Same here on the adaptation - it's such a good book. For me, I think 11/22/63 just pips it for the best post-accident work, but Duma Key is right up there
Duma Key is so far my number one favorite novel by Stephen King. I loved the historical mystery factor, the setting and of course the two supporting characters Wireman and Jack. I highly recommend this one to any King fan!
Just finished this book about an hour ago, that was a wild ride. The 2nd half in particular is batshit crazy at times. But it's brilliantly written, one of my Top 15 books for sure, still deciding where exactly to rank it! Great book.
I read Duma Key for the first time during the pandemic and it started my journey to reread all his books in chronological order. I am currently on Lisey's Story, so right back up to where Duma Key is coming up soon. I can't wait to read it again.
Thank you Dave for finding and showing us the Croatian cover art! So cool! I agree that the ending felt gloomy; I think it went along with the overall mood of the book. Do I dare to hope for a sequel?
I’m currently 400 ish pages in of this book and I’m kinda bored. Not a lot has happened, I’m now on chapter 12. Please tell me it gets better cause at the moment I don’t understand all the hype
It’s definitely not for everyone’s tastes. The ending is good, so I would say stick with it. But, if you’re that far in and it isn’t vibing with you then you might well still not like it, sorry!
I read and enjoyed Duma Key when it was first published and have always thought of it as "pretty good." But you make many good points that I fully agree with, so I'm thinking I've underestimated it and now want to have another go (especially since I was not a resident of Minnesota in '08, but I am now). When you raised the possibility that Edgar is black, I immediately thought, "I don't think so, because King would have made a huge deal of the fact that he's black." So I got a good chuckle when you said the very same thing a moment later. Also chuckled at your "throw in a few ayuh's." Good review!
Hello constant reader! Thank you so much for uploading this video. Duma Key is my favourite book of all time. I just finished my third read of the amazing novel today. This book is definitely underrated. I love everything about the book, absolutely everything. I've also made a lot of links to the Dark Tower series, which is super interesting. You've earned yourself a new subscriber and I can't wait to see more of your novels. DO THE DAY.....
Thank you for this review. DUMA KEY is criminally underrated. King's writing here is so good and so personal, which makes a huge difference. I was hit by a drunk driver when I was walking home from high school. Landed on my head when I went over the car. My parents noticed changes in my personality before I did. DUMA KEY takes me back to those days of trying to make sense of an event and it's aftermath. The way in which Edgar's wife is affected and how his daughters have been changed by his recovery rings perfectly true. Edgar is my favorite King character, bar none. Special shout out to John Slattery of MAD MEN who voices Edgar in the audiobook. I hope he narrates more SR in the future. I would absolutely recommend this to anyone struggling to recover from a brain injury. It's been a great reminder (hey, I lost 60% of my memory in the accident, give me a break) to try more creative outlets like painting when I'm feeling frustrated at what's been lost. King's never been better or more grounded at talking about the mourning process Edgar goes through, and his swearing up and down made me laugh each time. Such a very, very good book. Thank you again.
Reading this for the first time. And coincidentally, reading King for the first time! I'm enjoying it so far and am only about at the 100 page mark. Can't wait to read more!
My favorite of all time!, (followed closely by Lisey's Story)!! It is a brilliant scary story, not many of these out there anymore. Seems like the world has confused the meaning horror to mean it must be bloody & disgusting, they have forgotten what fear is and how to play on one's inner shadows.
I assume that's the UK paperbook edition of Duma Key? I have multiple 1st US hardcover editions but can't find a paperback that has the same cover art as the hardcover
This is my first novel I ever read as an adult. As a kid I read goosebumps I think. But at 34 I picked this up on a whim, challenging myself to do something I don't like. I read it in like 2 weeks, always looking forward to sitting and reading it. Loved it, cried twice when He gave a speech to the artist and when he speaks of Isle drawing him. In my mind Edgar was white.
It is kinda similar to Alan wake but Alan wake feels much darker. Overall, duma key honestly is one of his best. First time I tried to read it I stopped after 200 pages because the burn was too slow for me. But after two years I picked it up again and it blew me away. I think this book is awesome but you need to be in a right state of mind to enjoy it fully.
You had me at your intro line - such great 19 reasons, Dave!! 💜 Duma Key is my very favorite SK book and you gave such wonderful insights! Thanks for showing that other cover - super cool - and you immediately had me running to my own copy: "is his name in the water?!?!?!" 😝 Great review and great insights as always! Thanks for the topic of Duma Key! 💜📚
@@DaveReadsKing Yes! Lucky enough to have found a holographic in the water copy! Truely by luck! Thanks for passing along the fact - you always share such cool other covers! Always so neat to see 😊
I like his writing style. How he gets distracted in the middle of his work and leaves that in there. He starts talking about music and movies he likes. This is a beautiful portrait of Sarasota in vivid color. You see it all Tamaimi Trail, the shut down of the city aftee ten, and he even details St. Armands circle. Freemantle is doing the paintings of 'Girl and Ship' painting series, 8 being the final. Edgar has lived his life and has three daughters. Gets divorced after his accident involving a crane and moves to Florida. There is a rush of art creativity, suddenly lots of canvases are being produced in a short period of time. The idea that the creativity was bottled up and there isn't much time left is explored. Edgar seems to have come to terms with who he is now and befriends a guy named Wireman. He is taking care of Elizabeth who is in a wheelchair and all of them seem to share similar interests and the strange phenomena surrounding their lives. Stephen King keeps a good slow pace. I like him because of this though
While I to enjoy the idea that Edgar could possibly be related to Mother Abigail from “The Stand” I’m going to have to guess that they are not. Simply because when comparing this book to the Stand it just seems that they are both set in different universes.
I'm late to this video but Duma Key is one of my favourite books, easily in my top ten for SK. Every time I re-read it I notice something new. It's spooky & epic & heartfelt.
This is my favorite lesser known King and even very close to the top of all of his books for me. The atmosphere and the painting magic really spoke to me. I can still hear the shells under the beach house when I think about it.
Maybe the ambiguity of the main character allows anyone who reads it take on that character without being tied to a particular skin colour or culture? I'm surprised this book has not had the Hollywood treatment yet lol, and no Tractor interruption 🤣🤣🤣
@@DaveReadsKing this is true about him sign posting characters. Maybe he was advised not too this time or he just forgot and got so invested in his story?.
IMHO Duma Key is King's best work. (Wireman Rules!) I also had "My Other Life", and now think of it as that. Its so well written that its one of the few books that I've read several times, and enjoy as much each time, like Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove.
I seem to remember this book getting really bad reviews when it came out, especially here in the UK. I'm not entirely sure why. Maybe the slow burn (it's quite a long book with very few actual exciting incidents) was a little too slow, and went on just a little too long. I remember it having some really good descriptive writing in it - although it felt like it ended just a little too suddenly for me, as if the payoff wasn't really worth all the great world-building and character drama of the quite lengthy second act. Also, all the italicised inserts concerning art and how to draw felt superfluous and a bit puzzling to me. It sounds like I wasn't keen on Duma Key but I was. It's definitely worth anybody's time although I wouldn't rate it as highly as yourself. Also, just a side note, the first act of this book is so reminiscent of Oliver Stones's first film for a major studio, THE HAND (1981), starring Michael Caine, I'm surprised Oliver didn't sue King. Or perhaps Marc Brandel, who wrote the original book THE LIZARD'S TAIL, which Stones's film is based on, should have sued King for plagiarism instead.
But you didn't talk about the paintings! Or the exhibition, or the curse, or the twins drowning! Giant frogs! And a crazy old jockey popping up! Let alone his good friend Jake!
I think you just motivated me to read it. I normally don’t need to be motivated to read a Stephen King book, but in this case I was postposing it because I have it in Russian. While Russian is my maternal language I live in Spain since I was 9 and it’s shameful to say but due the lack of practice I read slower in Russian than in Spanish or Catalonian or even English. So I bought it years ago thinking “this will be a great way to practice Russian because Stephen King is one of my favorite authors so it will be a fast read even in Russian” but nope… every time I was about to read it I thought “maybe I should read something in English instead, improving my English is more important right now”. Anyway, thank you for the motivation! Judging by your review and the comments it may end up in a fast read even if I struggle a bit with the language.
Just finished it this evening. I have this thing with books where if I really enjoyed one that I read, I’ll then immediately follow up by listening to the audiobook version. Just started listening to Duma Key :) I also really enjoyed your highlights and commentary here.
I’m with Rain here. Duma Key is also a top 10 King for me. It was total joy for me to read. I liked Edgar, and Wireman is such a great character, all through the book I wanted to know him as a real person!🤗
I've not read this one. So jumped off before the spoilers for the first time. I'm going to tackle it this summer holiday. Great insights as always mate!
Finally got round to reading this, really enjoyed it. A lot slower than I thought it would be be but yes indeed top stuff in the end and worth sticking around for muchacho!
Duma Key is bottom of the list for me. It took me 4 tries to get through it, it was way too wordy in the middle. The one thing I loved about it was the relationship between the main character and Wireman.
Fair enough, you can't like them all! I don't think there's much middle ground on Duma Key, it either does nothing for people or makes them do heart-eyes emoji :-)
@@DaveReadsKing It is a really polarizing book I've found. I understand why it's so loved, I just don't think it hit that chord with me personally, but, I would read it again just for the relationship between Edgar and Wireman, that made the whole book for me
I'm enjoying these reviews, thanks man. I am a huge fan of Duma Key. I think it's in my top 3. I don't understand why it's so unsung. These next few years were a definite rosy patch for him. Under The Dome, Full Dark, 112263, Joyland. Impressive.
