Duma Key by Stephen King

Duma Key by Stephen King

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Edgar Freemantle has it all.

He is happily married with two daughters at college, and he runs a successful construction company until a devastating accident leaves him crippled and missing an arm. He also suffers a brain injury that robs him of his memories, his ability to speak clearly and causes violent mood swings that lead to his wife divorcing him, unable to cope with the way he has changed.

As part of his recovery process his physician encourages him to take an extended vacation in Florida and so Edgar rents a property on an isolated island in the Keys. The house is called Salmon Point but Edgar renames it as 'Big Pink' and quickly grows to feel at home with the sound of the surf moving the shells beneath the part of the building that juts out into the sea. His recuperation begins with gradually extended walks along the beach as well as taking up a new hobby of sketching and painting the views of the sunset over the gulf as seen from the house.

At the far end of the beach he meets and befriends a man called Wireman who is caring for an elderly lady called Miss Eastlake. Gradually Edgar begins to realise that his paintings may be related in some way to certain events in Miss Eastlake's childhood and that apparently random images and themes are connected in a series. The waters of the gulf may not be as tranquil as they first appear ...

This is certainly one of Stephen King's better novels of recent years, dealing with themes of recovery and the creative process. The locale of Duma Key is deftly evoked, making for a refreshing change from King's usual stomping ground of Maine, and in Wireman, he has created one of his most likeable and sympathetic characters since Eddie in The Dark Tower series. If the book has any faults they lie with the conclusion which feels rather rushed and forced, compared with the first three quarters or so. The sense of mounting dread as the history of the island is uncovered really did not need to be resolved so neatly or explicitly, but this is probably to be expected from King's writing style.

Well worth reading - savour the start and then finish off the book in one gulp as you near the end would be my advice.



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