My friend Laura moved to DC from North Carolina in October. Some of her friends came to visit her this last weekend and, so that they could meet her DC friends, she hosted a vegan brunch. Tofu scramble, roasted veggies, muffins and cinnamon rolls from Sticky Fingers, lemon-blueberry muffins made by Fran, two kinds of empanadas made by Frank (using his grandfather's recipe for the dough), chocolate brownies with walnuts made by me and an untouched bag of hot chocolate brought by me... (I offered to make the hot chocolate, but couldn't even convince a single person to mix the hot chocolate into their coffee. The cocoa powder just sat in the bag, unappreciated and neglected.)
Anyway, I saw a post today about how Bill Murray performs acts of random friendliness. He apparently has crashed parties before in order to clean the dirty dishes. He joins into fun activities with people he doesn't know. He's so recognizable... People love him. I brought up another mysterious, recognizable guy during brunch yesterday: Stephen King. Unlike with Bill Murray, I bet an average person would be spooked if Stephen King appeared in their house and headed toward a stack of dirty dishes in their kitchen. I'm listening to the audio book "Doctor Sleep," which is a sequel to "The Shining." So, the first shock of the book is that almost 40 years after the original, the sequel is published. King has written something like 55 books. And most of them are lengthy. Still, what did happen to Danny Torrance? Why not follow up on him as he becomes a middle-aged man? Who didn't feel sorry for that little boy being stalked by ghosts and almost killed by his drunken dad? "The Shining" is packed with crescendos and gruesome images that are guaranteed to haunt your dreams. Meanwhile, "Doctor Sleep" is more laid back, offering an adagio tempo of little incident building upon little incident.
Danny Torrance tries to forget the trauma of the ghosts of the Overlook Hotel by drinking alcohol, which blurs his identity, talents, and passion. He recovers and joins AA. He's left with the frailties of an addict and the power of a psychic. He was mentored as a child and now he's trying to mentor a young girl. Ghosts wanted to use him as a child; now, some e.s.p.-sucking, soul-draining creatures want to use the young girl. Danny and the girl aren't in direct contact, though, for the majority of the book. The plot drifts just like a book review that provides an overview of potluck contributions and Bill Murray rumors instead of just sticking to impressions of a book. "Doctor Sleep" reminds the reader of chilling moments from "The Shining," literally: “The Overlook was still not done with him. Written on the mirror, not in lipstick but in blood, was a single word: REDRUM.” The villains in "Doctor Sleep" seem too petty, too average, and too weak. Still, I liked the nostalgia to a certain extent and King is good at writing about psychics and power-hungry, supernatural conspirators. I've always like Danny Torrance.
The color is off in this brunch picture, but it's the only one that I took.
No comments:
Post a Comment