It's a cheap device to demonise mental health sufferers in 11/22/63

[~Ally~]

Aww Ceej, I missed your birthday, say sorry. Hope it was a good un'!
I'm sure your Beetle will pass just fine...how could it not with all those King related stickers holding it together??

Anyhoo, in the grand scheme of things Sadie's husband was only a minor character in '63 and I don't feel King developed him enough for us to judge whether he was truly nuts or not. From what I recall he mainly appeared to be a horrid control freak, and was aware of his actions. The reason he deserved to die was as a result of his sadistic behaviour, and not due to living with a mental health issue.

[91rewoT]

Aww Ceej, I missed your birthday, say sorry. Hope it was a good un'!
I'm sure your Beetle will pass just fine...how could it not with all those King related stickers holding it together??

Anyhoo, in the grand scheme of things Sadie's husband was only a minor character in '63 and I don't feel King developed him enough for us to judge whether he was truly nuts or not. From what I recall he mainly appeared to be a horrid control freak, and was aware of his actions. The reason he deserved to die was as a result of his sadistic behaviour, and not due to living with a mental health issue.

Thank you Ally - good explanation!

[Learah Greene]

Hey there, this is my first post on the forum. Pretty interesting subject to start off with too. Just finished and enjoyed this book myself, I'd consider Stephen King a favourite author. I believe 11.22.63 to be a worthy addition to the canon of his best work.

I understand your concerns about the portrayal of mental illness because there's no analysis or specific frame of mind for anyone bar Jake. You seem to have a general issue with the fact that the book carries an insane character who dies after committing a terrible act. In terms of using a character who "deserves to die" because they're insane, well I think you'll find that there's an unfortunate number of suicides in certain areas of mental illness, so an insane figure who ends their own life isn't veering so far off the beaten track. In the real world, would a guy do something like Johnny Clayton, or Frank Dunning? Yes, unfortunately, and even worse goes on all the time, even today when medicine would have you believe we've advanced far from the Sixties. In terms of Frank Dunning, or Lee Oswald deserving to die, well, neither was ever proved insane but the reasons for eliminating them for the threats they posed are made very clear. Sometimes in life (and lots of the time in stories) people are just dangerous, it doesn't mean they're crazy.
I disagree with almost everything you say. Most definitely this part "the layman reader would want to avoid mental health sufferers reading this book" - (the wording is very amusing - I imagined a sherriff on a loudspeaker coaxing the mental health sufferer to put the book down and let the Stephen King fans go) because I think you're implying that people with mental health issues are vulnerable souls with desperately fragile sensitivities. In fact you do a disservice because coping with mental illness requires guts. Lots of em. A Stephen King story is not going to push the great hordes who live with mood- and personality-disorders over the edge. No more so than usual anyway, I think all of us are secretly a tiny bit delusional if we hope that this time, this time we'll turn a doorhandle and there'll be a different world on the other side. Oh okay, a lot delusional. In a fun way.
*Spoiler*

Show Spoiler

I actually wondered while reading if Johnny Clayton was genuinely crazy, or if his insanity was a deliberate plan he cooked up in revenge. Immediately after Deke and Jake brought a halt to his private knife party with Sadie, Johnny started yelling about having a doctor's cert in the car to prove he was unaccountable for his actions. Crafty. Did he have himself fired and committed in order to set the wheels in motion towards getting away with murder despite an obvious motive? I love, love the way that's absolutely possible; if he started out sane and revenge on Sadie was coldly calculated, he probably ended up nuts by inflicting shock therapy upon himself as part of the admission to the state institution, which explains his suicide, defeating the purpose of the plausible plan. But the beauty of it is that Johnny always had quirks, enough of the paranoid visions, the odd routines and unhealthy moods to say yeah, the guy's got a lick of crazy in there, but not enough to stake your life savings on an epic mindwarp into the psycho zone. His traits are shared by vast numbers of 'sane' people. In another When, Johnny probably never went la-la at all...in the Land of Ago, perhaps his thread was wound so tightly with Kennedy's that he had no choice but to feel his wits slip away. His scientific and statistical interests meant that he should have been a rational man. As an added ingredient to the mastery of suspense and joy of story, the Clayton uncertainty was delicious, and considering all the tantalising teasers in Jake's narrative that hinted at events yet to come, I wouldn't put it past Stephen King to have deliberately left us guessing on that score.

This was kinda long but hell if you read the book, what's a few more words from me.

[muskrat]

I don't know anybody who doesn't claim to have some kinda mental health issue. My sister's ex-husband obviously had a slew of chemical inbalances, which made him want to beat her every chance he got. I wanted to kill him, and damn near did, so I suppose I have mental health issues too. Funky ol world, innit?

Point I wanna make is: so often, folks come here with their cracks about being "offended" by King's "insensitive" writing. My advice: READ SOMETHING ELSE. Or heck, maybe all these snivelers and shiverers can write up a big ol OUTLINE for Uncle Stevie's next work, covering a whole slew of 'no-go' areas, 'forbidden' topics, stuff like that there. Clip his wings, sanitize him, make him politically safe for today's 'easily offended' culture.

Tell you what, I get pretty dang 'offended' when people make these kind of asinine comments. They're dang 'insensitive' is what they are.

[ake!]

I've been in a psych-related hospital wing twice and I loved this book.

[akaspar]

First before jumping on my back I enjoyed this book, it is obvious Mr King is an excellent writer. However...

Although there is some explanation for characters' mental health problems in this book, they are at the very most extreme end of the spectrum, in the same way that there can be *******s in law and there can be ******* writers etc.

It's drama but the layman reader would want to avoid mental health sufferers reading this book. Being a mental health sufferer is tough so it would be helpful if he cast them in a different light some place in his media following this book- to balance things up.

I have seen this before liberal writers using the cheap device of the ****ed up mental health sufferer who deserves to die

Sounds like someone's a bitter troll finding another place to go on another tirade about "liberals" in some form or another... but ever notice how they never have the uh... hootspah... to register? The cowardice anonymity encourages has gotten to a point where its almost humerous to see at this point .

Brilliant contribution. and by that I mean not.

[Moderator]

Sounds like someone's a bitter troll finding another place to go on another tirade about "liberals" in some form or another... but ever notice how they never have the uh... hootspah... to register? The cowardice anonymity encourages has gotten to a point where its almost humerous to see at this point .

Brilliant contribution. and by that I mean not.

Not something they'll be allowed to do anymore. Jordan has restored the requirement to register in order to post and those who give false email addresses get bounced as well.

[bobledrew]

I think it's quite reasonable to ask people to register. Good move, Ms. Mod & Jordan.

[CCAL]

Stephen King is world famous.Anyone who picks up a King book knows exactly whats in it. If you even suspect you might possibly become offended-DROP that book asap. dont be a fool about it-its not going to be a romance or a comedy (altho he CAN be romantic in the story and some situations can be so horrid the impulse to giggle might come about. quick clamp your knuckles to your mouth so the boogyman dont hear you!) We all know whats possible in his books and the language he will probably use, o theres no need to step on a soapbox and whimper poor lil me.jmho

[Shasta]

Not something they'll be allowed to do anymore. Jordan has restored the requirement to register in order to post and those who give false email addresses get bounced as well.

Yay!

I'm sure that will make your job much easier!