REVIEW: The Green Mile by Stephen King

The Green Mile by Stephen King
Publishing information: Paperback
Publisher: Gollancz; 21 August 2008
ISBN 10: 0575084340
ISBN 13: 978-0575084346
Series: N/A; Standalone
Copy: Out of Pocket
Reviewer: Kathryn

Blurb: “The Green Mile: Those who walk it do not return, because at the end of that walk is the room in which sits Cold Mountain Penitentiary's electric chair. In 1932 the newest resident on death row is John Coffey, a giant of a black man convicted of the brutal murder of two little girls. But nothing is as it seems with John Coffey, and around him unfolds a bizarre and horrifying story.

Evil murderer or holy innocent – whichever he is – Coffey has strange powers which may yet offer salvation to others, even if they can do nothing to save him.”

Like many people, I'd seen the adaptation of The Green Mile with Tom Hanks, and I really enjoyed it. It was touching, it was beautifully shot, and it was a very well-made film. It's often the case with adaptations that the film loses sight of the book and changes too many things, but thankfully The Green Mile is not one of those, as I was about to find out.

Written as a serialised novel, The Green Mile is made up of six parts and they tell the story of the Green Mile and a few of its residents, but also of its wardens and their families. Our narrator for this journey is Paul Edgecombe, the supervisor of E Block which also known as “The Green Mile” due to the colouring of the linoleum floor. We are shown these events through what is effectively Paul's autobiography, written in 1996 in a nursing home, and this gives us two different points of view. Both viewpoints guide us through John Coffey's last months on the Green Mile, occasionally referring to past events for details and character development, and how the strange, near-silent giant affects everyone's lives.

The Green Mile is best described as a thriller with some supernatural events. As is perhaps typical for King, he brings Christianity into the mix and, unlike Carrie where it is used by Carrie's mother as a tool of destruction, in this book King uses the religion as a way of understanding and it also shapes the actions of the guards. Again being typical for his writing style, King creates very interesting and life-like characters that contrast each other, and he looks at them and portrays them in a way that few do. The emphasis on religion also helps bring another level of meaning to the fates of the characters, regardless of their morality.

In terms of King's writing, this is him at his best. Paul never feels as if he's an artificial construct, instead the prose feels natural, and King peppers it with terms and phrases that lend it an air of authenticity. Paul talks in a way we wouldn't today, but he's still understandable. The Green Mile is little different from King's previous works in that it is quite gruesome at times, especially when Ol' Sparky is involved, and there is a fair amount of foul language and some rather sinister thoughts are talked about by some of the cast. As this is a collection of shorter pieces, there is some overlap between some chapters as the final paragraphs of one part will often begin one of the first chapters in the following part, which can disrupt the flow of the book a little if you read it in a short period of time. I also felt that at times some of the minor characters were hard to distinguish between, especially the “floaters”, a group of wardens who were not permanently stationed in Block E.

In closing, I'm full of praise for this book. This is Stephen King at his very best. It grips you, it makes you want to read on to find out more about John Coffey, and the serialised nature makes it very easy to read and allows the plot to flow beautifully. The characters are brilliant and mostly well defined, and you will care about many of them. An excellent read, and highly recommended.

Plot 9/10
Characters 8/10
Style 8/10

Overall 8.5/10