAUNTED HEART by Lisa Rogak portrays King's life and times in a conversational tone and voice, yet in a thorough and convincing manner. The book includes facts, anecdotes, interviews, quotes, several photos and a timeline. Some of the information here are already known from news stories, magazine articles or other sources. Much of it, however, is new --- at least to me --- and I suspect to others as well.

What sets this unauthorized biography apart is that Stephen King, the man and writer, is examined in the context of his times: a child raised by a single mother during the 1950s; a college student and protestor during the Vietnam era; a young father, husband and struggling writer working menial jobs in the early 1970s; a prolific and highly paid writer beginning in the mid-1970s; a generous benefactor; a loyal Red Sox fan since his childhood; a rehabilitated abuser of alcohol and drugs; a victim of a near-fatal accident at the turn of the century; a devoted husband for nearly four decades; and a proud father and grandfather.

The chapter titles, which are also the names of some of King's works, give clues as to the narrative that follows. For example, Chapter 1, "Apt Pupil," covers King's early childhood and formative years. His terrifying accident and recovery after being hit by a van are discussed in Chapter 12, "Misery."

HAUNTED HEART contains personal information about King that I have never read before, most notably about his wife, Tabitha, and their three children, Naomi, Joe and Owen. While the anecdotes about the loyalty and love of Tabitha and their devotion to their kids complement the biography, I had hoped it would've included photos of them, as well as his mother Ruth and brother Donald. Nevertheless, I found HAUNTED HEART to be an interesting and a readable book. I recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about Stephen King, the incomparable writer who has created some of the most haunting stories that have fascinated and frightened readers for decades.

--- Reviewed by Donna Volkenannt

Bought this as a gift for my mother (Stephen King love love lover!!!) She was completely happy to get it. Never read it either, which is rare! I didnt read it, but if you love Stephen, you better read this book!

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Rogak offers interesting insights into King's psyche, his early struggles, his sudden wealth and fame, and into his creative process, even when he was drunk and stoned. She captures something else, too, a kind of ineffable quality that only another writer would understand: the inner need to keep writing. It didn't matter to me that the book is an unauthorized biography. Sometimes, an outsider is better able to capture the essence in a way that an insider simply can't.

I enjoyed this book very much and think it gave me a better overview of Stephen King, the man. When one gets an overview of an author, it makes his work even more meaningful.

This Edgar award nominated book has a great cover, the rest of the book is okay. It's very readable, and should hold your interest, but it's a "hit the high and low points" type of biography. There is quite a bit of info, known to even the casual King fan, that is left out. It's repetitious, could have used one more proofread, and I found it a little depressing. The author writes that King has lost readers since he turned away from horror. I was an early (rabid?) King fan (if you have not read SALEM'S LOT buy it and read it instead of this book), but I must admit he lost me along the way. The book is surprisingly short, and I wish better photos had been selected for the photo section. The author does a very good job dealing with some sensitive areas of King's life, and giving the reader an idea of some of the wonderful things King has been able to do for people in need.

A compelling read. I have long known of Stephen King but knew little about him. I learned a lot about his great talent strengths and passions particularly for Maine and Mainers. But this book is stylistically sloppy in many respects and that left me frusrated. It needs editing.