Duma Key – Stephen King

The “Master” is back!!!! A terrible construction accident takes Edgar Freemantle’s arm and scrambles his memory and mind, leaving him with little but rage as he begins the ordeal of rehabilitation. His marriage that produced two lovely daughters suddenly ends, and Edgar begins to wish that he hadn’t survived. His psychologist suggest a “geographic cure”, a new life distant from Minnesota and the building business Edgar grew from scratch. Edgar settles on Duma Key, never suspecting that there is something far more sinister behind his move, and that of his fast developing artistic talent. Being a Stephen King devotee since I first read “Carrie” when I was a teen, I have to say that this is his most brilliant novel to date. To say it’s a horror book is to do it a disservice because it is so much more. As a matter of fact, the truly horrific moments are reserved until the final quarter of the book. Throughout most of the novel, King focuses on Edgar’s coping with what has happened to him and the new life he is making on Duma Key. The characters are as beautifully written as the plot and when you finish the last page you feel as though you’ve not only met these people yourself, but that they are now your friends. With as many books as I read, there are a select few which make me want to go back and read them again. “Duma Key” is one of those prizes.