An isolated Florida island holds secrets that only Edgar Freemantle has the ability to piece together through his artwork.
Stephen King is back with his latest novel, Duma Key, and this time he's putting it all out on the table. The almost 600 page book contains some of King's best work, both in terms of story and characterization. For King fans, this book has been a long time coming and it's proven to be well worth the wait.
Summary
Edgar Freemantle, the story's protagonist, is a successful contractor from Middle America who experiences a live-altering on-the-job injury. As a result of his accident, he looses an arm and suffers other serious injuries. Although he survives the accident, his wife eventually leaves him and he is forced to rebuild his life. At the suggestion of his psychologist, he decides a change of scenery would do him good, and he decides to leave his Minnesota home for the secluded Florida island of Duma Key.
Upon his arrival on the island, Edgar takes up his long forgotten hobby of drawing. Beginning first with simple pencil sketches, he advances quickly to elaborately detailed, surrealist paintings. His newly awakened creativity seems to spark in him an instant healing sensation. He is compelled to paint, and does so with a ravishing urgency.
He meets the other two permanent residents of Duma Key, who happen to be an elderly woman of some renown herself in the art world, Elizabeth Eastlake and her caretaker, Jerome Wireman. Edgar quickly establishes an endearing friendship with both Elizabeth and Wireman, and he spends his days divided between their company and his obsessive creating.
The Horror Side of the Story
As his time on the Key progresses, Edgar starts to discover his talent goes deeper than simply creating invocative art. He goes into a trance state and is able to harness his creativity and use it to affect future events. Through a series of paintings Edgar is able to discover his wife is romantically involved with another man, kill a child-murderer and save his friend's life, all telepathically and with a stroke of his paintbrush. It does not take long for him to realize his artistic inspiration is coming from something other than himself.
Unfortunately his artistic insights come with a price. As Wireman begins sharing the story of Elizabeth's childhood, Edgar realizes the source of his inspiration is also a curse. He also realizes that all three characters have a common thread that links them to Duma Key - they have each had a near death experience that leaves them all with a unique psychic ability.
Because of his curiosity, Edgar's artwork takes on a life of its own and becomes a medium for something to cross over and reek havoc on the lives of his loved ones. Of course this is where King shines as an author and this novel is no different. There is a ghost ship, a haunted doll and a supernatural island all thrown into the mix to induce chills for the reader at every turning of the page.
The Depth of Characterization
King has always had an innate ability to flesh every last drop of life out of his characters, and Duma Key is no exception. From Edgar's frustration and anger, to Elizabeth's fragility and feistiness, to Wireman's compassion and panache for pop culture, each of the characters is a strong mix of opposites that make them feel individual and human. However the most vivid and complex character of all is the island of Duma Key itself. King is able to transform what could be easily considered most people's idea of an island paradise into a haunting realm of nightmarish proportions.
The secrets of Duma Key are revealed slowly and with careful precision. The story is both stifling and redeeming and King once again fills every page with suspense. He also subtly reminds us that our lives can change in an instant, resulting in things we could never have imagined, which may not be the worst thing after all.
Book Stats:
Duma Key: A Novel by Stephen King
Hardcover, 592 pages
Published by Scribner, 2008
ISBN#1416552510
