Mr. Mercedes Final Thoughts

Mr. Mercedes Journal #5

There's spoilers here, so if you read on, it's your choice.

If finished reading Mr. Mercedes the other day.  I liked it a lot.  And, I'm ready for the ghosts, vampires, monsters and evil clowns to come back to the Stephen King universe.  That is to say, the book is better than most detective stories; but it's not the same as an old car that is possessed by the spirit of her former owner.  Mr. Mercedes is a good read, but it's not delicious.

The book held me in suspense all the way to the end.  It did not leave me asking for more.

The Clunky Parts:

Sometimes it seems like clues come a little too easily for our main characters.  It's a lot of, "oh, how lucky we are -- another clue, right in time to keep both trains ticking along at the right pace to  have a big blow out at just the right spot."  It feels plotted.  Also, the ending, frankly, feels  contrived.  Hodges walks away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, after endangering the entire city?

King has said you always  have to deal with the problem, "Why not just call the police?"  Well, Hodges at one point decides to call the police, but they are all so amazingly excited about another turn of events, he chooses not to tell them what he knows because they won't be focused.  This comes across as pretty thin, plot wise.  Makes police seem cartoonish and single minded.  Goodness, they couldn't possibly think of two cases at once, could they?

I also think that King misses just how much respect us common people will give a police badge.  Twice in the novel King portrays people arguing with Hodges after he shows them his badge.  First it's the nosy neighbor.  He forces the group to explain who each of them are and questions them about why they are driving what they are driving and so on.  But when you meet a police officer and company, you really don't go about questioning everyone there.  You usually play it kind of safe around people who carry a badge.

Further, King has Hodges run in to a custodian at the final countdown.  There is an argument  that is simply unbelievable; and this isn't the moment things need to get unbelievable!  So a custodian is arguing with a man with a police badge?  Really?

What Makes The  Novel Work:

Characters.  I love the characters in Mr. Mercedes.  And for them, I'll be back!  The trio is a blast.  Awkward, feisty -- they have the chemistry of the original Star Wars cast as they banter.  Hodges is the most cardboard of the three; a burned out cop who comes back to deal with one last, open case.

King gives his main characters room, space and permission to grow and change as the novel progresses.  Once mousy, quiet and timid Holly becomes more engaging as she gets familiar  and comfortable with the other characters.  By the novel's end, she's changed/progressed dramatically.

Jerome, an intelligent young black man who likes to play with stereotypes falls for Holly.  Is this totally believable?  Nope.  But I like it, and sometimes the  nice thing about a novel is the writer gives us what we want, not what would really happen.

But what really works is  the killer  himself.  There is an  interesting relationship between Brady and his mommy.  Brady could  have stepped right out of Psycho.  The scary parts of Mr. Mercedes is when King takes us inside Mr. Mercedes head.  Not a fun place to be because the reader is able to identify with someone they don't want to identify with!

The letter Mr. Mercedes wrote to detective Hodges was great!  I mean, it was totally believable that a crazy guy wrote this.  And it gets under your skin.

King has never quite taken us inside the mind of a killer the way he does with Brady Hartsfield’s; but he came close with Annie Wilkes.  Annie acted on impulse, while Brady plots and plans his next  move.  Annie wasn't as self aware as Brady.

My final word: I liked it.  Now give us a haunted cruise ship or something.

In general this is not a genre I would read much; so it was a joy to have King introduce me to something new.  But I'm ready now for some creepy cats and hungry clowns.

Of course, right after finishing Mr. Mercedes, I read "In The Tall Grass."  That fit the bill for something creepy!

Mr. Mercedes Journal #4: Funerals

Mr. Mercedes is a tough book to journal through because it's full of surprises, twists and unexpected turns.  You just kind of have to be there.  The story absolutely blindsided me -- more than once.  I find myself going, "I never saw that coming!"

There is a lot of funeral  talk in Mr. Mercedes. In fact, the last time King gave us a story that edged up this close to funerals was Pet Sematary.  Of course, Pet Sematary took things to a whole new messed up level, as Creed actually went to the cemetery and dug up his dead son.

So, here's some funeral notes. . .

• I think it's interesting that King says the preacher used the Proverbs 31 text (the virtuous woman) as his sermon for the funeral.  That would indeed be a strange text to discuss the dead.  And King's perception is right on when he notes that it is uncomfortable when preachers try to eulogize people they don't know.  Best to just stick to preaching and giving comfort.

• Perhaps one of the strangest customs we have is something called a "wake" in the South and a viewing other places.  At a viewing people come to view a dead body and give their goodbye.  From my chair, I think it's perhaps one of the most painful customs we ask mourning families to endure.  Second most painful custom has to be an open casket at a funeral.  This is pretty pointless, since most people are there to remember the person, discuss the hope of heaven and love on the grieving family.  Some funerals have a period at the end when people walk by the dead body to pay final respects.  

• One objection raised by a family member is that cremation is unethical.  Of course, there are some who hold that view -- but I haven't met them.  Most people I encounter are pretty confused about what religion, and in particular Scripture, says about burial.  The truth is, there are no commands about burial methods, and no prohibitions to cremation.  So characters, such as we find in Mr. Mercedes, who are strongly against the practice are because of personal opinion, not Biblical scholarship.  

Speaking of funerals and Mr. Mercedes, check out this review, www.emissourian.com

Mr. Mercedes and Thinner

Mr. Mercedes Journal #3

I'm loving Mr. Mercedes.  It's a different style and tone than King usually employs.  I think one reason I respect him as an artist is that he is not locked into one form of story telling.  When it comes to King and genre, he's quite versatile.

I had a long drive the other night to get my wife; and that meant lots of time to listen to Mr. Mercedes.  It's pretty cool, driving down long stretches of moon lit desert highway listening as King's story unfolds.

There is genuine mystery involved here.  King keeps me guessing -- how did the killer steal the car if the key wasn't in the ignition?  And, there's a great mid-novel plot twist.  I can't say a lot about it, except that it reminds me a lot (A LOT) of the ending to Thinner.  But in Thinner, King was just messing with readers.  In Mr. Mercedes, King is down to the serious business of story telling.  Where King ended Thinner, he is just getting started with Mr. Mercedes.  It is the sign of a more mature writer. This isn't just a Twilight Zone twist, it's a defining moment in the book and will be a driving force for the plot here on.

Anyone want some strawberry pie?

Mr. Mercedes Journal #2: It's In My Head

It's Friday the 13th, and Stephen King has me uncomfortably close to a serial killer known as Mr. Mercedes.  Thankfully the book alternates back and forth between Mr. Mercedes and Detective Hodges.

King does a nice job of getting us inside the killers head.  Awful thoughts, images, ideas are passed from the killer to the reader; and the reader is startled because maybe  those same thoughts went through their head at some time in the past.  Mr. Mercedes would suggest that everyone has some pretty wicked ideas, but he's the only one with enough courage to act on them.

The letters and correspondence from the killer are particularly haunting and well done.  I'm generally not a fan of letters in books.  The epistolary novel has never really engaged me.  (Sorry Dracula fans -- including Mr. King.)  However, these letters are brilliant.  Mr. Mercede's might be messed up, but this guy can really mess with your head.

One thing King does that almost relieves the tension the reader feels when reading the book is gives Mr. Mercedes a sick/sexual relationship with his mother.  So just about the time the reader might say, "I've had thoughts like that" -- some nasty scene between  sicko and mama comes along and the reader breathes a sight of relief, "nope, I'm not that sick!"  I actually dislike those portions of the novel quite a bit.  Is King trying to give us the Bates family?

The novel is written almost entirely in the present tense.  This is a little strange to me, but King pulls it off effortlessly.  This style is usually utilized by new writers, or experimental fiction.  It gets really awkward in the first person, which King stays away from.  "I'm walking down a long hallway. . ."

Thank You For The New Fears, Mr. King:

Oh, and you can add to the list of things Stephen King makes me uncomfortable with. . . THE ICE-CREAM TRUCK.  Thanks Uncle Stevie.  Just thanks.

I was in another city tonight, and heard something we don't hear in our town; yep, it was the ice-cream truck.  "That is disturbing," I thought.

Does the ice-cream truck have some root in a real case?  Maybe.

FROM creepypasta: Ice_Cream_Truck

Several years ago, a string of child-abductions struck residents of a small American suburban community. Eventually these abductions were found to be the work of a travelling ice-cream truck driver who used to lure children away with his charm, sweets and the sing-song tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy. 

Convicted of at least a dozen child abductions and murders the driver was convicted and sentenced to death. 

With his execution came a bittersweet sense of ease for the community as he had refused to tell where he had hid their children's bodies. 

After a few years, the continued search for the victims' bodies finally came to an end. To this day, authorities are unable to trace the whereabouts of the children. Many suspect they were burned, and their remains dumped in a nearby river. 

However this is not where this tragic tale ends, for according to local legend every day on the anniversary of the murderous ice-cream van driver's execution, a ghostly van appears on the streets of the same suburban community he once terrorized. One can hear the playing of Yankee Doodle Dandy and see the van, never stopping as it makes its way out of the community and into the unknown.

So what's this story missing?  Names.  Places.  Dates.

Here's some creepy ice-cream trucks: pooboy.com/creepy-ice-cream-trucks

WAIT. . . before you go, check this out:

Now I would swear, Pennywise is on that truck.

Alright, sweet dreams.

mr. Mercedes Journal #1: Creepy King

Creepy King is at work in mr. Mercedes.  Sure, it's a crime novel; cat and mouse and all that -- but we all know it's Stephen King at work.  I'm loving the novel.  Loving the fact that it is indeed Stephen King, unafraid to be himself.  He might be diving into some new sub-genre's, but he doesn't try to become anyone else.  King is willing to allow stories to remain free from the need to walk a narrow genre line.

• Mr. Mercedes is flat out creepy.  A killer who wears a clown mask as he runs people over.  That's nasty!  Oh, and the clown mask looks like -- Pennywise.  That's sweet!  The killer also likes happy faces.

• The characters are almost immediately engaging on both sides.  What's quite amazing is that King is able to make you feel a kinship to the killer.  As Hodges reads a letter from the murderer, the reader is taken into the killers mind.  Is he crazy?  Maybe.  But as he points out, he just does the crazy stuff most of us think about.  By the way, this killer is also smart.  Very smart.  Dr. Lecter smart?  I don't know yet.  I can't see ole Hannibal sticking happy faces on things.

• King also does a nice job recreating male banter; especially among cops.  It's the kind of stuff we've all heard (at least guys have) but would be hard pressed to actually recreate it.  King has done it nicely.  It feels kind of like he's giving away something to the opposite sex; revealing, this is how we guys operate.

• Add happy faces to my list of things Stephen King has weirded me out over.  I already didn't like them, but now, they're just plain nasty.

• King gives us the mass murder scene from almost every imaginable angle -- except the Mercedes itself.  We get it from the victims, the police and the killers point of view.