Dolores Claiborne
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Let’s just start out by saying this is not your typical Stephen King supernatural horror story. There are hints of the supernatural - much of the book works toward the culminating event which takes place during an eclipse - but if you’re expecting vampires, zombie pets, or demons, this isn’t the book for you.
Instead, Dolores Claiborne delves into horrors that are real that are experienced by far too many to this day. Told as one continuous monologue by the title character, the book traces Dolores’s adult life as she tells her own story to the police. She’s with the police because she’s been accused of killing her employer, a rich woman who was once a summer resident ‘from away’ but becomes a year-round resident on the island where Dolores lives. Dolores’s husband had also died under suspicious circumstances and as Dolores weaves her tale we learn what happened to him and why. Along the way, we learn about the evolving relationships between her and her employer, her children, her husband, and about the overall atmosphere of life on a small island off the coast of Maine.
Overall, it’s a captivating read. At times, it’s hard to feel sympathetic for Dolores. At other times, you want to break down and weep for her. King creates a multi-dimensional character who’s a strong woman - sometimes too strong - who’s doing all she can to survive and give her children a chance.
The way King writes, you want to know what happens to her husband. You want to know what happens to her wealthy employer. When you get to the end, you’ll also learn about things you didn’t know you were waiting to know.
Disturbing, captivating, and at times a little too realistic for comfort, Dolores Claiborne is worth the read. It’ll get you thinking about rural life, about the relationship between the working class and the wealthy, about the secrets families have no matter their economic status, and the pasts that we don’t always know people have escaped from.
TL/DR: If you typically avoid Stephen King because of the supernatural elements, you should still read this. It’s a dive into the struggles of surviving incredibly difficult life situations and about making literal life or death decisions.
Maine Thoughts: It’s Stephen King, so it’s more authentically Maine than many books. He gets the small town atmosphere right, where everyone knows everyone’s business and has known each other’s families for generations. He shows the “summer people” versus Mainer dynamic, and uses the landscape of the island effectively.