Stephen King is my favorite author so I thought I would review some of his books.
The Green Mile is one of my favorites. I’ve read it several times and still cry every time I read it. This book is an example of both the best and the worst sides of humanity.
The book was written as a six part serial novel. The hardest thing was waiting for the next installment to come out but at the same time waiting gave me time to digest the parts I had already read.
The Green Mile starts with two little dead girls and ends with John Coffey walking the green mile to be executed for their murders. It’s what happens in between that is the real story.
John Coffey was a huge black man with the ability to heal. No one knew where he came from but that day in the wood sealed his fate and we all knew where he was headed.
John Coffey passed his time on E Block like everyone before him, he waited and made peace with his fate. By the end of the story you realize that John Coffey is happy to die, he has seen too much pain and watched the things that people will do to each other.
The men who guard the prisoners on E Block are, for the most part, men of character and compassion, they know that although these men have committed unspeakable crimes they are still human and deserve to die with dignity.
King’s look at the dynamics of prisoner to prisoner, guard to guard, and guard to prisoner make for a very compelling story. This is definitely a book worth reading. It will change you, just a little, and by the last page you will know that things are not always what they seem.